The Charlotte women's basketball team will take on the North Texas Mean Green in the Conference USA (C-USA) semifinals at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 11 in Frisco, Texas. The 49ers are coming off a victory over Rice in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10, and will look to keep the momentum going.
Head Coach Cara Consuegra spoke on the upcoming matchup against the Mean Green.
"I think it will be similar to going into the game with Rice," said Consuegra. "We played them a long time ago, and we're very different. We were still figuring out who we were. I know it was a tight game, but I expect us to come out and play well. They are a great team. We expect another gritty, tough game."
Matchup History:
Charlotte holds a 10-3 record over North Texas. The last time they played was this year's regular season on Jan. 20, with Charlotte winning the game 72-67.
The 49ers won the game over the Mean Green with a dominant fourth quarter where they outscored North Texas, 23-9. Charlotte was led in the game by seniors Octavia Jett-Wilson and Jada McMillian, who both scored over 20 points.
What you need to know:
Charlotte is coming off a gritty quarterfinals matchup with Rice, winning 59-53. In that game, the 49ers went down early, trailing 17-9 after the opening quarter, but they battled back, outscoring the Owls in the rest of the individual quarters to win the game 59-53.
North Texas is coming off a stellar quarterfinals performance against Old Dominion. The Mean Green won that matchup 65-58, cruising to victory in the fourth quarter.
Scouting Charlotte:
Expect the 49ers to ride the hot hand, letting Mikayla Boykin do a good bulk of the scoring. She's coming off a team-leading 20-points against Rice and has averaged 16.7 points in the last three games.
But don't count out Jett-Wilson, the reigning C-USA player of the year. She scored 16 points and recorded four rebounds against Rice, so expect her to impact the matchup significantly.
Scouting North Texas:
Senior guard Aly Gamez put up an impressive performance in the quarterfinals to get the Mean Green into this game. She scored 29 points on 82% shooting. She is also coming off of back-to-back 20+ point performances, and she will look to have her fingerprints all over this matchup.
Looking to Gameday:
The top seed in the East Division Charlotte takes on the two seed in the West Division North Texas in the semifinals of the C-USA tournament on Friday, March 11. The winner gets to advance to the C-USA Championship Game, where they can clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The matchup will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in the Ford Center at The Star. The game will be broadcasted on Stadium, and you can listen to the game on 730 The Game ESPN Charlotte.