Women's Basketball

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RANKED #21 IN TWO NATIONAL POLLS

UNION, N.J. (1/23/07) - For the second consecutive week, the Kean University women's basketball team earned a spot in a pair of Top 25 national polls. The Cougars are currently ranked #21 according to D3hoops.com and in the USA Today ESPN Top 25 poll, as released by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

The Cougars have won eight straight games, and are a perfect 6-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The team's lone setback of the year came against #1 University of Scranton, where the Cougars dropped a 59-57 decision to the Lady Royals.

Kean leads the NJAC in nine categories, including scoring (79.5 points per game), rebounding (46.4 per game), scoring margin (+23.9), assists (16.7 per game) and steals (15.2 per game), while also ranking second in four other categories.

Sophomore guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) leads the NJAC in scoring (17.3 points per game) and three-point field goals made (3.59 per game), while sophomore point guard Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.96) and assists (5.76 per game) and ranks third in field goal percentage (52.8 percent).

Nationally, the Cougars are third in the country in scoring, fifth in scoring margin, tied for fifth in winning percentage and 10th in steals, while Beyruti is third in three pointers made per game and Jackson is 13th in assists per game.

The Cougars battle Rutgers-Camden in a NJAC South Division match-up on Wednesday, January 24. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.