CHARLESTON, W. VA. -- The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Women's Basketball team (21-6, 16-5 MEC) will take on the Yellow Jackets from West Virginia State University on Senior Day at the Wehrle Innovation Center. Tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. as the Golden Eagles will honor
Anna Hayton,
Taliyah Hopkins,
Janesha Johnson,
MacKenzie Loos,
Rachel Neff, and
Anastasiia Zakharova in the pregame ceremonies.
Media Coverage:
Live Stats and video feed will be available for Saturday's game through the links supplied below:
Charleston comes into Saturday after falling on the road in their regular season finale on Wednesday,, losing to MEC Regular Season Champion Glenville State by a score of 89-60. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Brooklyn Pannell and Anna Hayton who both scored 16 points while Erykah Russell added 12.
It took nearly two minutes for either team to score before Russell put Charleston on the board. The two teams remained within a few points of each other through the first quarter, and the Golden Eagles took a 10-5 lead at the 5:10 mark as Brooklyn Pannell stole the ball from Ty Armstrong finishing the paint to convert off the Glenville turnover. The teams were deadlocked as the clock ticked away in the first quarter, coming away with a 20-20 tie heading into the second.
Pannell hit a pair of free throws to start the second quarter giving UC the 22-20 lead, as the hosts nipped at the heels of the Golden Eagles. Once again, the score was tied midway through the second quarter on a free throw from Blaize Burgess bringing the score to 26-26. The score would be equalized two more times before the end of the second quarter. The Golden Eagles went into the break down 37-34.
The Golden Eagles struggled offensively to start the second half, as the Pioneers scored the two opening buckets of the third quarter. The Pioneers began to separate from the Golden Eagles as the third quarter moved along, but never leading by more than seven points. Russell hit a layup with 43 seconds to play in the third, cutting the Pioneer lead to two points, but back-to-back buckets put Charleston in a seven-point deficit heading into the fourth.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Anna Hayton scored in the paint to bring Charleston within five points of the hosts, but the Pioneers answered going on a 31-8 run to close the fourth quarter with an 89-60 win over the Golden Eagles.
Full recap and box score
here
Scouting the Opponent:
West Virginia State comes into the contest holding a record of 9-18 (7-13 MEC). The Yellow Jackets come into Saturday having lost four straight games, most recently a 103-77 defeat at the hands of Concord on Wednesday. The Charles Marshall led Yellow Jackets have the #4 ranked scoring offense (87.0 ppg) in Division II while ranking 15
th in offensive rebounds per game (16.2) and three-point field goals per game (9.6). West Virginia State is led offensively by Charity Shears (16.8 ppg) while former Golden Eagles Chloe Cheresne averages 12.8 points and 5.74 rebounds per contest.
Things to Know for Saturday:
- Much like in the men's game on January 26th, the women went to the line a season-high 41 times against WVSU in their matchup earlier this season and converted on 28 of their attempts. A physical game seems to be in the works for both teams headed into Saturday.
- Charleston held the Yellow Jackets to nearly 20 points below their season average in their last matchup on January 26th. Charleston, who defeated WVSU 99-68, held the home team to their second-lowest scoring mark of the season.
- In their last matchup, Anna Hayton recorded 29 points and 14 rebounds while Dakota Reeves converted on eight attempts from beyond the arc to add 26 points to the mix. Russell and Taliyah Hopkins both reached double-digit scoring marks in the contest as well.
Matchup History:
The Golden Eagles and Yellow Jackets have squared off 19 times in their history with Charleston holding a 14-5 advantage.
