Cougars men and women share stage

The College of Charleston men's basketball team plays Elon at 4 p.m. today at Carolina First Arena, and Charleston women's coach Nancy Wilson urges all fans to get there early.

She figures approximately three hours early ought to do it.

The Charleston women's team (15-5, 8-4 SoCon) is playing its best basketball in years and the Cougars are riding a seven-game winning streak heading into today's 1 p.m. home game with Western Carolina (11-8, 7-4 SoCon).

"We've got a team that people should be coming out to see on a regular basis," Wilson said. "These girls are not only winning, they're playing exceptionally well against good competition."

The Cougars are tied for third in the 11-team SoCon, but Charleston ranks last in the league in home attendance, drawing an average of 402 fans per game.

Wilson has been hoping that playing winning basketball will eventually make a difference. With another victory, it will mark the first time since the 1989-90 season that the Charleston women's team has won at least 16 games.

"When recruits have asked me if we drew a good crowd, I was honest and told them that we had a faithful few," Wilson said, "but I knew from my past experience that if we started winning on a consistent basis and put a good product out there that the people of Charleston would come. I really need people to back me up on that."

For today's game only, there is no admission charge to see the women's team play. Normally, season ticket holders for men's basketball get free admission to women's games, and non-season-ticket holders pay $5.

The men's team is 16-4, including 8-2 in the SoCon heading into today's game with Elon (5-13, 2-8 SoCon). The combined records of Charleston's men's and women's teams are the best in the Southern Conference.

"It's time for people to get out there," Wilson said. "They will really enjoy it. I want our team to have the joy of people being excited about what they've accomplished, and I really want the fans to have the joy of experiencing how well they are playing. It's really a lot of fun to watch them. If people will come to the game (today), they will come back. We've got Wofford at home, we've got Davidson at home, we've got Appalachian State at home. I guarantee that if they come out (Saturday) they will want to come to the rest."

Reach Charles Bennett at cbennett at postandcourier.com