DeLAND, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball travels to the western half of Volusia County for a pair of midweek games beginning Tuesday, Dec. 19, at The Edmunds Center on the campus of Stetson. BCU takes on Valparaiso (Dec. 19) in the first-ever meeting between the two sides, while facing off against former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foe North Carolina A&T (Dec. 20) before breaking for the holidays.
 
What: Game Eleven
Who: Bethune-Cookman (7-3) vs. Valparaiso (2-6)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at 1 p.m.
Where: DeLand, Fla. – Edmunds Center (5,000)
 
What: Game Twelve
Who: Bethune-Cookman vs. North Carolina A&T
When: Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, at 1 p.m.
Where: DeLand, Fla. – Edmunds Center (5,000)
 
Attend: Stetson Tickets Portal
Live Stats: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Valpo is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ North Carolina A&T is not ranked in this week's Associated Press 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.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ The Wildcats come into the week with a 7-3 overall record having won their last three games on the spin.
▪ In their last outing against Trinity Baptist, the Cats had six different players register double-figuring scoring for the first time in more than a decade.
▪ In that game against the Eagles, BCU also amassed 35 assists.
▪ BCU has won its last six games at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium dating back to last season.
▪ The Maroon and Gold are averaging 98.3 points per game over the last three contests – one of the highest in the NCAA across that span.
▪ The 114 points scored against TBC was the most in a non-exhibition game for Bethune-Cookman since 1986.
▪ The Wildcats are second in the SWAC with an average of 74 points per game scoring. The defensive efforts have them second in the league while holding opponents to 58.6 points per game.
▪ Wilson is currently tied for third in the SWAC in scoring (14.3 ppg). She accumulated her first non-traditional double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in the last game versus TBC – a new career-high in assists for the Powder Springs, Georgia native.
▪ Junior center Kayla Clark is atop the SWAC in rebounding as she is pulling down an average of 8.6 boards per contest. The Miami native has recorded 25 of those rebounds off the offensive glass.
▪ D'Shantae Edwards, a sophomore guard, produced a career-high eight assists in BCU's win over Warner (Fla.) back on December 9.
 
RECAPPING BCU'S LAST GAME (vs. Trinity Baptist)
The Wildcats wrapped up their three-game homestand with a 114-37 win over Trinity Baptist at Moore Gymnasium on Friday, Dec. 15.
 
The start of the contest saw Bethune-Cookman jump out to an 11-5 lead despite four early fouls. From there, the Cats closed the quarter on a 10-0 run to push the lead to 29-10 with Chanel Wilson collecting four (4) first quarter assists. 

The run continued for BCU into the second as the Wildcats pushed their advantage to 30-7 over Trinity Baptist. The lead continued to balloon to 47-17 on a Chanelle McDonald free throw as the Wildcats held the Eagles to 0-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

Thirteen consecutive from the Wildcats led by McDonald's work in the paint pushed the lead to 60-17, and later 66-19, as the two teams hit halftime. The Wildcats hit the century mark midway through the third minute of the fourth quarter on a Dorsey driving layup that made it 101-34, and the Cats cruised to the 114-37 final.

McDonald led BCU in scoring with 23 on 7 of 8 shooting, adding six rebounds. She was followed by Kayla Clark's 15 points, along with six boards, three assists and a steal.
 
Chanel Wilson posted a double-double with ten points and ten assists. Kayla White swiped eight steals with eight assists.
 
BCU VS. VALPO SERIES
▪ This is the first-ever meeting between Bethune-Cookman and Valparaiso in women's basketball.
 
SCOUTING VALPO
▪ Valparaiso comes into the Holiday Hoops Classic hosted by Stetson with a 2-6 overall record, as the Beacons have not played in in 10 days due to end-of-term winter exams.
▪ Valpo was predicted to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference after turning in a 5-15 league mark a season ago.
▪ Leah Earnest is one of the top players for Valpo, entering the week averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, placing her fifth and eighth, respectively, in the MVC.
▪ Olivia Brown, a fifth-yar player for Valpo, is closing in on 1,000 career points for the Beacons, needing just one (1) point against Bethune-Cookman to achieve the milestone.
▪ In Brown's third season with the Valpo program, she has amassed 633 points since transferring into the program.
▪ The Beacons rank 14th nationally with 12.3 steals per game, and per HerHoopStats.com, their steal rate of 14.4 percent is good for 10th nationally. Valpo has been in double figures in steals in each of the last four games and five times in all this season, highlighted by an 18-steal effort against Western Illinois.
▪ Valpo is playing nine of its first 10 games away from home to begin the 2023-24 campaign.
▪ Three of Valpo's top four scorers from the 2022-23 season have returned for this season.
 
BCU VS. N.C. A&T SERIES
▪ Now both in different conferences, the series with BCU and North Carolina A&T dates back to days when both were longtime members of the MEAC. Now, BCU is in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), while N.C. A&T employs its efforts within the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
▪ The Aggies hold a commanding 47-29 edge in the series, but it was BCU taking four of the last six meetings before the two sides joined separate leagues.
▪ BCU won the last meeting between the two teams courtesy a 70-50 decision in Greensboro, North Carolina on Feb. 8, 2020.
▪ In fact, it was the Wildcats claiming wins in the first four recorded meetings between the two teams in a series that began in 1984.
 
SCOUTING N.C. A&T
▪ The Aggies arrive to the Holiday Hoops Classic hosted by Stetson sporting a record of 3-5 overall. The team arrives in DeLand, Florida having lost each of its last four contests, including a tough 55-52 setback at Mercer on December 9.
▪ N.C. A&T was predicted to finish eighth in the preseason CAA poll as the team registered a 12-6 league mark across the 2022-23 season.
▪ The Aggies are scoring an average of 64.8 points per game, while holding opponents to just 63.1 points per contest.
▪ Maleia Bracone, a second team Preseason All-CAA performer, is the team's top scorer as she is scoring at a 12 points per game clip and shooting 41 percent from the field.
▪ Chaniya Clark controls the boards for the Aggies with a team-leading seven rebounds per game. Bracone is second on the team in that department with 5.6 boards per game.
▪ Also contributing to the scoring column is Jordyn Dorsey with 91 points – second highest on the team, with 11.4 points per game. She also leads the team in free throws (24 of 30) and shoots at an 80 percent average from the charity stripe.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman will break for the winter holidays before traveling to Macon, Georgia on Saturday, Dec. 30, to take on the Mercer Bears at 2 p.m.
 
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