GAME DAY INFORMATION
|
DATE: Feb. 8, 2024
TIME: 11:00 AM |
LOCATION: Edmunds Center
DeLand, Fla. |
|
GAME DAY LINK
|
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
|
|
|
|
THE LEAD
The Hatters witnessed their four game win streak come to an end on Saturday as they fell to the visiting Bellarmine Knights 52 to 64. The Hatters return to action on Thursday looking to restart the streak as they host North Alabama. Stetson Basketball's annual "Elementary Day" game tips off this at 11:00 AM against the Lions in a thrilling conference matchup between two of the top four seeds in the ASUN.
ELEMENTARY DAY
This year, the Hatters welcome over 600 kids to the Edmunds Center to cheer on Stetson as they compete for home-court advantage in the ASUN Conference Tournament. Elementary schools across DeLand will take school buses to the Edmunds Center to show their school pride
INSIDE THE SERIES
Heading into the midweek matchup, the series is knotted up at five games apiece. Stetson has won two of their last three meetings, but the Hatters narrowly dropped their last run in with the Lions 57-60 on Jan. 14, 2023 at home. The series dates back to Jan. 19, 2019 when they first met, resulting in a North Alabama win. In their ten total meetings, the Hatters have hosted five times, going 3-2. They have totaled 646 points against the Lions, or 64.6 per game.
SCOUTING THE HATTERS (11-12, 6-3 ASUN)
Stetson approaches Thursday's game with an overall record of 11-12, after their four game win streak was snapped at home to Bellarmine. It was the Hatters second four game win streak of the season and although they are still undefeated on the road in conference play, the Hatters are looking for their second conference win at home.
Leading the Hatters on offense last game was
Khamya McNeal, who hit the go-ahead bucket with four seconds left in the comeback win over EKU. The redshirt-junior guard went 3-of-8 from the field, while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, to finish with 11 points. She also filled out the stat sheet with six rebounds and an assist.
Also reaching double-figures in the loss was
Jamiya Turner, who went 4-of-8 for 10 points. It was her 15th game this season with 10+ points and she has now recorded an assist in 11 consecutive games and has grabbed 3 or more boards in the last six.
So far this season, the offensive output for Stetson has been fronted by Turner, who maintains a team-leading 255 points, 11.1 per game. Turner showcases a 44.9 percent shooting accuracy from the field (97 of 216) and a 68.2 percent clip from the free-throw line. The redshirt-senior has reached milestones such as 500 career rebounds and 1,000 career points. She averages 5.3 rebounds per game and leads the team with 50 assists.
As a team, Stetson averages 58.5 points per game, as opposed to a conference third fewest average points allowed (60.4), on 492-1303 shooting from the field (37.8%) and 88-391 from three-point range. They boast an ASUN fourth-most 848 total rebounds, 36.9 rebounds per game. Stetson has forced opponents into 382 turnovers and capitalized on them with 12.4 points off turnovers.
SCOUTING THE LIONS (10-12, 6-3 ASUN)
North Alabama currently holds a record of 10-12, sitting 3rd place in the ASUN Conference standings after winning their last four conference games.
In the 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the coaches selected North Alabama to finish in seventh with 72 points after finishing the prior season with a 10-8 conference record. Looking to build off of an 15-15 campaign last season, the Lions average 71.4 points per game and have been outscored by their opponents by an average of 1.1 points.
As a team, they have a shooting percentage of 42.9 percent from the field (559-1304) and 33.2 percent from beyond the arc (185-557). The Lions are rebounding at an average of 34.7 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 43.3 percent from the field (600-1387) and 29.5 percent from three-point range (109-369), 12th and fourth in the ASUN. The defense has also forced 372 turnovers, scoring 16.5 points off them, while tallying 166 steals and 62 blocks.
NEXT UP
Stetson will finish off their homestand with the visiting University of Central Arkansas for the first of a double-header with the men's team. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2:00 PM Saturday, Feb. 10. All the action will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats on gohatters.com.
