#RSCgotw WBB: (RV) Point Park (15-4) at #21 IU East (14-4) -- Friday @ 6 pm ET

1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM

RICHMOND, Ind. -- The River States Conference Women's Basketball Game of the Week has first place on the line in the RSC East Division when No. 21 IU East (14-4, 5-0 RSC) hosts (RV) Point Park (15-4, 5-1 RSC) on Friday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. ET from Richmond, Ind.

Watch the game on the Red Wolves Sports Network on Stretch Internet and follow live stats on Dakstats with live coverage links above. Follow the game on Twitter with hashtag #RSCgotw and @RiverStatesConf @RSCScores and #RSCWBB.

Friday night is the first of two meetings this year between IU East and Point Park as divisional rivals play home and away. Both teams are mentioned in this week's NAIA Division II Top 25 Poll (Jan. 10) with the Red Wolves at No. 21 and the Pioneers "receiving votes" at No. 29 overall.

IU East is 2-2 in NAIA meetings against Point Park. The Pioneers won both meetings in 2014-15. The Red Wolves swept the season series last year, winning both games by 11 points. Tia King averaged 17.5 points in IU East's two games against Point Park last season.

Friday's matchup is the top offense versus the top defense in the RSC. IU East leads the conference in scoring at 81.33 ppg while Point Park has the top scoring defense in the RSC at 55.95 ppg.

The following is game preview information provided by IU East and Point Park sports information:

IU EAST STORYLINES

IU East is coming off of a 92-49 conference win at Alice Lloyd College on Jan. 7. Sarah Cook scored 11 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for the Red Wolves. The IU East defense limited Alice Lloyd to a .235 field goal percentage.
IU East is 21st in the current NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches Poll.
This weekend tips off a stretch of five consecutive home games for IU East. The Red Wolves are 8-0 this season on their new home court.
Suzy Wollenhaupt has tied the IU East program record for blocked shots in a season with 23.
IU East is one of four teams in the top 14 in the country in all three of the team shooting percentage categories - field goal percentage, free throw percentage and 3-point field goal percentage. The Red Wolves are in good company. The other teams on the list are No. 3 Saint Xavier University, No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan University and No. 15 Purdue University Northwest.

THE RED WOLVES ARE...

12-0 when they limit the opponent to 78 points or fewer.

10-0 when they make seven or more 3-pointers.

10-0 when they score 80 points or more.

9-0 when they post a field goal percentage of .455 or better.

9-0 when they have 17 assists or more.

POINT PARK STORYLINES

Point Park is 15-4, 5-1 conference after its most-recent game, an 81-54 home win over IU Kokomo in the RSC Game of the Week Jan. 7. That had the Pioneers bounce back from a home loss the night before to Midway, its first conference loss of the season.
The Pioneers lead the conference in scoring defense and rank eighth in NAIA Division II giving up 55.95 points per game. Point Park ranks in the top 10 of the NAIA DII stats in many categories including fifth in 3-point field goal defense (.258) and steals.
Point Park is missing two starters and 25 ppg with star forwards Samantha Weir (14.8 ppg) and Carly Forse (10.5 ppg) out with injuries.Despite the injuries, the Pioneers have carried on with a 15-4 record and won 11 games in a row earlier this year.
Junior guard Maryssa Agurs and senior guard/forward Ja'Nia McPhatter are the top scorers among active players. Center Baylee Buleca has been averaging a double-double since becoming a starter 13 games ago.

THE PIONEERS ARE...

11-0 when holding their opponents under 60 points

12-0 when holding their opponents under 40% field goals

12-1 when shooting over 40% field goals on offense

7-3 on the road

8-1 at home

15-2 versus non-NCAA Division I opponents