Tuesday, November 3
Greenville, N.C. / Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
11:00 AM
Charleston Southern University Athletics
at
East Carolina
Photo by: Kason Hooks/CSU Sports
11/2/2026 7:28:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Basics
Game One
Charleston Southern (0-0) at East Carolina (0-0)
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 3 / 11:00 a.m.
TV/Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: East Carolina Athletics
Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
CHARLESTON – The Charleston Southern women's basketball team officially tips off the 2026-27 season Tuesday morning as the Buccaneers travel to Greenville, N.C., for an 11 a.m. matchup with East Carolina inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Tuesday's season opener marks the beginning of a new era for Charleston Southern as Head Coach Tim Hays takes the sidelines for his first official game at the helm of the Buccaneers. Hays enters his first season with a reshaped roster featuring 13 newcomers and just one returning player from the 2025-26 squad.
Senior Alaina Nettles serves as the lone returner for CSU and enters her fourth season with the program. Nettles started all 13 of her appearances last season before suffering a season-ending injury, averaging 6.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while recording the first double-double of her career.
The Buccaneers will face an East Carolina program coming off a 22-10 campaign in 2025-26. The Pirates tied the program record with 22 regular-season victories and finished second in the American Conference under Head Coach Kim McNeill. ECU was picked to finish seventh in the American entering the 2026-27 season.
Fans can keep up with Tuesday's season opener live on ESPN+ or by following @CSUBucsWBB on X for updates and information.
Quick Hits
---#BucStrong---
Game One
Charleston Southern (0-0) at East Carolina (0-0)
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 3 / 11:00 a.m.
TV/Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: East Carolina Athletics
Location: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
CHARLESTON – The Charleston Southern women's basketball team officially tips off the 2026-27 season Tuesday morning as the Buccaneers travel to Greenville, N.C., for an 11 a.m. matchup with East Carolina inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Tuesday's season opener marks the beginning of a new era for Charleston Southern as Head Coach Tim Hays takes the sidelines for his first official game at the helm of the Buccaneers. Hays enters his first season with a reshaped roster featuring 13 newcomers and just one returning player from the 2025-26 squad.
Senior Alaina Nettles serves as the lone returner for CSU and enters her fourth season with the program. Nettles started all 13 of her appearances last season before suffering a season-ending injury, averaging 6.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while recording the first double-double of her career.
The Buccaneers will face an East Carolina program coming off a 22-10 campaign in 2025-26. The Pirates tied the program record with 22 regular-season victories and finished second in the American Conference under Head Coach Kim McNeill. ECU was picked to finish seventh in the American entering the 2026-27 season.
Fans can keep up with Tuesday's season opener live on ESPN+ or by following @CSUBucsWBB on X for updates and information.
Quick Hits
- Tuesday marks the first game of the Tim Hays era at Charleston Southern as Hays makes his official debut as head coach of the Buccaneers.
- Charleston Southern welcomes 13 newcomers to its 14-player roster in 2026-27, with senior Alaina Nettles serving as the lone returner from last season's team.
- Nettles enters her fourth season at CSU having appeared in 73 career games with 46 starts. She averaged 6.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 13 starts last season before suffering a season-ending injury.
- Charleston Southern's roster features student-athletes representing 11 different countries, marking the most countries represented on a roster in NCAA Division I women's basketball.
- At 6-foot-9, sophomore Celina Vilcinskas enters the season as the third-tallest player in NCAA Division I women's basketball. The Belgium native trails only Texas Tech's 7-foot-1 Stephanie Okechukwu and Middle Tennessee's 6-foot-10 Nicole Dominguez.
- Vilcinskas is joined in the frontcourt by 6-foot-7 freshman Happy Arune of Nigeria, who is tied for the fifth-tallest player in Division I. Together, Vilcinskas and Arune form the tallest duo in NCAA Division I women's basketball.
- Bayan Salman, a native of Bahrain, is the first player from the country to compete in NCAA Division I women's basketball and the only active Division I women's basketball player from Bahrain.
- A victory Tuesday would give Hays his first win at Charleston Southern, mark the Buccaneers' first-ever victory over East Carolina and give CSU its first 1-0 start since the 2022-23 season.
- East Carolina enters the 2026-27 campaign after finishing 22-10 last season and tying the program record with 22 regular-season victories.
- The Pirates finished second in the American Conference in 2025-26 and will look to secure their fifth consecutive winning season this year.
- Head Coach Kim McNeill enters her eighth season at ECU after agreeing to a contract extension that will keep her in Greenville through the 2028-29 season.
- East Carolina was picked to finish seventh in the American Conference preseason poll entering the 2026-27 season.
- The two programs met last season at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, with East Carolina earning a 91-62 victory.
---#BucStrong---
Players Mentioned
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