Women's Basketball set for big test in home opener

RALEIGH, NC – Wake Tech Women's Basketball is three games into the 2023-24 season and open their home schedule on Wednesday against Richard Bland, the reigning Region 10 Division II champions. While the Eagles opened the season with a conference win on the road against Johnston, they dropped both games at the 401 Classic hosted by Louisburg College last weekend. First-year Head Coach Taisha Murphy says the team learned some valuable lessons from those two games and knows they need to make adjustments going into Wednesday's game.

"We are at our best when we are getting downhill and forcing defenses into tough situations," Murphy said, "over the weekend we didn't do a good job of that. These past few days, we've been focusing on taking care of the basketball and hitting open shots."

On Saturday, the Eagles were outmatched by CCBC Catonsville, falling 84-55. The following day, it was at 75-58 loss against Florida State College at Jacksonville. Now the Eagles begin a three-game homestand, all of which are conference games.

"These aren't just home games for us, these are conference games," Murphy said. "We preach to our players to be where their feet are. Although we have three home games coming up on the schedule, we are only focused on being 1-0 at the end of every contest."

The Eagles will take on Richard Bland on Wednesday evening in the first of a Men's and Women's Basketball doubleheader at the Wake Tech South Campus Gym. It is also Military Family Appreciation Night, and throughout the night, current and former military members and their families will be honored. On Saturday, November 18 the Eagles host Fayetteville Tech and just two days later they host Johnston in a rematch of the opening night contest.

Richard Bland will be a tough test for the Eagles, and Murphy notes that each player on the team needs to make adjustments to snap the losing streak. Destiny Mason is one player that is looking to recapture the form from opening night that saw her score 31 points on 13-for-22 shooting. The freshman also grabbed 10 rebounds to record her first career double-double in the 89-82 win.

"The shots she takes in games are identical to the ones she takes in practice," Murphy said. "We have the utmost confidence in her ability to score the basketball. 31 and 10 is hard to duplicate, so we are helping her understand there is more she brings than just scoring."

Richard Bland is 1-1 on the season, both games coming in conference play. They had a resounding opening night victory against Central Carolina, defeating the Cougars 73-39 before dropping their home opener 69-57 against Southwest Virginia. The Statesmen were Region 10 champions a season ago and finished as runners-up in the NJCAA Division II tournament.

Admission is free for Wednesday's doubleheader, and both games will be streamed live on the Wake Tech Eagles YouTube Channel. The Women's game tips off at 5:30, with the Men's game starting approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Women's game.