COLUMBIA, S.C.? Stacy Shepard pulled down 11 rebounds to became the seventh player in UNC Asheville women's basketball history to collect 600 career rebounds but it was not enough as the Bulldogs fell 80-52 at South Carolina on Thursday night.
Brionna Dickerson scored 18 points and C.J. Pace had 15 points to lead South Carolina (10-4) which never trailed in the game. The Gamecocks shot 48 percent in game while holding Asheville (7-8) to 25 percent. Both teams went 4-for-10 from three point range but the Gamecocks held a commanding 48-12 advantage in points in the paint and out rebounded the Bulldogs 53-41.
Chioma Okoli scored in double-figures for the second straight game to lead the Dogs with 11 points. Jessica Monroe had 10 points all in the second half while Stacy Shepard had a team-high 11 rebounds to give her 610 career rebounds. Asheville starters scored just 20 points in the game as both Ashton Barton and Lindsey Montgomery left the game with injuries. Kiana Rainey had a career best eight points while playing 17 minutes off the bench.
“I thought we played very hard tonight,” said Asheville head coach Betsy Blose. “I saw a lot of positives and we never quite playing. Our younger players continue to get valuable minutes and they are continuing to improve with every game. South Carolina is strong team that had a great size advantage and they played well tonight.”
USC used a 23-5 run over a seven minute stretch in the first half to build a 41-12 lead with 6:13 left in the first half. UNC Asheville (7-8) finished the half on an 11-4 run to bring the score to 45-23 at halftime. It the second most point the Bulldogs have surrendered in the first half all season.
The Dogs scored the first basket of the second half to cut the deficit to 20 points but USC went on a 13-3 run to build its largest lead 60-30 with 13:54 left to play. Asheville answered with a 6-0 run and pulled to as close as 23 points with seven minutes left to go.
UNC Asheville returns to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. as it travels to Presbyterian. The game will be broadcast on the internet at uncabulldogs.com
