Cougars Chicago-Bound for Thanksgiving
11/25/2009 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The College of Charleston women's basketball team will spend the Thanksgiving Holiday in Chicago, Ill., at the Doubletree White Invitational, hosted by Northwestern. The Cougars face the Wildcats Friday, Nov. 27 at 6:30 p.m., before taking on Iowa State Saturday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m.
The game against the Wildcats will air live on TV on the Big Ten Network.
The Cougars are 3-1 and riding a three-game winning streak. Charleston is coming off a week that saw the team defeat ACC opponent Clemson, 68-55, and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Texas San Antonio, 62-45.
Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) led the Cougars in the win over UTSA. She scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down a career-best 19 rebounds to earn Southern Conference Player-of-the-Week honors. After heading into the locker room at half only leading 29-26, the Cougars held the Roadrunners to just 19 points and scored 33 to take the 17-point win.
The Cougars are led overall by Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) with 14.8 points per game, which ranks fifth in the Southern Conference. She is second in the league in assists with 4.3 a game. Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) follows in scoring with 13.8 a game, while Deidra Jones is tied for first in the league and leads the team in rebounds with 10.0 a game. She is also third on the team in scoring with 11.8 points a game.
Charleston as a team is ranked second in the Southern Conference in scoring offense with 71.0 and fourth in scoring defense with 64.8.
Northwestern is 4-0 after defeating Depaul 59-55 in its latest game. Beth Marshall led the Wildcats with 14 points. Early in the season the Wildcats are led by Amy Jaeschke with her 16.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
Iowa State is 1-1 and is led by Anna Prins with 14.5 points per game. She is followed by Kelsey Bolte 12.5 a game and Chelsea Poppens with 12.0 a game. Denae Stuckey paces the team in rebounds with 6.0 a game. The Cyclones are coming off a 27-9 season that saw them advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time in school history. Iowa State is coming off a 78-75 loss to Drake Nov. 22.
Iowa State will be the second ranked opponent the Cougars have faced this season. The Cyclones are ranked 24th in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll. North Carolina was ranked fifth when the Cougars and Tar Heels met Nov. 13.
The Cougars will face their first Big Ten and Big 12 opponents when they face Northwestern and Iowa State. Charleston has never played any of the teams currently in the Big Ten or Big 12 Conferences.
