HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College women's basketball team will take on the visiting No. 5 Carson-Newman University Eagles on Saturday (Jan. 27) for the Make-A-Wish Game. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at www.cokercobras.com.
The Cobras will honor Lily Tarasiewicz before the women's game and Aidyn Prescott before the men's game. Both Tarasiewicz and Prescott will be introduced as the sixth man of the Cobras starting lineup.
Tarasiewicz is a survivor of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, while Prescott battles a disease called Fibrodysplasia Ossifican Progressive, known as FOP. One of the rarest, most disabling genetic conditions known to medicine, FOP causes bone to form in muscles, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues. Bridges of extra bone develop across joints, progressively restricting movement and forming a second skeleton that imprisons the body in bone. There are no other known examples in medicine of one normal organ system turning into another.
The Navy and Gold head into tomorrow's contest with three players averaging eight or more points per game. Hayley Kropp leads Coker averaging 12.4 points per game. Erin Houser trails Kropp with 9.7 points per game and Janea Williams is third on the team in scoring, putting up 8.6 per game. In addition, Williams has shot a solid 52.6 percent from the field, which is good for the fourth best mark in the conference.
On the defensive end, Williams has anchored the Navy and Gold with a team-leading 8.7 rebounds per game and 2.3 blocks per game. Her season mark in rebounds is good for third in the conference, while her blocks per game are good for second in the SAC. Kropp has also contributed on the defensive end, averaging a team-high 1.3 steals per game.
No. 5 Carson-Newman enters tomorrow's contest with a 19-1 overall record that includes an 11-1 mark in conference play. Mika Wester leads the Eagles offensively, averaging 17.4 points per game, which comes in as the fourth-best mark in the SAC.
As mentioned, opening tip is set for 2 p.m. Tickets for the game are $5 for adults, $3 for students, and free to all Coker faculty, staff, and students.
