ASHEVILLE, N.C.?UNC Asheville opens Big South Conference play on Saturday at the Justice Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast tape delay on Asheville Educational Television-16 and can be seen live via video streaming.
The Bulldogs (9-8) have had 11 days off since a 62-52 victory over USC Upstate. Head coach Betsy Blose, who is seeking her 200th career victory, says the time off has been beneficial to her team, “We needed a bit of a break,” said Blose. “The off-time has given players time to get healthy but more importantly just to rest before starting conference play. Now its time to get back to work, we have 12 games left in the regular season, and we need to finish strong.”
Asheville's leading scorer Ashton Barton has used the week off to nurse an injury that kept her out of the Dog's Jan. 5, game at Presbyterian. Barton is fourth in the Big South in scoring at 12.6 points per game. She is 48 points shy of the 1,000 point milestone. Reigning Big South Player of the Week, Jessica Monroe, is coming off her highest scoring game of the season. She had a career-high 23 points in the Dogs victory over USC Upstate. She is averaging 10.6 points per game. Stacy Shepard leads the Big South in rebounding at 9.3 boards per game.
Like UNC Asheville, High Point (8-7) has had a week off since their last game, a 76-58 victory over Presbyterian. Amy Dodd is this week's Big South Freshman of the week. She scored 17 points to lead the Panthers over PC. LaTeisha Dean leads the Panthers at 11.6 points per game while Jurica Hargraves is scoring 10.7 points per contest. HPU is shooting 40 percent from the floor as a team and is averaging 65.5 points per game which is fifth in the Big South. The Panthers are second in the league in rebounding behind UNC Asheville.
High Point leads the all-time series 18-8. Over the last four years, HPU holds a 6-4 edge with seven of the 10 games decided by six points or less. Last season, the teams split the season series with each team winning on its home court. Asheville won 72-69 at the Justice Center while High Point won 59-53 at the Millis Center.
