ASHEVILLE, N.C.?UNC Asheville's women's basketball team hosts Charlotte at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Justice Center. The game can be heard live in the Asheville area on ESPN radio AM-1310/970 WISE and can be seen live on the Big South Edge for a small fee.
The Bulldogs (2-5) are coming off their highest scoring game of the season, a 90-71 victory over Western Carolina, on Tuesday night. Ana Baker recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 26 point and a career-best 10 rebounds. The Dogs also got a career-high 16 points from Ipek Derici, a season-best 13 points from Lindsey Montgomery and 12 points from leading scorer Chioma Okoli. Big South Player of the Week, Jessica Monroe just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.
Okoli is sixth in the Big South in scoring averaging 13.7 points per game while Monroe is fourth in the conference in rebounding at seven boards per game. Baker does not yet qualify for conference rankings because she has not played in 75 percent of Asheville's games but she would lead the Big South in assists at 5.8 per contest.
Charlotte (5-2) has had a week off since winning the Hoops for the Cure Tournament at SMU last weekend. The 49ers defeated Fresno State and then beat host SMU on a buzzer beater by Atlantic-10 Player of the Week Ashley Spriggs. Spriggs is one of three 49ers who average double-figure points. She is scoring 12.3 points per game while Erin Floyd is scoring 12.7 per game. Aysha Jones nets 14.6 per contest. Asheville native Danielle Burgin leads the Niners in rebounding at 8.1 per game.
Charlotte owns a 10-3 advantage in the series that dates back to 1977. The Bulldogs won the first two meetings in 1977, but the 49ers have won 10 of the last 11. Asheville's only win during that stretch was a 55-41 victory on Dec. 3, 1996 in Charlotte. The 49ers have won the three meetings including a 85-47 victory in Asheville Jan. 5, 2003.
Fans can buy tickets to all Saturday home games for just $25. The first 200 fans to Saturday's game will receive free UNC Asheville pom-poms. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. The UNC Asheville men will host VMI afterwards at 4:30 p.m.
