GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles will play a trio of tough Crossroads League opponents this week, including the home opener Tuesday vs. receiving votes Indiana Wesleyan at 6 p.m. CU will also travel to Indiana to compete in the WHAC/CL Classic at Huntington on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Saint Francis Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. All three games will have live video and stats available at cugoldeneagles.com.  

Opponent: (RV) Indiana Wesleyan
Date: Tuesday, October 31
Time: 6 p.m. EST
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Mol Arena)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Audio/Stats
 
Opponent: Huntington
Date: Friday, November 3
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Location: Huntington, Ind. (Platt Arena)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Stats
 
Opponent: (21) Saint Francis (Ind.)
Date: Saturday, November 4
Time: 12 p.m. EST
Location: Fort Wayne, Ind. (Hutzell Athletic Center)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Stats
 
Scouting IWU
A young Indiana Wesleyan roster comes into 2017-18 under a new head coach in Ethan Whaley with a preseason receiving votes ranking. The Wildcats went 19-14 in 2016-17, finishing 11-7 in the Crossroads League to tie for second place. IWU lost both key seniors in Kelsey Key and Chelsea Winner who each averaged more than 10 points per game. As a team, Indiana Wesleyan was one of the best defensively, ranking second in the NAIA allowing just 55.9 PPG to opponents last season. 

 
Scouting HU
Huntington comes off a middle of the pack performance in the Crossroads League in 2016-17, going 15-16, 8-10 CL. HU will be looking for new leaders going into the new season, as their top two leading scores in Miranda Palmer (21.3 PPG) and Allyson Trout (11.5 PPG) graduated in 2015-16. Huntington found a large portion of their offensive production coming from the three-point line last season, as they shot 36.2% from behind the arc to rank eighth in the NAIA.
 
Scouting USF
Saint Francis tied Indiana Wesleyan for second place in the Crossroads League last season, going 18-16, 11-7 CL. So far this season, USF has gone 1-1, beating UM-Dearborn but falling to Lawrence Tech in the Lawrence Tech Classic. The Cougars are another very young team under third year head coach Jason Ridge, as they only have one senior on the varsity roster. USF has been very balanced offensively in the early going of the 2017-18 season, as three players average more than ten points per game. Defense and rebounding have been a key focus for the Cougars, as opponents average just 53.0 PPG against them.

Vredevoogd Irruption
Senior Cass Vredevoogd irrupted for 39 points in the season opener on 17-28 shooting at Olivet Nazarene. 39 points put Vredevoogd second on the Golden Eagle single game scoring list, falling one point short from tying the school record. The only Golden Eagle to record more points then Vredevoogd in a single game was Laura Yonkers, who tallied 40 against Trinity International in 1999. Even though it is just one game into the season, Vredevoogd's 39 points is best in the NAIA so far this year. Vredevoogd's previous career high in scoring was 21 points recorded against Madonna on January 28, 2017.
 
Freshman Output
Two of the Golden Eagles six freshman saw their first minutes in their college career in the season opener at Olivet Nazarene. Guard Sydney Muller started the game and played very well in the high scoring affair with a team high nine assists to go along with eight points. Freshman center Shelby Nyboer also saw 14 minutes off the bench, tallying 10 points and three rebounds in her debut.