Storylines –Shepherd GameMorgan Arden was a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line last time out as her game-high 29 points led Shepherd to a 75-72 win over Concord Monday. The win halted a five-game losing streak for the Rams who are 3-3 at home but 0-5 on the road. The team's leading scorer, Arden has scored 10 or more points in all but one game this year. The sophomore ranks top ten in the Mountain East Conference in scoring (18.7 ppg), assists (3.9 apg), free throw percentage (86.3) and minutes played (34). Liz Myers has also been a force for the Rams. The post player recorded her consecutive double figure scoring game in the win over Concord by scoring 14 points. The 5-foot-11-inch Myers added five rebounds and three steals. Under the direction of second-year head coach Jenna Eckleberry, the program has seen vast improvement. A year ago, Shepherd won 22 games, including a 68-60 win over No. 11 Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Currently, the Rams are in the midst of playing six of eight games away from Shepherdstown. Playing a tough league schedule, Shepherd has already played three ranked opponents and a home date with current nationally ranked West Liberty awaits in February.
About UVa-WiseUVa-Wise will look to rebound from an 86-82 double overtime loss at Fairmont State Monday. In the loss, junior guard
Taylor Sandidge played 50 minutes and scored a season-high 27 points. Teammate
Allison Ball scored in double figures for the second consecutive contest as she made a trio of 3-pointers en route to 15 points. By make 3-4 3-point attempts, Ball has now made seven of her last 10 long distance attempts and is shooting 50 percent from beyond the 3-point line for the year. Foul shooting proved costly for the Cavaliers as the team made 65.2 percent of its attempts compared to the 86.4 percent the Fighting Falcons connected on. Wednesday's contest at Shepherd pits teams with identical league records at 2-3. A year ago, Shepherd won both meetings as the Rams advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In those losses,
Kayla Carey averaged 16.5 points and seven rebounds per game. Depth could prove to be an issue Wednesday as
Blair Harding (47 ) and
Kehana Grayer (43) also played over 40 minutes in the game at Fairmont State. In total, eight Cavs touched the floor in Fairmont with seven of the eight playing at least 26 minutes. This is the second of four consecutive road games for
Kristin Kunzman's squad. This season, the Cavs are 1-2 on the road while boasting a 5-1 record at the Prior Center.
