BUIES CREEK - Campbell women's basketball begins its Big South title defense, opening up conference play against Winthrop on Dec. 30 and 31 at Gore Arena. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 2:00 PM on ESPN+.
The Fighting Camels (3-2, 0-0) are the last team to have not played a Big South game so far. Winthrop (2-3, 1-1) split games against USC Upstate earlier this month.
HOW TO TUNE IN
LAST TIME OUT
- Campbell closed out non-conference play with a 68-41 win over South Carolina State on Dec. 20
- Campbell held S.C. State to 26.8% shooting from the field, the best mark for the CU defense this season while also forcing a season-high 25 turnovers and nine blocked shots
- Shy Tuelle posted a season-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and three steals in 20 minutes
- Faith Price came off the bench to add a season-high 11 points including making three shots from beyond the arc
- Lauren McNamara-Clement blocked a career-high five shots, moving up to fifth on the program's all-time blocks list (73 total)
- Taya Bolden scored seven points while adding a team-high 11 boards marking the fourth time this season the forward has had double-digit rebounds in a game
NOTABLES
- CU is seeking its 736th win in program history on Sunday against S.C. State (736-547)
- Head coach Ronny Fisher is seeking his 84th win as head coach of the Fighting Camels (83-48) and 48th win in the Big South (47-27)
- Campbell is 4-1 in Big South openers under Fisher
- Rank No. 19 nationally and first in the Big South in scoring defense, holding foes to just 53.6 points per game
- Rank No. 26 nationally and first in the Big South in field goal percentage defense at 33.8% and No. 22 nationally and first in the Big South in three-point field goal percentage defense at 23.1%
- Rank No. 41 nationally and first in the Big South in rebounds per game at 44.0
- Lauren McNamara-Clement ranks No. 26 nationally and second in the Big South in blocks per game at 2.40
- Taya Bolden ranks No. 13 nationally and No. 2 in the Big South in rebounds per game at 11.0 and No. 27 nationally and No. 2 in the Big South in offensive rebounds per game at 4.0
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- Led by interim head coach Semeka Randall-Lay, Winthrop returns two starters from last season's team that went 8-12 in the Big South in Maleeah Langstaff and Anika Riley while also welcoming seven newcomers to the roster
- The Eagles currently hold a 2-3 record overall and a 1-1 record in the Big South after splitting games against USC Upstate earlier in the month
- Sophomore Myra Strickland leads the Eagles in scoring at 14.4 points per game
- Winthrop leads the Big South in field goal percentage, shooting 40.6%
- The Eagles also lead the Big South in rebounding margin (+7.0) but rank behind Campbell (44.0) in rebounds per game at 43.2
- The Eagles were picked to finish last in the league in the Big South Preseason Poll
SERIES HISTORY (CU LEADS 29-11)
- Campbell holds a 29-11 record all-time against the Eagles in a series dating back to 1982
- The Camels have won the last three games against Winthrop and have a 14-5 record at home
- Head Coach Ronny Fisher is 8-2 against Winthrop since taking over in 2016-17
BOLDEN NEARING 800 REBOUNDS
- Taya Bolden is closing in on 800 career rebounds, currently sitting at 780 after collecting 11 against South Carolina State (12/20)
- Bolden's 780 career rebounds rank No. 11 among Division-I active career leaders, No. 11 in Campbell history and No. 29 in Big South history
L-MAC CLIMBING THE BLOCKS LIST
- Senior forward Lauren McNamara-Clement moved up to 5th all-time in program history for career blocks, with 73 total after a career-high five blocked shots against S.C. State (12/20) passing Ashley James (2010-2014)
