WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore spends plenty of time playing in the Tar Heel state as part of playing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. With games against North Carolina A&T State, North Carolina Central the Hawks' five players with ties to the state get to see plenty of familiar scenery.

But Saturday's (Dec. 8) matchup with Wake Forest will be special for seniors Ciani Byrom (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) and Keyera Eaton (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) because they will be playing in their hometown of Winston-Salem for the first time as a pair of healthy Hawks.

Neither player was fully healthy last season when the Demon Deacons took a 92-50 win. Byrom was working her way back from an injury and hadn't started all season, while the loss to Wake was just Eaton's second game back from an injury herself.

Byrom leads Eastern Shore (2-6) in scoring (14.1 ppg), Assists per game (4.9) and minutes (33.1). Bairesha Gill-Miles (Lexington, Kentucky) is second on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (7.3). Ksenia Popovich (Moscow, Russia) is second on the team in rebounding with 5.6 per contest and is chipping in 7.7 points.

Sophomore Amanda Carney (Parkin, New Jersey) stepped up her play recently and led the Hawks in scoring with a career-high 13 points at Syracuse.

Byrom, Gill Miles, Popovich and freshman Brooklyn Bailey (Rock Hill, South Carolina) all played at the same North Carolina basketball Program — formerly Forest Trails Academy, now Westridge Academy.

Wake Forest (5-4) dominated the Hawks in the paint and on the boards last season, while their length gave The Shore problems on the perimeter allowing just seven points to guards. The Deacs still boast nine players who are 6-foot-1 or larger.

That should mean that freshman Rose Smith (Brooklyn, New York) — one of only two Hawks taller than 6-foot — will see minutes in here fourth game of the season. She tied a career high with 10 points at Syracuse last time out.

Size leads Wake in scoring as 6-foot-3 senior Elisa Penna is averaging 15.3 points per game. 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Ivanca Raca is second with 13.6 per game.

Ona Udoh a 6-foor-1 junior leads Wake in rebounding with 9.1 per game, while 6-foot-1 junior guard Alex Sharp is second with 8.0 per contest.

The game is the second of eight straight on the road for Eastern Shore. The Hawks will next travel to Miami for a 1 p.m. contest on Dec. 16.