(RV) Raven Women's Basketball returns home for their second Heart of America Athletic Conference game of the season at Noon on Saturday with the MNU Pioneers.
Saturday is our Christmas Toy Challenge with admission free to anyone who brings a new, unopened toy to the ticket gate for either the women's game or men's game.
The Matchup: Saturday's meeting marks the 66th meeting between the Benedictine and MNU as members of the same conference either in a regular-season meeting or tournament. That is the most games against a Heart opponent for the Ravens followed by Evangel (65), Baker (64), CMU (62), and Missouri Valley (61). ... The Pioneers hold a 35-31 series lead heading into their first meeting of the season. ... The two teams split their two meetings last year with Benedictine earning a 68-64 win in overtime inside the Cook Center on the MNU campus on Jan. 20.
Tip-Off: The Ravens are currently 8th in the NAIA in rebounding margin. In nine games this season, they are outrebounding their opponents by 12.8 rebounds per game. They are currently averaging 44.9 rebounds per game. ... MNU enters their third Heart game averaging 63.1 points per game, ranking 8th overall in the conference. Of that point per game average, the five Pioneer starters - Gonzalez, Gooch, Smith, Sargent and Scott - have combined for 70.1 percent of MNU's total scoring as they average a collective 44.8 points per game. ... Two Ravens are closing in on the 1,000-point scoring mark as we enter the second game of the Heart schedule. Skylar Washington sits at 972 points while Natalie Smaron sits at 892 points. ... Entering play with MNU, Benedictine has their into 19.9 turnovers per game. That has translated to 16.2 points per game. MNU has been forced into 115 turnovers in seven games at an average of 16.4 per game. They have allowed their opponents to score an average of 15.1 points off those turnovers. ... Heading into their first meeting of the season, each team is averaging over 28 points per game in the paint. Benedictine holds a slight advantage at 29.1 per game to MNU at 28.4 per game. The Pioneers are averaging 45 percent of their total scoring in the paint whereas the Ravens are at 39.5 percent.
Up Next: Benedictine returns to the road on Dec. 7, traveling to Springfield, Mo., for a meeting with the Evangel University Valor. MNU is off until hosting Evangel in Olathe on Dec. 11.
#UnleashGreatness
