UC Women's Basketball Jumps to #10 in the Country,
Remain #1 in the East Region
February 10, 2005
Ever since the University of Charleston broke into the USA Today/ ESPN/ WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll on January 18, they have continued to rise in the rankings each week. According to the latest USA Today/ ESPN/ WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll released on the February 8, UC jumped four places from last week and are currently ranked #10 in the country. The Golden Eagles are currently 20-2 overall and tout an impressive undefeated West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record of 13-0. With a current winning streak of 13 games, UC has not lost a contest since December 11 when they were defeated on the road by Virginia Union 59-64.
According to the latest regional poll released by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee on Feb. 9, UC remains the top-ranked team in the East Region for the second straight week. Other WVIAC schools included in the poll were Fairmont State at #3, Glenville State at #6, and Wheeling Jesuit at #8. Despite UC's #1 ranking in the East Region, the highest nationally ranked team according to the USA Today/ ESPN/ WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll is Anderson College (SC) who is currently ranked #6 in the nation, but is only fourth in the East Region. WVIAC foe Fairmont State remains in third place in the regional poll despite moving up one spot in the national poll to #7.
UC's next contest will be on Feb. 10 at Fairmont in a showdown of two of the nation's top ten teams. This vital contest will help to crown the WVIAC Regular Season Champion as well as help to decide where the East Regional Tournament will be held. The Golden Eagles will look to continue to move up in the national rankings by downing Fairmont on their path to establishing themselves as one of the nation's elite programs. Fairmont is eager to prove they deserve their #8 ranking by attempting to derail the high flying UC offense (78.5 ppg) led by Lisa Lee (19.5 ppg), who has been named WVIAC Player of the Week the past three weeks. Lee may be the team leader in individual awards and accolades, but UC has a multitude of threats on the offensive end of the court. Starters Courtney Thomas (14.5 ppg), Rachel Pike (8.7 ppg), Laura Kinsler (10.8 ppg), and Erica McElroy (5.2 ppg) are all capable of scoring in double figures on any given night. Even when Head Coach Sherry Winn goes to her bench, the UC offense does not miss a beat. Emily Jones (8.4 ppg) and Mandy Ebel (5.6 ppg) provide balance and depth to the UC attack and have come off the bench to score as many as 14 points each in a single game.
As the regular season draws to an end, UC is in excellent position heading into the WVIAC Tournament to claim the crown. However, UC has set their sights on not only winning the WVIAC title, but also progressing farther in the East Regional Tournament than last year. After being defeated in the First Round by University of California (PA), who eventually went on to win the national championship, the Golden Eagles gained valuable NCAA Tournament experience. In their quest for national prominence, the Golden Eagles are well on their way to achieving their goals.