FORT MYERS, Fla. – Eastern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team takes its 1-0 record to Florida for a pair of games in the Florida Gulf Coast University Tournament. The Lady Colonels will face Valparaiso University in the opening round at 5 p.m. on Friday. EKU defeated West Virginia Tech, 90-59, in its season opener. The Crusaders are 0-4 against a tough early-season schedule.
The hosts Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast and Central Connecticut State will face each other in the second first round game at 7 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be played on Saturday at 5 and 7 p.m.
Four players scored in double figures and 11 of the 12 Lady Colonels scratched the scoring column as Eastern opened its 2007-08 campaign by beating West Virginia Tech on Saturday at McBrayer Arena. Senior Crystal Jones led EKU with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Colonels out-rebounded West Virginia Tech 64-38 and 25 EKU steals contributed to 35 Golden Bear turnovers.
Jones added six assists, four blocks and six steals to go along with her double-double. Fellow senior guards Niki Avery and Ashley Cazee added 15 points and 14 points respectively. Sophomore Shavonne Jones totaled 12 points and seven rebounds.
Newcomers LaTonyah Bentley and LaTanya Stokes came off the bench to help the rebounding effort. Bentley grabbed nine boards in only 12 minutes of play. Stokes had eight rebounds and eight points in 16 minutes of action.
Valpo’s four losses have come to Bowling Green State (81-56), Purdue (65-62), Cincinnati (96-69) and Xavier (64-53). All four games were on the road.
Valparaiso posted a 20-11 record last season and an 11-3 mark in the Mid-Continent Conference. The Crusaders finished second in the Mid-Con last season but will play in the Horizon League this season. Eight letter winners and two starters return from the 2006-07 squad.
Junior Aimee Litka is leading the Crusaders this season with an average of 9.8 points per game. Sarah Ott is the team’s leading rebounder with 4.8 boards per game, and is also averaging 7.8 points per contest.
Both teams played exhibition games against Australia’s Showtime Skins. EKU beat the Skins 84-56 four days after Valpo dispatched Showtime 85-66.
Florida Gulf Coast dropped its season-opener to No. 19 Florida State by a score of 93-53. The Eagles are in their first season at the Division I level. FGCU advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Division II tournament last season and finished with a 34-1 record.
Central Connecticut State is 0-3 after three road defeats to open the 2007-08 season. The Blue Devils have lost to Virginia Commonwealth (98-44), New Hampshire (71-59) and Western Michigan (88-65).
