Tiffin women's basketball will get GMAC play underway this weekend when they visit Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday and Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday.
Game Information:
Tiffin Dragons (4-5, 0-0 GMAC) at
Trevecca Nazarene Trojans (3-5, 0-0 GMAC)
Thursday, Dec. 5 | 6:30 p.m. ET
Nashville, Tenn. | Trojan Fieldhouse
Video | Live Stats
Tiffin Dragons (4-5, 0-0 GMAC) at
Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (7-0, 0-0 GMAC)
Saturday, Dec. 7 | 1:00 p.m. ET
Owensboro, Ky. | Owensboro SportsCenter
Video | Live Stats
Dragon Details:
Tiffin enters conference play at 4-5 overall after going 1-1 last week, capping the early-season nonconference slate with an 83-73 win over Slippery Rock last Saturday. In the win, Aarion Nichols tallied a career-high 21 points, while Savanah Richards added 13 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.
While the record may not completely show it, the Dragons have been impressive in the early going, ranking sixth nationally in total assists, seventh in total rebounds, and fourth in free throw attempts, and second in free throws made through nine games. Each of those marks is also tops in the GMAC, along with TU's mark of 42.2 rebounds per game.
Aarion Nichols is leading the way so far with 13.9 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, 2.6 assists per game, and 1.0 steals per game. Fellow sophomore Jasmine Watts is next with 10.9 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, and a GMAC-leading 1.9 blocks per contest. Her 17 blocks through nine games is also 11th in Division II thus far.
Danelle Bradley is third on the team in scoring with 7.3 points per game, and is shooting 45.8% from deep.
Scouting the Trojans:
Trevecca has struggled as of late, dropping their last four games to Alabama-Huntsville, Alabama-Montgomery, Bellarmine, and Southern Indiana. The Trojans were picked just one spot ahead of Tiffin in the GMAC preseason poll, earning the No. 8 spot.
The two times that the Trojans and Dragons squared off last season are the only occasions that the programs have played, with Trevecca taking both contests. The most recent matchup was also on the road in Nashville on Feb. 7, 2019, when TNU took a 95-67 win over TU.
Olivia Pepperman leads Trevecca with 15.1 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. Bayleigh Carmichel is the other Trojan in double figure scoring with 11.8 points per game, including a 42% three-point percentage and a GMAC-leading 21 made triples. Kaitlynn Wilkins leads the squad with 5.8 boards per game while contributing 7.1 points per contest.
Scouting the Panthers:
Picked second in the GMAC poll, Kentucky Wesleyan is off to a great start with wins in each of their first seven contests. In their most recent outing, the Panthers defeated Missouri Baptist 92-65 last Saturday. KWC will face Ohio Dominican on Thursday before hosting the Dragons on Saturday.
One of 22 teams still undefeated in Division II, the Panthers are second in the country with a scoring margin of 32.9 points per game. The Panthers are 10th nationally in scoring defense, 12th in scoring offense, third in assists per game, fifth in assist-turnover ratio, seventh in field goal percentage, and seventh in turnover margin.
Similar to Trevecca, the Dragons have only faced the Panthers twice with both meetings coming a season ago. In the most recent matchup on Feb. 9, KWC defeated Tiffin 87-62 in Owensboro.
Kentucky Wesleyan only has two players with double-digit scoring averages, but the Panthers are extremely balanced offensively with eight players averaging at least 6.6 points per contest. Keelie Lamb leads the way with 12.7 points per game and five rebounds per game, followed by Tahlia Walton with 11.4 points per contest and a 69.6 FG%.