GAME DAY INFORMATION
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DATE: Jan. 31, 2024
TIME: 7:00 PM |
LOCATION: Baptist Health Arena
Richmond, Ky. |
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GAME DAY LINK
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LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
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THE LEAD
Riding a three game win streak, the Hatters head to Kentucky for the last of a three-game road trip. After outlasting Queens in a thrilling overtime win at home, Stetson took both games in the State of Tennessee, defeating Austin Peay and Lipscomb. Now the squad will face-off with the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky University at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at the Baptist Health Arena.
INSIDE THE SERIES
This Wednesday will mark the fourth meeting between the two programs as Stetson trails in the series 1-2. The Hatters defeated the Colonels 70-52 at home in their first meeting back on Jan. 29, 2022 but the last two games have favored EKU including their last game on Jan. 28, 2023 when Stetson fell to the Colonels 83-70 at home. They only played once in Kentucky with the Colonels taking that game 80-69.
SCOUTING THE HATTERS (10-11, 5-2 ASUN)
Stetson approaches the midweek matchup with an overall record of 10-11, having recently picked up a pair of road wins over Austin Peay and Lipscomb last week.
The win over Lipscomb marked the Hatters third straight as they now hold a 5-2 conference record. After beginning the season 0-6 on the road, the Hatters have now won their last four road games.
Leading the Hatters on offense last week was
Khamya McNeal, who posted a combined 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The redshirt-junior guard also added four rebounds, an assists and a steal to her stat line. The Milwaukee native set a season-high with 21 points in the road win over Lipscomb on Saturday.
So far this season, the offensive output for Stetson has been fronted by
Jamiya Turner, who maintains a team-leading 230 points, 11.0 per game. Turner showcases a 44.4 percent shooting accuracy from the field (88 of 198) and a 67.1 percent clip from the free-throw line. The redshirt-senior has reached milestones such as 500 career rebounds and 1,000 career points as she has racked up double-figures 13 times this season and 5+ boards 12 time. In the win over Lipscomb, Turner buried her first three-pointer of the season.
As a team, Stetson averages 58.5 points per game, as opposed to a conference third fewest average points allowed (60.1), on 452-1203 shooting from the field (37.6%) and 79-361 from three-point range. They boast an ASUN fourth-most 780 total rebounds, 37.1 rebounds per game. Stetson has forced opponents into 356 turnovers and capitalized on them with 12.5 points off turnovers. In the win over Austin Peay, graduate forward
Quentarra Mitchell recorded six steals, the most in a game by anybody this season. In Saturday's win over Lipscomb,
Promise Keshi recorded a block and three steals.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS (16-5, 5-2 ASUN)
Eastern Kentucky currently holds a record of 16-5, sitting third place in the ASUN Conference standings after winning their last five conference games, despite starting ASUN play 0-2. Outside of conference play, the Colonels have only last three times, including #4 Utah, Tennessee and Chattanooga.
In the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the coaches selected EKU to finish in third with 121 points after finishing the prior season with an 11-7 conference record. Looking to build off of an 18-14 campaign last season, the Colonels average 72.0 points per game and have outscored their opponents by an average of 11.3 points. Their preseason recognition extends further as Antwainette Walker was named Preseason Player of the Year.
As a team, they have a shooting percentage of 40.8 percent from the field (553-1356) and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc (117-380). The Colonels are rebounding at an average of 39.7 per game with a +3.9 margin and they are distributing 15.1 assists a game.
On the defensive end, they've allowed opponents to shoot 38.8 percent from the field (458-1179) and 31.7 percent from three-point range (115-363), third and ninth in the ASUN. The defense has also forced 440 turnovers, scoring 21.1 points off them, while tallying 194 steals and 50 blocks.
NEXT UP
Stetson will return home for a three game stand which begins with the visiting Bellarmine Knights. tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Saturday, Feb. 3 at the historic Edmunds Center with all the action on ESPN+.
