Storylines – vs Urbana University
Urbana will be looking to score its first road Mountain East Conference win of the year Sunday when the Blue Knights visits UVa-Wise in a 2 p.m. tip. Urbana enters the contest having lost six of its last seven games after starting the season 2-0. The lone win during the stretch came on Jan. 3 when the team took down West Virginia Wesleyan 77-65 in Urbana. It is one of just two league losses this season for the Bobcats, the other came at the hands of UVa-Wise. Junior Danie Shafer leads the Blue Knights and is one of the more dynamic players in the conference. The 5-foot-8 junior averages 16.1 points per game while grabbing 6.4 rebounds a contest. The Huber Heights, Ohio native is also deadly at the foul line shooting 83.3 percent at the charity stripe on the season. As a team, Urbana shoots 74.5 percent from the free throw line, the number ranks second in the league. Last season, Urbana and UVa-Wise split a pair of meetings with each winning on their own home floor. In the two games, Shafer averaged 28.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
About UVa-Wise
With each passing win, the momentum continues to build for UVa-Wise. The Cavaliers are on a three-game winning streak with the average margin of victory in the three games being 23 points.
Kristin Kunzman's team posted its largest margin of victory of the season in its latest contest, an 81-42 shellacking of Shepherd at the Prior Center Thursday. The 81 points are the second most by the team this season but what is more impressive is the work UVa-Wise put in on the defensive end of the floor. Shepherd shot just 27.1 percent from the field, including a 23.3 percent showing in the opening 20 minutes. It was nothing new for the Cavs who lead the league in defensive field goal percentage (35.8), 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.2), scoring defense, (58.9) and rebounding margin (+12.1). Coupled with UVa-Wise's win and other results in the league, the Cavs are in a four-way tie for first place at 5-1 in the league. Fatigue should not be an issue for UVa-Wise despite it being the Cavs third game this week. A total of 10 players played 11 or more minutes in the win over Shepherd while all 12 active players saw action. Frontcourt starters
Kayla Carey (15) and
Alle Moore (14) combined for just 29 minutes in the contest. The rest could have long term benefits as the team plays four games over the next nine days. This will be the seventh meeting between UVa-Wise and Urbana since the formation of the Mounatin East Conference with the series tied at 3-3. The Cavs hold a 2-1 advantage at the Prior Center, having won each of the last two meetings in Wise.
