GRAND RAPIDS - Mich. – The Golden Eagles are set for their first ever meetings with NAIA DI no. 11 Westmont College and no. 22 The Master's College as the team heads to Santa Barbara, California for games on December 18 & 19. Cornerstone will face the tournament host no. 11 Westmont first on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. EST and then follow that with a game vs. The Master's College on Wednesday at 6 p.m. EST. Both games of the Westmont Holiday Classic will have live video/stats available at cugoldeneagles.com.
Opponent: #11 Westmont
Date: December 18, 2018
Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
Location: Murchison Gymnasium – Santa Barbara, Calif.
Opponent: #22 Master's
Date: December 19, 2018
Time: 6 p.m. EST
Location: Murchison Gymnasium – Santa Barbara, Calif.
Last Week Recap
The Golden Eagles played their final conference game of the 2018 portion of the season at Northwestern Ohio on Saturday and fell in a close one by a score of 76-70. CU tied a season high with seven made three's in the game, but it was not enough as the Racers outscored CU 39-29 in the second half. Cornerstone is now 2-14, 1-7 WHAC on the year as they will play in the Westmont Holiday Tournament in California this week.
Increased Guard Play
The starting guard tandem of
Sterling DeGayner and
Broghan Gamble have begun to find some offensive production of late, as DeGayner has scored 20 of her 52 points on the season in the last three games, while Gamble has scored 19 of her 39 points on the season in the last three games. Both players recorded nine points at UNOH last time out, each hitting three shots from behind the arc.
Nyboer's Improvement
Sophomore
Shelby Nyboer has already recorded 25 more points than she had in all of her 2017-18 campaign. Nyboer leads the team with 14.8 PPG which is 8.6 points higher in average than her freshman season. Nyboer also has 120 total rebounds on the year, which is one shy of her season total in 2017-18.
Struggles Out of State
The Golden Eagles have two wins on the season both of them being against in-state opponents. CU is 2-4 vs. teams within the state of Michigan and are 0-10 against teams outside the state.
Scouting Westmont
Westmont ranks no. 11 in NAIA DI posting a 7-3 record so far this season. The Warriors are the best team in NAIA DI from behind the arc, shooting 41.4% (87-210). Individually Westmont has three players who average double-digits with Kaitlin Larson leading the team at 13.7 PPG, Sydney Brown in second with 10.9 PPG, and Iryee Jarrett third on the team with 10.0 PPG. Larson and Brown each average above seven rebounds per game as well on the season as the two have combined for 145 of the teams 375 total boards.
Scouting Master's
The Master's College currently ranks no. 22 in the NAIA DI poll with a 7-3 record so far this season. The Mustangs are a tall team with five players taller than 6ft. The team uses their height to their advantage ranking third in NAIA DI with 6.7 blocks per game. The 6'6" freshman center Stephanie Soares from Sau Paulo, Brazil has been the prominent force for the Mustangs averaging 17.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG and 4.9 BPG. Soares 49 blocks is best in the country at the NAIA DI level. Master's is led by head coach Dan Waldeck who is in his 11th season and has made an appearance in six straight NAIA DI National Tournaments.
Women's Basketball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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