DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Women's Basketball will host "Education Day" on Tuesday, Dec. 12, as Bethune-Cookman takes on Johnson (Fla.) University inside Moore Gym for a matinee nonconference game set to begin at 11 a.m. The Wildcats have also invited several local elementary and middle schools to the game prior to the beginning of their winter break.
 
What: Game Nine
Who: Bethune-Cookman (5-3) vs. Johnson University (2-4)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, at 11 a.m.
Where: Daytona Beach, Fla. – Richard V. Moore Gymnasium (1,000)
 
Watch: CatEye Network
Attend: Free admission with toy for "Toys for Tots"
Live Stats: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Johnson (Fla.) is not ranked in this week's NCCAA Coaches Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball this season by following the Wildcats social media platforms. You can follow @BCU_WBB on Instagram and @BCUWBB on Twitter.
 
FAN INFORMATION/PROMOTIONS
▪ Doors open one hour prior to tip-off at the South entrance of Richard V. Moore Gymnasium.
▪ The clear bag policy is in effect for all Bethune-Cookman Athletics events.
▪ Theme: Education Day // Toys for Tots
▪ Local elementary and middle schools are invited to attend as guests of BCU.
▪ All Bethune-Cookman fans are encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy to the game.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ Bethune-Cookman is riding a four-game home win streak dating back to the end of the 2022-23 season against Florida A&M.
▪ The Cats have turned around a negative scoring margin from the first two games of the year, now averaging 66.3 points per game and using a +0.7 advantage in scoring against opponents.
▪ Kerrighan Dunn leads the team in steals with 23, and is third in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) with an average of 2.9 per game.
▪ Chanel Wilson, a guard from Powder Springs, Georgia, is fourth in the league for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and fifth overall in assists (3.3 per game).
▪ Junior forward/center Kayla Clark poured in a game-high 17 points and pulled in a game-high matching six rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals in BCU's win over Warner (Fla.) over the weekend.
▪ Chanelle McDonald is third on the Bethune-Cookman squad with 8.5 points per game, adding 4.1 rebounds and four total blocks on the year as well.
▪ Over the weekend, Gabriela Stevens and Chariot Johnson saw their first action of the 2023-24 campaign, with Stevens scoring three points and Johnson adding seven from her guard position.
 
RECAPPING BCU'S LAST GAME (vs. Warner)
Kayla Clark poured in a game-high 17 points to extend Bethune-Cookman's home win streak to four games – dating back to last season, as the Wildcats took down visiting Warner (Fla.) by a score of 85-47 in nonconference action at Moore Gymnasium.
 
Bethune-Cookman scored 26 first quarter points as the Wildcats shot 57.1 percent from the field. The Cats forced the Royals into 11 first quarter turnovers, turning those into 12 points off of, as well as 12 fastbreak points. The BCU bench chipped in with 14 points in the quarter behind the play of Kayla Clark and Kayla White whom each tallied four points in the quarter.
 
The Royals used five points from Jackson State transfer Jasmine Edwards, this past week's NAIA National Player of the Week, scoring all but two of the team's first quarter points, respectfully. Bethune-Cookman registered its highest scoring output of the game in the second quarter with Chanel Wilson and Daimoni Dorsey each putting in five points, as the Cats outscored the Royals, 27-8. In the stanza, the Maroon and Gold shot 60 percent from the floor, adding 2 of 4 from beyond the three-point line – using connections from Wilson and Dorsey in that department.
 
A Dianis Hurtado pass was intercepted on the sideline with five seconds remaining, as BCU guard Kerrighan Dunn raced to the basket for the driving layup as time expired to extend the BCU lead at 53-15 as the two teams headed to their respective locker rooms at the half.
 
In the second half, Chariot Johnson scored her first points of the season with five, while BCU finished the game shooting 47.9 percent from the field overall on the day. The Cats shot 13 of 18 from the foul line and used a commanding 46-26 advantage on points in the paint. BCU also outscored the Royals 41-7 in fastbreak points, while using 48 points off the bench.
 
Warner's Kalyah Watson led her team with 11 points, followed by Hurtado and Edwards with nine apiece. Edwards also pulled down five rebounds while teammates Watson and Sierra Moore each amassed four assists. Bethune-Cookman was charged by Clark's 17-point, six-rebound effort off the bench. She also had two assists and two steals in 20 minutes of action. Wilson finished with 14 points, and White had 10. Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Co-Impact Player of the Week D'Shantae Edwards had a career-best eight assists and four steals, with Dunn providing a career-high seven assists and a game-high six steals.
 
BCU VS. JOHNSON (FLA.) SERIES
▪ This is the first-ever meeting between Bethune-Cookman and Johnson (Fla.) in women's basketball.
 
SCOUTING JOHNSON (FLA.)
▪ Johnson (Fla.) comes into the contest with a record of 2-4 overall on the year.
▪ The Suns have won their last two games against Beacon (80-24) and Fort Lauderdale (60-51), respectively.
▪ Andrea Ayala – a graduate of Daytona State College, is the head coach of the Suns, while she also serves as an assistant for the men's program.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman will play the third and final game of a three-game home stretch at Moore Gym when the Wildcats host Trinity Baptist on Friday, Dec. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., and is the final home game for the Maroon and Gold until January 6, 2024.
 
Follow Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball on Twitter (@BCUWBB) and Instagram (@BCU_WBB) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUathletics.com.