GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Cornerstone will look for their first road win of the season as they conclude a short two game road trip at Lourdes on Wednesday at 6 p.m., before opening a season long three game home stand vs. Madonna on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Golden Eagles look to move back above .500 on the year, fresh off a tough loss at No. 21 Indiana Tech last time out.
Date: Wednesday, December 7
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Location: Sylvenia, Ohio (Russel J. Ebeid Recreation Center)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Stats
Scouting the Gray Wolves
Lourdes, in just its sixth year of existence as a basketball program, has a team that is sophomore and junior dominant that is looking to surpass a young school record nine wins in a season. The Gray Wolves are already half way there with a 4-7 record so far this season and a 3-2 WHAC record with a most recent 77-49 win against Marygrove. Senior Daja Whiteside is the leader of LU averaging a team high 13.0 PPG and a team second best 6.6 RPG. Much of Whiteside's success comes on the offensive glass, as the senior forward is seventh in the nation averaging 4.3 offensive rebounds per game.
History vs. Lourdes
Lourdes is one of two teams in the WHAC that head coach
Katie Mattera remains undefeated against, as CU holds an 8-0 all-time record vs. the Gray Wolves. All eight wins have come in coach Mattera's five year reign, with the most recent win being by 20 points when Cornerstone earned a 69-49 win in Mol Arena last season.
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2016
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Mol Arena)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Stats/Audio
Scouting the Crusaders
Madonna has had a bit of an unexpected down year in the early season going 5-4, 2-3 WHAC and losing three of their last four games. Senior transfer from Oakland University Michelle Hayes has been a standout despite the early struggles for the Crusaders, averaging a team high 21.1 PPG and 5.6 APG. Hayes is third in the country in points per game this season. Junior Becca Sabol has also been a significant contributor to the Madonna offense, averaging a double-double with 14.6 PPG and 11.3 RPG. Sabol ranks third in the nation in rebounds per game so far this year.
History vs. Madonna
Cornerstone and Madonna have been very competitive games since
Katie Mattera began her reign as head coach in the 2012-13 season going 4-5 against the Crusaders to date. The Golden Eagles dropped both to Madonna last season falling on a last second shot at home and by 16 on the road.
Otten goes for a Career High
Madonna transfer
Lizzy Otten recorded a career high as a member of CU this past week with an 18 point game against Aquinas. Otten looks to continue the offensive success this week as she tries to surpass her Madonna career high of 25 points that she recorded against Indiana Tech in the 2013-14 season.
Mast Records 300 Rebounds
Junior
Ellery Mast pulled down her 300th career rebound in the loss to Indiana Tech this past week. Mast is the current CU leader in rebounds at 5.7 per game. Mast has also brought down 100 rebounds in each of her first two seasons as a Golden Eagle, with 104 in 2014-15 and 142 in 2015-16.
WHAC Exceeding Expectations
The WHAC has exceeded expectations so far this year proving to be a very difficult conference to win. The 12 team conference currently sees two teams ranked in the NAIA top 25 with No. 8 Davenport and No. 21 Indiana Tech. Lawrence Tech, Madonna, and Concordia are all receiving votes as well, which means nearly half of the WHAC are receiving national attention.
Struggles on the Road
Cornerstone has not been able to figure it out on the road so far this year going 0-4 losing by an average of 23 points per game. Of those four road games, three of the four have been played against ranked teams and the fourth was against a team that is now receiving votes. CU will play one road game this week, as they take on Lourdes on Wednesday.
Women's Basketball Contact:
Jesse Campbell |
Nathan-jesse.campbell@cornerstone.edu
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