Wednesday, January 11, 2012

MACON, Ga. - Nine Atlantic Sun women's basketball conference games are slated for play over the next week with every one being streamed on ASun.TV.

• With 15 wins on the season, Stetson is tied for third in the nation for most wins. Only Maryland and Notre Dame with 16 are ahead of the Hatters in win total. SU is tied with Baylor and Ohio State. FGCU is tied for sixth in the nation at 14 wins with nine other teams.
• Since joining the A-Sun, FGCU has racked up 114 wins, which is second all-time in conference history for wins in a five-year span. The Eagles only trail FIU, who posted 125 wins from 1994-98. FGCU is tied with FIU for wins in a four-year span at 100. The Panthers achieved the feat twice from 1994-98.
• The Eagles and Hatters also appeared in the top-100 RPI rankings that were released this week. FGCU leads the A-Sun in 72nd place, while Stetson isn’t far behind in 89th. The two teams rank 15th and 23rd, respectively, for winning percentage in the nation.
• This past weekend, Belmont’s Haley Nelson and USC Upstate’s Tee’Ara Copney both reached the 1,000 career point plateau. Nelson first passed the marked on Friday vs. Lipscomb, while Copney followed suit on Saturday vs. Kennesaw State. They are the second and third A-Sun student-athletes to reach the mark this season and the 93rd and 94th to pass 1,000 points in conference history. Lipscomb’s Anna Bowers (959) is also nearing the career mark.
  
  

  A-Sun Active Career Points Leaders
  Rank	Player (Team)	Points	Class	All-Time Rank
  1.	Brittany Kirkland (North Florida)	1,398	Sr.	27th
  2.	Kelsey Jacobson (FGCU)	1,142	Sr.	59th
  3.	Tee'Ara Copney (USC Upstate)	1,029	Jr.	86th
  4.	Haley Nelson (Belmont)	1,016	Sr.	90th
  5.	Anna Bowers (Lipscomb)	959	Sr.	---
  6.	Gwen Washington (ETSU)	918	Sr.	---
  7.	Angie Smith (Kennesaw State)	896	Sr. (Redshirting)	---
  8.	Courtney Chihil (FGCU)	836	Sr.	---

• Jacksonville has stepped up its defensive intensity in the past five games and as a result, the Dolphins have earned three victories. JU has averaged 12.6 steals per contest in the last five and is led by Crystal Bell, who is averaging five steals per game during the stretch. Going into the South Carolina State game on Dec. 29th, the Dolphins were averaging 10.4 steals, while Bell was at 1.7 SPG.
• Stetson’s Victoria McGowan continues to lead the conference in scoring (17.1 PPG), assists (549 APG), steals (3.3 SPG) and free-throw shooting (.867). She also ranks in the top-65 nationally in each category.
• FGCU and Stetson both appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll again this week. The Eagles remained steady at No. 4, while Stetson climbed seven spots to No. 18. FGCU also received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week.
• Over the last two season, Mercer’s Briana Williams leads the conference in scoring at 16.6 PPG. The Bear’s sophomore guard trails only Stetson’s Victoria McGowan in total points by just two, 768-766. McGowan has averaged 15.1 points in her two seasons with the Hatters.
• Only three teams posted 3-0 weeks in conference play last week; Stetson, FGCU and ETSU. The Lady Bucs improved to 3-2 in league play after starting 0-2 with losses at Stetson and FGCU. In the three wins, ETSU held its opponents to 57.0 PPG. The Lady Bucs were averaging 78.3 PPG allowed coming into Jan. 4th. ETSU forced of 21.3 turnover per game in the three wins after entering the USC Upstate contest at 15.1 turnovers forced per game.
• Kennesaw State’s Taylor Mills continues to lead the Owl offense this season as she leads the team in scoring at 13.2 PPG. She is the only freshman in the A-Sun to lead her team in scoring. Mills is also the top scoring freshman in the conference and sixth overall.