Game Preview: Women's Basketball Travels to Columbus State CC, Aims For Fifth Straight
Columbus, OH - RVC Women's Basketball looks to make it five straight wins as they enter Thanksgiving Break. The Golden Eagles will square off in a NJCAA DIII match-up against Columbus State Community College today at 1 PM EST.
#2 Rock Valley College (4-2)
Probable Starters
PG-Â
Chrisseesha Clark, 5'5, So., Rockford, IL; 5.3 ppg, 3.7 apg
SG-Â
Jaycee Cleaver, 5'8, So., Davis, IL; 14.7 ppg, 4.8 apg
G-Â
Emily Cox, 5'9, Fr., Erie, IL; 4.8 ppg, 2.2 apg
PF-Â
Anastasia Karaivanova, 6'0, Fr., Bulgaria; 5.3 ppg, 5.7 Â rpg
C-Â
Tierra McGowan, 6'4, So., Chicago, IL; 19.7 ppg, 11.7 rpg
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Columbus State Community College (1-5)
Probable Starters
G- Carli Codner-Pinto, 5'5, So., Columbus, OH; 24.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
G- Nycole Carter, 5'4, Fr., Hilliard, OH; 6 ppg, 3 rpg
F-Â Â Antishay Rahim, 5'10, Fr., Grove City, OH; 4 ppg, 13 rpg
F- Hunter Kershaw, 6'0., So, Columbus, OH; 21 ppg, 6.7 rpg
C- Ameerah Attia, 6'0, So., Grove City, OH; 3.3 ppg, 6 rpg
Game Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… RVC Women's Basketball has entered into the 2016-2017 season ranked #2 in the NJCAA DIII Preseason Poll… The Golden Eagles are coming off four straight wins... The last RVC victory was Tuesday against NJCAA DII McHenry County College... The Golden Eagles were led by sophomore captains
Tierra McGowan with 29 points and 19 rebounds, and
Jaycee Cleaver who filled up the stat sheet with 13 points 11 rebounds, and 6 assists... This is the last game before the Thanksgiving holiday for the Golden Eagles.
Columbus State Notes
Columbus State is a NJCAA DIII institution, having fully converted from NJCAA DIIÂ beginning in the 2016-17 academic year... The Cougars compete in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference... Columbus State is entering the game with a 1-5 record... They are led by a pair of sophomores, Carli Codner-Pinto and Hunter Kershaw, who both averaging over 20 points a game... Columbus State Community College is led by Head Coach Byron Allgood.
Misty Opat is in her 8th year as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Rock Valley College. Opat has established her program as one of the best in the history of the NJCAA. Her program has won three NJCAA DIII National Championships (2012, 2013, 2015) in the past four seasons and finished in National Runner-Up in 2014. Entering this season, Opat has compiled an overall record of 174-54 (.763). She was named Spalding NJCAA DIII National Coach of the Year in 2015, has been named the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year four times, the Region IV Coach of the Year four times, the District 2 Coach of the Year four times, and the Coach of the NJCAA DIII National Tournament three times. Prior to RVC, Opat accumulated seven years of NCAA Division I coaching experience. From 1999-2002 she served as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she also served as the Recruiting Coordinator. In 2000 her UIC recruiting class was ranked 19th in the country for NCAA Division I. Opat also held assistant coaching positions at Fresno State University (1998-99) and the University of Kansas (1995-1998) where in both cases she was also heavily involved in recruiting and scouting. Opat earned an Associate of Science degree from Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas, where she was a two-year team captain in basketball and was named to the all-conference and all-region teams in both seasons. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, where she earned NAIA All-American honors as a player. Opat then went on to obtain a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas.
