Cardinals prep for trip to Juniata; USA Today ranks CUA No. 13

WASHINGTON - No. 13 CUA returns to action Wednesday evening with a trip to Pennsylvania to face the Juniata College Eagles.  Winners of four straight, the Cardinals rolled past Merchant Marine Academy 72-49 over the weekend, forcing 26 turnovers and holding the Mariners to 33.3 percent shooting along the way.  Katarina Owunna dropped in a team-high 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting, and CUA recorded 15 steals earn its seventh conference win of the season.

On Tuesday, CUA found out it is ranked 13th in this week’s USA Today Sports Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.  This comes one day after the Cardinals learned they are No. 13 in this week’s D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll.

CUA ranks first in the Landmark Conference and 13th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (31.0).  The Cardinals have held 13 opponents to below 35% from the floor this season, including four straight.

In its last three games, CUA has outscored the opposition by a combined count of 97-58 in the 1st half, holding teams to 25.3 percent shooting (20-79) during that time.

CUA ranks second in the Landmark in forcing turnovers.  The Cardinals’ opponents turn the ball over an average of 21.1 times per game, including 26.5 times in the last two.

Owunna is shooting an impressive 54 percent from the floor in her last five games.  She is averaging 12.6 points during that time, having reached double figures in every game.  Owunna is also getting the job done on the glass, pulling down 42 rebounds, including 20 on the offensive end.

Jill Woerner continues to climb her way up the scoring charts at CUA.  The senior captain enters Wednesday with 1,387 career points, good for 4th in school history.  The Providence native sits just 17 points shy of tying Carol Schnepp for third with 1,404 career tallies.

After falling at CUA on January 9, Juniata ripped off four straight wins, but that streak came to an end over the weekend when the Eagles dropped a 65-58 decision at Scranton.  Juniata is currently tied with Scranton at 5-3 in the Landmark Conference, sitting behind Moravian and the Cardinals.

Kate McDonald leads the team in scoring (13.1) and rebounding (9.9), while Jordan Speck adds 11.1 points per game.  The Eagles lead the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (32%) and made 3-pointers (133).  They made nine trifectas, including five from Speck, in the first meeting with CUA this season.

For more information on Wednesday’s contest, check out the CUA game notes.

Wednesday’s game tips off at 7 p.m.  Click here for links to live video and stats.