Wednesday, January 20, 2010

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Basketball Game of the Week features a rematch of a 2009 A-Sun First-Round contest as Campbell ventures to the Music City to face Belmont at 5:00 p.m. CT on Thursday from the Curb Event Center. The game airs on A-Sun.TV.

Campbell enters the week after falling to league-leading FGCU on Thursday, 64-59, and posting a win against Stetson, 61-46, on Saturday. Courtney Cannon paced Campbell in both games as the junior guard averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, in addition to posting a Lady Camels season-high 19 points against the Eagles and her first double-double against the Hatters with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Amanda O’Neill averaged 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, four assists and two steals per game on the week, while shooting .429 (6-14) from the floor and .750 (3-4) from three-point range. O'Neill entered last week averaging 4.4 points per game.

Meanwhile, Belmont returns from a victorious weekend in Jacksonville, Fla., notching wins against UNF on Thursday, 55-51, and Jacksonville on Saturday, 74-53. Against the Dolphins, Haley Nelson tallied her fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Earlier in the week, the sophomore matched her career-high of 20 points against UNF. Junior Rachel Swisher and Kristen Bunch also reached double digits with 11 points each versus the Dolphins, in addition to eight rebounds apiece collected on Thursday. Shaunda Strayhorn finished with 10 points and a game-high seven assists against the Green and Gold, adding to the junior guard’s 13 points and game-high five assists tallied against the Ospreys.

In their meeting at the A-Sun Championships, an early, 13-2, second-half surge by the Bruins proved to be too much for the Lady Camels. Belmont forced 20 turnovers and five players ended the game in double figures in points, including senior guards Amber Rockwell and Bunch, who combined for 20 points and 11 rebounds, while junior forward Lauren Yesh tallied seven points and seven rebounds for Campbell.

Rockwell paces the Bruins with 13.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Nelson averages 12.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and leads the A-Sun in blocks at 2.33 per game. Nelson joins ETSU’s Siarre Evans and USC Upstate’s Chelsea McMillan as the only three players in the conference averaging a double-double. Rockwell, Nelson and Strayhorn continue to hold strong in national statistics as Rockwell makes appearances in four statistical categories, 127th in three-point field goals per game, 153rd in 3-point field-goal percentage, 174th in free-throw percentage and 232nd in points per game. Nelson ranks 18th in rebounds per game, 25th in blocked shots per game and 55th in field-goal percentage, while Strayhorn ranks 49th in assists per game and 87th in assist-to-turnover ratio.

For Campbell, Tonisha Baker paces the team in both scoring, 10.1 points per game, and in steals, 1.9 per game. The guard leads all A-Sun freshmen in scoring this season and ranks third overall in field goal percentage with a .528 rate from the floor. Stetson’s junior center Daphnee Frieson leads the conference, hitting baskets at a .552 clip. The High Point, N.C. native stands as the only freshman and the lone guard in the A-Sun’s Top-10. Baker’s teammate, senior center Ashley Williamson tallies 8.6 points per game, pulls down 6.4 rebounds per game and averages nearly a block per contest. Belmont leads the all-time series, 13-4.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.