The Lady Falcons Visit Chowan On Saturday And Virginia State On Sunday
RALEIGH, NC (Dec 16) – This weekend, the Saint Augustine's University women's basketball team will wrap up a four-game road trip in six days with back-to-back CIAA contests.
The Lady Falcons visit Chowan University on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. On Sunday, Dec. 18, they take on Virginia State University at 2:30 p.m.
The Lady Falcons (0-1 CIAA, 3-9 overall) have improved greatly since last season. Their three wins have already tied last season's total.
Two of their defeats were in overtime including Thursday's 57-53 loss to Elizabeth City State University in the CIAA opener. One loss was by one point to Miles College and two losses were to Division I squads Campbell University and Norfolk State University.
The Lady Falcons have not had the luxury of playing at home yet. The matchups against Chowan and Virginia State will be the 13th and 14th consecutive road games since the season started.
The Barton game on Dec. 31 will be the first of six home games for the Lady Falcons, which will be a boost for a young team featuring 10 newcomers including six freshmen. Several first-year players are already making a positive impact such as guard-forward Kaaliya Williams (Fr./Richmond, VA), guard Kiana Clark (Fr./Queens, NY), guard Kamya Renwicks (Fr./Baltimore, MD) and guard Ja'Yon Leak (Fr./Charlotte, NC).
Williams is the team leader in points per game (11.8) and rebounds per game (4.7) while Clark is second in scoring average (10.8) and rebounding average (4.1). Leak averages 6.7 points and Renwicks averages 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and a team-high 2.0 steals.
On Thursday, three freshmen carried the Lady Falcons in the loss to Elizabeth City State. Williams scored 18 points, Clark added 16 points and Leak had 15 points as the trio combined for all but four of the Lady Falcons points.
This weekend, the Lady Falcons, who are in the Southern Division, will square off against two strong Northern Division teams. Chowan (2-0 CIAA, 9-2 overall) is led by forward Jordan Payne, who averages 14.6 points and 12.2 rebounds which ranks second in the conference. She leads the CIAA in field goals and offensive rebounds.
Virginia State (1-0 CIAA, 8-2 overall) is paced by guard Nandi Taylor who averages nearly 16 points per game and five assists per contest. Taylor ranks fourth in scoring average and first in total assists.
After the Virginia State game, the Lady Falcons will take time off for the holidays before resuming action in their home opener against Barton College. The contest begins at 2 p.m.
