GAME INFORMATION
Presbyterian Blue Hose (17-14, BSC: 8-8) at Charleston Southern Buccaneers (11-18, BSC: 8-8)
DATE: Thursday, March 7 at 2:00 p.m.
SITE: Qubein Center (High Point, N.C.)
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TICKETS: BigSouthSports.com
PRESBYTERIAN
Record: 17-14, BSC: 8-8
Last Game: Saturday, March 2 2024 – Charleston Southern 68, Presbyterian 49
Head Coach: Alaura Sharp (6th Season)
Record at PC: 72-101
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
Record: 11-18, BSC: 8-8
Last Game: Saturday, March 2 2024 – Charleston Southern 68, Presbyterian 49
Head Coach: Clarisse White (3rd Season)
Record at CSU: 18-70
LAST TIME OUT
After winning five straight conference games, the Blue Hose fell to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in their final game of the regular season. Tilda Sjokvist tallied seven assists while Mara Neira led the team with 12 points. The team looks for redemption against the Buccaneers in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament after falling to CSU twice this season.
A LOOK AT THE 2024 BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT BRACKET
The Blue Hose were given the five seed going into the tournament after a three-way tie for fourth place with an 8-8 conference record. Charleston Southern and Winthrop also ended the regular season with .500 record. Since Charleston Southern beat both PC and Winthrop twice each they earned the No. 4 seed. Presbyterian lost to CSU twice but beat Winthrop twice so they took the No. 5 seed. Winthrop lost to both the Blue Hose and CSU twice putting them at the No. 6 seed.
The winner of No. 5 Presbyterian vs No. 4 Charleston Southern will move on to the semifinals to face the winner of the No. 1 High Point vs either the No. 8 or No. 9 seed after their play in game. From there the winner will continue on to play on Sunday in the Big South Championship to see who will be cutting down the nets that night.
BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Presbyterian has only played the Buccaneers one time in the postseason back in 2015 where PC won 47-39 before falling to High Point in the semifinals. Presby has totaled a 7-10 Big South Tournament Record with wins over Longwood (x2, 2014 & 2020), Charleston Southern (2015), Gardner-Webb (2016), High Point (2017), and Winthrop (x2, 2019 & 2022).
BLUE HOSE DOUBLE FIGURE SCORERS
Over their 31 games throughout the regular season, Presbyterian has had nine different players who have scored in double-figures. Brady (21 times), Sjökvist (20 times), Neira (15 times), Herrin (four times), Kline (four times) Kierscht (three times), Cunill (three times), Kindseth (twice), and Carrillo (once) have all tallied double-digit scoring games this season.
SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
Over their 16 conference games this season, the Buccaneers have put up an 8-8 record with wins over Presbyterian (x2), Gardner-Webb (x2), Winthrop (x2), Radford, and USC Upstate. The team has averaged 61.4 points per game and 39.3 rebounds per game over their 29 games this season. Redshirt senior forward Kennedi Jackson leads the team with 14.5 ppg while sophomore guard Catherine Alben is close behind with 14.2 ppg. Junior guard/forward Madison Adamson leads the team with 8.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, and averages 7.3 ppg.
PRESBYTERIAN – CHARLESTON SOUTHERN SERIES
Wednesday marks the 34th time that these two teams have met since Presbyterian joined Division I in 2007. The first time that these two teams met was in the 2007-08 season where the Buccaneers won 74-51. The last time we saw action between the two teams was last Saturday when CSU won 68-49. Presbyterian leads the all-time series between the two teams with a 18-15 record.
BIG SOUTH STAT LEADERS
As a team, Presbyterian leads the conference with 13.2 assists per game and for holding opponents 59.7 ppg. The team is also ranked second for their 40.4 field goal percentage, a 30.6 shooting percentage from distance, a +2.1-rebounding margin, and for their 0.8 assist to turnover ratio. Individually, the Blue Hose have three players who are ranked in the top 10 in scoring, Brady is ranked seventh for her 12.4 ppg, Sjokvist is in eighth with 12.1 ppg, and Neira is in tenth with 11.5 ppg. Sjokvist is also ranked third for averaging 3.5 apg. Brady is ranked third in the conference for her 79.0 free throw percentage. Neira is currently tied for second in the Big South with an average of 2.3 three-point field goals per game while Sjokvist is in sixth with 1.6. Sjokvist is also tied for second for the most minutes played in the league with 33.4 minutes per game.
THE 1000 POINT CLUB
On Wednesday, January 10 Presbyterian beat the Winthrop Eagles with a score of 59-43. With 2:05 left in this game junior Mara Neira scored a three-point shot which was the 1000th point of her collegiate career. Later in the season the Blue Hose hosted the High Point Panthers for the team's breast cancer awareness game. Sixth year center Bryanna Brady scored her 1000th career point with a free throw and 2:45 left in the game.
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY AWARDS
Presbyterian beat the Columbia College Koalas 62-53 on Sunday, December 31. Brady scored a new season-high of 27 points while shooting 73.3% (11-of-15) from the field. She also shot 62.5% (5-of-8) from the free throw line and dished out two assists. Defensively, Brady helped the team hold the Koalas to no points for almost 11 minutes in the second half. She added four rebounds and a block to her efforts. This is the second time that Brady earned this award and the fourth Big South Player of the Week award that the Blue Hose have received so far this season.
