BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Campbell women's basketball team begins its final three-game road trip prior to the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Championships on Thursday at Presbyterian with the tip set for 7 p.m. inside the Templeton Center.
Fans can follow the action with links to live stats and video through the Big South Network on the schedule page of GoCamels.com. In-game updates can be found by following @GoCamelsWBB on Twitter.
Campbell has posted an 18-8 overall record and 10-5 mark in Big South contests, topping Longwood (64-51), Radford (66-52), Winthrop (84-69), Gardner-Webb (65-46) and UNC Asheville (64-39) during its current five-game winning streak.
The team has only moved up to fourth in the league, but is just a half-game back of second behind Winthrop and Presbyterian. It will be a race to the end of the regular season with contests against Charleston Southern and High Point prior to the tournament in March.
Playing in their final home games against UNC Asheville were seniors Tonisha Baker (High Point, N.C.), Jazmine Cooper (Faytteville, N.C.) and Monique Spry (Wilson, N.C.), who were recognized prior to the game. Baker paced the team with 11 points, while the Lady Camels received 29 secondary points from the bench.
"There was a lot of scoring from a lot of different people," said head coach Wanda Watkins. "It is really good to see, but not something that happens all the time. We were able to play some people against UNCA and they produced, which has been a strong point throughout our season."
Of the 20 turnovers forced, Campbell scored 29 points directly from them. It was the seventh-straight contest that the Lady Camels recorded at least 20 turnovers by their opponent.
The contest against the Bulldogs turned following a 17-2 run that built a 33-19 advantage at halftime. The battle of the boards favored Campbell, 41-34, for the first time in four games thanks to 24 second-half rebounds.
Head coach Wanda Watkins moved one step closer to victory No. 500 and now as 496 in her career. Campbell did notch its 100th win as a member of the Big South against Gardner-Webb.
In the Big South rankings, the Lady Camels pace the league in Assists (15.8), Steals (11.6), Turnover Margin (+2.62) and Assists/Turnover Ratio (0.9). The team falls inside the top-25 nationally in Assists at 17th, Steals at 12.0 and 3-Point Field Goal Pct. at 21st, while Baker is 19th in steals/game at 3.15.
In the all-time series, Campbell has a 2-2 mark all-time against Presbyterian in the past three seasons. Presbyterian captured a 68-62 OT victory early this year after trailing 40-39 at the half. The Lady Camels took a 53-44 decision in Clinton, S.C., on Jan. 28, 2012 and later won 68-44 at Gore Arena on Feb. 27. The Blue Hose took the only non-league meeting 53-51 at home on Dec. 20, 2010.
Presbyterian has a 15-10 overall mark and 10-4 record in the Big South with league victories over Charleston So. (58-57, 79-61), Coastal Carolina (50-30, 65-54), Liberty (51-49), Campbell (68-62 OT), Longwood (71-62), UNC Asheville (56-49, 71-40) and Gardner-Webb (57-48). The Blue Hose have picked up non-conference wins against Clemson (49-46), Southern Wesleyan (62-50), N.C. Central (49-37), Brevard (69-46) and UCF (53-49).
The trio of Mariah Pietrowski, Karlee Taylor and Dria David have provided consistent scoring for the Blue Hose offense with 10.9, 10.7 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. The top rebounders have been Mariah Pietrowski (5.7) and Shonda Burnside (4.1). David paces the squad with 92 assists and 46 steals.
Presbyterian shoots at a 40.7 pct. rate and posts 50.2 points per game. The team grabs 33.9 rebounds per contest.
Campbell heads to Charleston Southern on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip before finishing up the regular season on Feb. 28 at High Point.
