Rock Valley College Athletics

Game Preview: #1 RVC Takes On College of DuPage

2/8/2017 9:04:00 AM

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Rockford, IL - #1 RVC Women's Basketball hosts College of DuPage on Wednesday, February 8th, 2017. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM in the Physical Education Center.

Probable Starters

#1 NJCAA DIII Rock Valley College (22-3, 10-0)
PG- Chrisseesha Clark, 5'5, So., Rockford, IL; 8.6 ppg, 4.3 apg
SG- Jaycee Cleaver, 5'8, So., Davis, IL; 14.3 ppg, 4.1 apg
G-  Emily Cox, 5'9, Fr., Erie, IL; 9.3 ppg, 2.3 apg
PF- Anastasia Karaivanova, 6'0, Fr., Bulgaria; 6.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg
C- Tierra McGowan, 6'4, So., Chicago, IL; 20.7 ppg, 13.8 rpg
 
College of DuPage (10-10, 7-3)
G- Natalie Shirley, 5'6, Fr;  7.1 ppg, 2.1 apg
G- Elinor Cycenas, 5'7, Fr.; 18.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg
F-  Jessica Jnobaptiste, 5'9, Fr.; 15.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F- Alyssa Ressinger, 5'6., So,; 7.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg
F- Jasmine Heath, 6'2, Fr.,; 7.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg
 
Game Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… In the latest NJCAA DIII Poll, the Golden Eagles checked in at #1 nationally, moving up one spot from the poll before… The Golden Eagles are 22-3 heading into Wednesday's game... The Golden Eagles are 10-0 in conference play, with their last win coming last Saturday NJCAA DII Wilbur Wright College... The final score was 88-15.

College of DuPage Notes
College of DuPage is an NJCAA DIII member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C) located in Glen Ellyn, IL… Head coach of the Chaparrals Ryan Connell … Rock Valley was a perfect 2-0 against DuPage during the 2015-16 regular season… During their last meeting, Tierra McGowan, Emily Cox, and Jaycee Cleaver scored 58 of RVC's 64 points in a 64-46 win at College of DuPage... Despite only leading by nine heading into the final quarter, RVC dominated COD 17-8 in the final frame to pull away.

Individual and Team Stats
*Note: The NJCAA DIII level is represented by over 100 plus women's basketball teams across the United States.

- The Golden Eagles are led by Tierra McGowan, who is the leading scorer on the team (20.7 PPG), and sitting as the fourth leading scorer in the nation at 518 total points... McGowan leads the country in field goal makes at 236 with a 61.8% field goal percentage, which is good to place her as the nation's second best as well... Tierra also leads RVC in rebounding at (13.8 RPG), while leading the country in total rebounds (346)... She had also added 44 blocks on the season, which sits her in the Top 10 at seventh overall.

- The Golden Eagles are also led by second leading scorer Jaycee Cleaver (14.3 PPG) with 346 total points, which lands her as the nation's 25^th leading scorer... Jaycee currently has the 3^rd most 3 point field goals made nationally with (73), while shooting 41.7%... Her percentage lands her 10th nationally... Jaycee is also the fourth best free throw shooter in the nation, shooting 84.7% for the year... Cleaver is also ranked thirteenth in total assists with 100.

N4C Conference Standings
Rock Valley College: 22-3 (10-0)
Madison College: 18-5 (8-2)
College of DuPage: 10-10 (7-3)
Joliet Junior College: 15-10 (5-5)
Milwaukee Area Technical College: 13-10 (5-5)
Triton College: 10-15 (3-7)
Harper College: 2-13 (1-9)
Wilbur Wright College: 1-20 (1-9)



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 196-57 (.774). 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.