Eagles home for a change, chance to get first win
The Winthrop women’s basketball team will finally play its home opener on Saturday after beginning the season with five road games when the Eagles host North Carolina Central in the Winthrop Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
The Eagles are still looking for their first win following an opening schedule that has included games against two Top 25 teams, No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 15 Duke, and two teams, Akron and Ohio, who began the season ranked in the mid-major Top 25.
The N.C. Central Eagles are also be looking for its first win of the young season as they come into the game with a 0-3 record.
Winthrop has had its way against NCCU, winning all six previous meetings against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member including a 71-63 decision in Durham last year.
Coach Kevin Cook’s squad, which lost 6-3 senior and preseason All-Big South selection Schaquilla Nunn to a broken foot one week before the season began, is still trying to find its identity without its big center and most experienced player. Nunn will redshirt this year and return for her final season in 2016-17.
Without Nunn, the Eagles are relying on its other preseason All-BSC performer Erica Williams, a 5-10 forward/guard, and 5-8 junior guard Aliyah Kilpatrick to carry the scoring load. Williams is averaging 16.8 points while Kilpatrick is scoring 10.6 points per game. Williams has scored in double figures in 19 straight games dating back to last year.
Cook is looking for another player or two to step up and provide scoring support for Williams and Kilpatrick. Freshman Arianne Whitaker got off to a strong start with 14 points against Oklahoma in the season opener and followed that with eight points and nine rebounds against Duke, and sophomore post player Ezinne Mbamalu had 10 in the Duke game, but no other Eagle has reached double figures.
The Eagles coach is also looking for his team to improve its shooting accuracy, both from the field and from the free throw line. Winthrop heads into the NCCU game shooting 32 percent overall from the floor and just 19 percent from behind the 3-point line. The Eagles are also having trouble from the free throw line as they have made just 50 percent of their charity tosses (40 for 80).
Compounding the offensive issues has been the opponents’ ability to knock down 3-pointers. In the past two games, Ohio and Furman have combined to make 30 three-pointers in 76 attempts compared to just 5 for 38 by Winthrop. Over the first five games, Winthrop’s opponents have taken almost twice as many 3-pointers (133-67) and have connected on nearly four times as many (50-13).
The ticket window at the Winthrop Coliseum will open at noon on Saturday. The game will also be broadcast on 104.1 The Bridge and video streamed on the Big South Network.
This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Eagles home for a change, chance to get first win."