EMITSBURG, MD. – The Campbell women's basketball team has opened the season with three-straight victories and begins a four-game stretch on the road with the first stop at Mount St. Mary's on Monday. The tip is set for 7 p.m. and fans can follow that action with live stats, free audio, video and twitter (@GoCamelsWBB) with links available on the schedule page of GoCamels.com.
The Lady Camels have used a balance offense so far this season with an average of 10 players having contributed each game to the team's 74.1 points per contest. The team boasts a .491 shooting pct. from the field and a .455 pct. beyond the arc.
"There is no selfishness to my knowledge on this basketball team," said head coach Wanda Watkins. "I love working with these kids and the intensity level that they have brought in practice is good. There is still a lot that we need to work on."
Senior Tonisha Baker (High Point, N.C.) has posted 12 points on average through three games, while freshman Zena Lovette (High Point, N.C.) and junior Monique Spry (Wilson, N.C.) have chipped in 9.7 points each.
Defense has been an area of emphasis for the young Campbell team as it has compiled a plus-17.3 rebounding margin and forced 12.3 steals per game, leading to 20.7 turnover.
"We take pride in playing defense," said Baker. "Coach Watkins always tells us that defense creates the offense. We did just that [against N.C. Central] and got a few fastbreak points. We were also able to find gaps on the offensive end and hit the open players."
Doing most of the damage on the boards are sophomore Kiera Gaines (Mechanicsville, Va.) and junior Ashley James (Round Rock, Texas) grabbing 19 and 18 rebounds, respectively, this year.
This will be the home opener for Mount St. Mary's, who is 13-12 all-time n opening contests at Knott Arena. The Mount is 1-1 on the campaign, starting with an 88-47 loss at No. 6 Maryland and capturing a 70-67 victory at Rider.
"It is good for us to go out and grind it out on the road, so that we can really see what we are made of," said coach Watkins. "I am looking forward to making this trip because we have some alumni and fans in the D.C. area that will make the trip. I really hope that the next couple of games will help us grow and become more consistent as a team."
Mount St. Mary's is hitting at a .335 rate as a squad from the field and .279 pct. behind the three-point arc, while averaging 58.5 points. Pacing the offense is the duo of Sydney Henderson and Kayla Grossett with 17.5 and 15.5 points per contest, respectively.
The team has pulled down an average of 17.5 rebounds per game with Henderson leading the way with six boards a contest. Selina Mann runs the point with 4.0 assists per game and also has contributed a team-best 4.5 steals.
Campbell faces a tough challenge at the ECU Pirate Invitational with contests scheduled against Appalachian State and East Carolina. The matchup with the Mountaineers is set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, before facing the host Pirates on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
The Lady Camels return to Gore Arena on Dec. 3 with Education Day at 11:45 a.m. against Columbia (S.C.) College.
