The Matchup
The Queens University of Charlotte women's basketball team meets the Furman Paladins (2-5, 0-0) for the first time in program history, today at 2 p.m. in Greenville, S.C.
Last Time Out
Queens opened the new year with a gritty 80-74 loss at home against the Wingate Bulldogs (1-3, 1-2 SAC). Senior
Kristian Eanes went wire-to-wire for the Royals, notching a team-high 22 points in 40 minutes of action. Freshman guard
Kristy Hamze followed with 16 points. Eanes leaped into third-place all-time in minutes played (2,287) in 80 career games. A late 8-0 run kept them within striking distance of the Bulldogs down the stretching, pulling within two. Wingate knocked down seven clutch free throws to secure the win.
1,000-Point Club
Against the Anderson Trojans (S.C.) (Dec. 12), Eanes (12 points) made Queens women's basketball history. The Pittsboro, N.C. native became the 14th player in program history to score 1,000 points in her career. Averaging 12.7 points-per-game (ppg) in for her career and an all-time FG percentage of 43.6, Eanes is known for her ability to get to the rim, make contested shots and step-up in big moments for her team. She scored 20-plus points in 10 games a season ago and earned First Team All-SAC honors. Now with 1,026 points total, Eanes sits 39 points away from jumping into the top-10 scorers in program history (Betsy Bergdoll, 1064 points, 1990-93).
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
- Furman kicked off the 2020-21 campaign at Clemson on November 25 (L, 83-43). They've played just one game at home inside Timmons Arena -- an 81-28 win over Converse College on December 16. Most recently, the Paladins dropped a road matchup at Georgia, 69-43 on Sunday, December 20. They also squared-off against SEC powerhouse, Tennessee, on December 10 (L, 90-53).
- Redshirt senior guard Tierra Hodges leads the way for the Paladins, averaging a double-double through seven games with 16.3 points and 10.1 rebounds-per-game (rpg). She scored a season-high 23 points at Georgia State on December 6.
- The Paladins have a SoCon star in the making in freshman guard Tate Walters. The Buford, Ga. native earned conference player of the week honors for the week of December 1-7, averaging 20 ppg. She led with 25 points in a 73-58 road victory over Georgia Southern on December 3.
- Head coach Jackie Carson is in her 11
th-season at the helm for Furman. The Paladin Hall of Famer led the squad to their second-ever 19-win campaign in 2019-20. Carson was an assistant coach at James Madison University for five seasons, from 2006-2010. Queens head coach
Jen Brown played for the Dukes from 2005-2008.
