The Matchup
The Queens University of Charlotte women's basketball team (0-2, 0-2 SAC) makes their 2020-21 home debut, Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Anderson University (S.C.) inside Curry Arena. Head coach
Jen Brown looks to earn her first win as head coach for the Royals.
Last Time Out
Queens dropped a hard-fought contest against the Coker Cobras (1-3, 1-3 SAC) on Thursday afternoon in Hartsville, S.C. Newcomers - freshman
Kristy Hamze (21 points) and Junior
Christina Deng (11 points, 15 rebounds) – led the way for the Royals. Sophomore
Kalaya Hall (11 points) rounded out the top scorers on the afternoon.
The Royals took a 45-42 lead into the fourth quarter, and received contributions up-and-down the roster.
Kristian Eanes added nine points and seven rebounds. The senior guard made an impact down the stretch in crunch-time, connecting on an easy drive to the basket to keep Queens in striking distance. Hamze answered a Cobra's dagger three-pointer, with a corner three of her own in the final minutes of regulation. Hall pulled up from the top of the key with four seconds remaining, stuck a three and cut the deficit to two. Coker connected on a pair of free throws to seal the 66-62 win.
Coaching the Royals
Queens welcomes new head coach,
Jen Brown, to lead the way for the Royals this season. Brown, a 2008 graduate and standout forward at James Madison (JMU), joins Queens following four seasons on the women's coaching staff at Virginia Tech as the top assistant. She held previous assistant coaching roles at Colgate (two years) and JMU (six years).
Opponent
- The Trojans (3-2, 3-2 SAC) have carried the momentum from a season ago into 2020-21, compiling a 3-2 record thus far. Led by sophomore's Jalyn Spurlin (14.5 ppg), McKenzie Gadson (11.8 ppg) and senior forward Taylor Hair (12.0 ppg), -
- Anderson is coming off a 26-5 campaign last season. They were bounced in the SAC Championship game by Tusculum, 61-49. In that game, Gadson netted 15 points with four assists in 37 minutes as a freshman.
- The Trojans earned a bid to the 2019-20 NCAA Southeast Region Tournament (Quarterfinals) prior to the stoppage of play.
- Head coach Jonathon Barbaree enters his fifth season at the helm. He is a two-time defending SAC Coach of the Year, with a combined record of 56-8 over the past two seasons.
Series History
- Anderson leads the all-time series, 33-8. They have defeated the Royals in 12-straight meetings,
- The first matchup occurred during the 1998-99 season (Nov. 28) when both teams were members of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC), now known as Conference Carolinas. Anderson topped Queens, 85-77, in that contest on their home floor. Queens beat the Trojans for the first time later that season, 93-66 on January 30 in Charlotte.
- The Royals' defeated Anderson during their first season as a member of the SAC (2013-14) – on March 1, 2014 – earning a 68-57 home win.
- Last season, the Trojans earned the 2-0 sweep. In the 2019-20 conference-play opener, then-junior guard
Kristian Eanes flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and a career-high six steals.
