Storylines – Charleston Game
Picked fourth in the MEC Preseason Poll, Charleston is off to a 1-2 start. The Golden Eagles snapped their two game losing skid with a 75-55 win over Kentucky State Wednesday. In the win, Abby Watson scored 22 points on 7-12 shooting. The sophomore drained four 3-pointers in establishing a new career-high point total. Watson forms one part of a lethal backcourt. Fellow guard Jordyn Peck has been Charleston's most consistent player in the early going. The graduate student has scored at least 15 points in each of the first three games. The 5-foot-8 Peck scored 28 points in a loss to Chowan earlier this year. An area to watch in its game against UVa-Wise will be the battle of the boards. Charleston has yet to out rebound an opponent while UVa-Wise has won the battle of the boards in all three of its games, including a 51-28 advantage in its most recent win. Overall, the Golden Eagles rank sixth in the league in rebounding margin at -5.0 while the Cavaliers lead the MEC at +12.3. This will be the second consecutive year this game is played at Charleston Catholic High School as Charleston continues its gym renovation on campus.
About UVa-Wise
A win would give UVa-Wise its first three game winning streak since the 2013-14 season. The Cavaliers have used the senior trio of
Kayla Carey,
Makenzie Cluesman and
Taylor Sandidge to get off to their 2-1 start. In the last two wins, Carey, Cluesman and Sandidge have combined to average 45 points, 24.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists. The trio is shooting 46.2 percent from the field during the two game winning streak while accounting for 75 percent of the Cavaliers total points. In Wednesday's 66-50 win over Winston-Salem State, Carey scored 20 points, collected 17 rebounds and dished out three assists while Cluesman scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out five assists, Sandidge tallied 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. In two games against Charleston last season, Sandidge averaged 16 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists. Cluesman turned in a 23 point performance in last year's meeting at Charleston. The game featured five made 3-pointers from the guard. Sophomore
Alle Moore has joined the senior threesome in the starting lineup for each of the first three contests. Most recently, sophomore
Ashley Cullen claimed the final starting spot. The sophomore from Mooresville, N.C. scored three points on 1-4 shooting in her first collegiate start.
