LOUISVILLE, Ky. (January 17, 2024) – The University of North Alabama women's basketball team hits the road for its first away trip of 2024, beginning with a matchup against the Bellarmine Knights in Louisville, Ky. on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT.
The Lions continue Atlantic Sun Conference play on the road following their recent loss at home to the Lipscomb Bisons. UNA looks to earn their second win in conference play after defeating Austin Peay last Thursday.
Both teams are meeting for the first of two regular season games this season. The Knights and Lions will meet again on Feb. 17 in Bellarmine's return trip to CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall.
Tickets are available for purchase through TicketMaster. Live stats will be provided courtesy of SIDEARM, and the game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
MATCHUP
North Alabama at Bellarmine
Thursday, January 18, 2024
5:30 p.m.
Game Notes | Live Stats | Tickets | Watch
NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA enters with a 5-11 overall record and a 1-2 record in ASUN play. North Alabama ranks third in the ASUN with 70.7 points per game. UNA also rank among the top three ASUN teams in the following categories: free throw percentage (75.3 percent/first), three-point percentage (33.4 percent/first), team assists (15.1 per game/second), three pointers per game (8.8 per game/second) and bench points per game (22.9/third).
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS: Bellarmine carries a 5-10 record into the contest against the Lions, posting a 3-3 record at home and 2-7 record on the road. The Knights are in search of their first conference win, dropping their previous three ASUN games to Austin Peay, Lipscomb and EKU. The leading scorer is redshirt junior forward Hayley Harrison, who's 14.3 PPG rounds out the top five scoring leaders in the conference. The head coach of the Knights is Chancellor Dugan in her 12th season at Bellarmine.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama and Bellarmine are meeting for the 11th time with the Lions leading the series 8-2. UNA is on a four-game winning streak against the Knights, sweeping the two-game season series the past two seasons. All-time, North Alabama is 3-1 when playing on the road against the Knights. In the last meeting between the two teams, the Lions defeated Bellarmine 66-49 in Louisville on Feb. 19, 2023. Emma Kate Tittle and Alexis Callins combined for 27 points in the last win.
CRUCE NAMED ASUN NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: Graduate forward Allie Craig Cruce was named Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Week for the week of Jan. 8-14, the league announced on Tuesday. In two contests against Austin Peay and Lipscomb, Cruce started both games and played nearly 60 minutes. She averaged 21.5 points per game on 60.9 percent shooting for North Alabama, adding 4.5 rebounds per contest for her first career ASUN honor. She scored a career-high 27 points in the Lions' 79-75 victory over the Govs, then followed the performance with 16 points against Lipscomb two days later.
NO PRESSURE: Free throws may be free, but North Alabama has made teams pay from the charity stipe this season. The Lions lead the ASUN in free-throw percentage and rank No. 58 in the nation. The current average would break North Alabama's Division I record by 0.2 percent if the season ended today and would be the most since 2008-09, when the UNA shot 81.5 percent as a team.
CALLINS CAN SCORE (A LOT): Callins' 15.4 PPG ranks fourth in the ASUN and would mark a new Division I high at UNA for individual season scoring average. The 15.4 PPG total is on pace to be the highest since Emma Wallen in 2017-18 with 18.3 PPG. Callins leads the ASUN with 2.81 three pointers per game with 45 makes. Callins' three-point game is nationally ranked 23rd in makes per game and 24th in total makes.
CHARLTON KEEPS IT COOL: Freshman guard Veronaye Charlton continues to make an impact in her first season at UNA. Charlton brings energy whenever she touches the court, but her calling card is remaining cool, calm and collected from the charity stripe. She checks in at 85.4 percent from the line, leading the ASUN and ranking 58th nationally.
DROPPING DIMES: Senior guard Sara Wohlgemuth is in the ASUN lead and ranks 25th nationally with 5.7 assists per game. Her 91 assists lead the ASUN as well, with a 23rd national ranking. She is also second in the ASUN with a 1.75 assist/turnover ratio.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
