NORFOLK, Va. – After earning a No. 6 seed, Bethune-Cookman women's basketball looks for its third season victory over archrival No. 11 Florida A&M, as the Wildcats open 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament play facing the Rattlers at 4 p.m., Monday, March 9 inside the Norfolk Scope Arena.
The meeting will be the first time the two programs have met three times in a season since 2006-07, when FAMU swept the series, and the first time under head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis.
Currently B-CU is 2-0 against the cross-state rival on the season with a 70-57 victory in Tallahassee (Jan. 31) and a 76-64 Senior Day victory in Daytona (Feb. 21).
Scouting the Wildcats
On the season, BC-U sophomore guard Kendra Cooper continues to lead the Wildcat offensive threat with 14.0 points per game and remains at the head of the MEAC in 3-pointers made (90) and second in free-throw percentage (.864).
Defensively, the Wildcat redshirt senior forward/guard combo, Terrenisha Hollis, remains the team's leader in steals (70) after earning a three spot in the national rankings (Feb. 7) with a career-best nine steals in a game at Delaware State. Sophomore center Kailyn Williams leads the Cats on the boards (8.7 rpg) and remains the MEAC's leader in blocks at 4.43 per contest, which also ranks third nationally.
Scouting the Rattlers
Dropping its last four contests of the season, FAMU is led by junior Olivia Antilla's 13.6 points per game. The balanced Rattlers offense is also assisted by Taneka Rubin and Khaderja Young's 10.2 and 9.9 points a contest respectively.
On the defensive end, Young the junior guard leads the team on the glass with 5.2 rebounds per game while also ranking 20th in the nation with her 2.8 steals per game.
History in the Making
Fans and spectators were able to witness history inside Moore Gymnasium on Monday, Feb. 16 as redshirt sophomore Kailyn Williams (New Orleans, La.) became the B-CU all-time leader for career blocked shots. At the 16:55 mark in the first half against North Carolina A&T, the 6-5 center swatted her second block of the contest, moving her ahead of former Wildcat, Scherrie Jackson (1993-1997), with 199.
Since then, Williams has continued to add to the new B-CU record, totaling 220.
Williams Earns First-Team Honors
After leading the league in Defensive Player of the Week honors, Bethune-Cookman redshirt sophomore Kailyn Williams was named to the 2014-15 All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference First Team the league announced Friday (March 6).
The 6-5 New Orleans, La., native, led the MEAC in blocked shots majority of the season, while also ranking as high as number two in the nation (Feb. 28) with her 4.54 blocked shots per game.
Currently the Wildcat center averages a NCAA third-best 4.43bpg, totaling 124 during her regular-season sophomore campaign, which sits number one all-time during a season at B-CU.
Williams also broke the Wildcat's all-time career blocked shot record (198) during the 2014-15 season on Monday, Feb. 16 at the 16:55 mark in the first half against North Carolina A&T. Since then, Williams has continued to add to the new B-CU record, totaling 220.
Additionally, “Big Kay” has led the Wildcats on the glass pulling down a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game, ranking third in the league.
She garnered a career-best 17 rebounds on Jan. 12 against Norfolk State, while swatting a career-high ten shots, third most in a NCAA game this season, during the home game versus the Spartans.
Williams seized seven double-doubles during the year, one point shy of a triple-double during the NSU match-up, and earned 13 double-figure rebounding performances, including seven straight to start 2015.
Coverage
The MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament will air live on
ESPN3.com while live stats will be available through
MEACHoops.com. Fans can also follow
@BCUWBB on twitter for in game tweets/updates
