GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles will conclude a four game road trip with games on back-to-back days this weekend. CU will play at Grace Bible College for the second time this season in the GBC Tournament on Friday at 5 p.m. and then head to Southfield, Michigan to take on the conference front-runner in Lawrence Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both games will have live video available, and the links can be found at cugoldeneagles.com.

Opponent: Grace Bible College
Date: Friday, December 15
Time: 5 p.m. EST
Location: Wyoming, Mich. (Aldrich Athletic Center)
Internet Coverage: Live Video
 
Opponent: Lawrence Tech
Date: Saturday, December 16
Time: 1 p.m. EST
Location: Southfield, Mich. (Don Ridler Field House)
Internet Coverage: Live Video/Stats
 
Scouting the Tigers
The Golden Eagles will take on the Tigers for the second time this season after defeating them 96-47 earlier this year. Grace Bible has struggled tremendously with injuries, as all three of their leading scorers are currently injured. So far this season, GBC has posted just a 3-7 record overall, as they will take on a pair of WHAC teams this weekend in Cornerstone and Lourdes.
 
Scouting Lawrence Tech
Second year head coach Kylene Spiegel and the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils have exceeded expectations in the early season, going 10-2 overall with a WHAC best 6-1 record in league play. LTU has been one of the best in the nation defensively, ranking fifth in the NAIA in scoring defense per game (55.2) and field goal percentage defense (33.3) this season. Defending WHAC Player of the Week Hayley Walkowski is coming off a phenomenal week, averaging 21.5 PPG and 12.0 RPG in a pair of wins. Junior Nicole Buckingham is the team leader in points so far this season, as she averages 15.8 so far this year. Lawrence Tech looks to close out 2017 conference play with a big home win over the Golden Eagles, before traveling to West Palm Beach, Florida for a tournament next weekend.
 
CU History vs. LTU
Cornerstone has split the season series with the Blue Devils each of the last two seasons after winning the first six all-time vs. Lawrence Tech. LTU's women's basketball program is in just its sixth year of existence and they continue to improve. Cornerstone is 8-2 all-time vs. Lawrence Tech, most recently winning 55-52 in Southfield, Michigan last February.
 
Sheridan enters top 10
Junior Jesse Sheridan not only tied her single game career high of 30 points at Lourdes last Wednesday, but also etched her name in the Golden Eagle record books. Sheridan scored her 1,269-career point to enter the top 10 all-time in Cornerstone program history. Sheridan now has 1,286 career points and sits just 44 points away from moving up another spot to become ninth all-time in program history.
 
Road Struggles
Cornerstone has seen much of their early season schedule be played away from Mol Arena, with nine of their 13 games so far being on the road. The road has not been kind to CU so far as they are just 2-7 on the road compared to 3-1 at home. Cornerstone had struggles on the road last season as well, posting just a 5-9 record away from Mol Arena.
 
Statistically Speaking
Through the first 13 games of the season, the Golden Eagles rank 8th in NAIA Division II with a 45.5% field goal percentage. In 10 of the first 13 games CU has shot 40% or better this season. Cornerstone also ranks 13th in total assists with 213. Senior Lizzy Otten has tallied 56 of those assists to rank 14th individually. Other categories that the Golden Eagles are in the top 20 in within NAIA Division II are: total scoring offense (958), total offensive rebounds (518), and assists per game (16.4).
 
Mattera Remains Two Away
With an 0-2 week last week, head coach Katie Mattera still remains two wins away from a milestone 100th career victory at the helm of Cornerstone Women's Basketball. Mattera is now 98-71 and 69-37 vs. current WHAC opponents. Mattera looks to become just the third coach in Golden Eagle history to reach 100+ victories.
 
Nearing 1,000
Senior Cass Vredevoogd is the next closest player to reach a major milestone, as she is just 46 points away from 1,000 in her career. Vredevoogd would join Jesse Sheridan as the only other current Golden Eagle with 1,000+ points and become the 25th player in CU history to reach the mark. Vredevoogd started her career at Dort College for two years before transferring to Cornerstone at the beginning of the 2016-17 season.