University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Winthrop
Winthrop Downs UNC Asheville 75-54
02.06.2008 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Ashley Fann scored 24 points to lead Winthrop to a 75-54 Big South Conference win over short-handed UNC Asheville Wednesday night at Justice Center.
The Eagles (15-8, 3-2 BSC) won for the first time at Justice Center since the 2002-03 season. The Bulldogs (10-12, 1-4 BSC) played with just six players due to injuries. They were led by Ashton Barton with 17 points. Arescia Moore had 11 points, while Jessica Monroe added 10 points. Stacy Shepard grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds.
Winthrop had Ashley Haugtvedt come off the bench and contribute 11 points and six rebounds. Yvonne Van Daalen dished out nine assists and pulled down seven rebounds.
The Eagles used two big runs to end the first half and start the second half to take control of the game. Asheville had cut an eight-point Winthrop lead to 26-24 with five minutes left in the opening half. But Winthrop ended the first half on a 9-1 run to grab a 35-25 halftime lead. The Eagles got points from four different players.
Leading 35-25 at halftime, Winthrop went on an 8-1 run to start the half and build a 43-26 lead.
The Bulldogs rallied behind Barton. The senior guard scored 14 of her points in the second half. Her long three-pointer with 7:48 left cut the Eagle lead to 58-48. Asheville had two chances to get it even closer but could not get another basket.
Haugtvedt sank a three-pointer that triggered a 9-2 Winthrop run to help seal the Eagle victory.
"We just ran out of the gas in the final minutes," commented UNC Asheville coach Betsy Blose. "We battled hard and competed but it's tough with six players. Winthrop has a good team that can beat you in a lot of different ways."
Winthrop shot 55 percent from the field (16-of-29) in the second half. The Bulldogs had a tough night shooting as they shot just 31 percent (19-of-61) from the field.
UNC Asheville plays at Liberty Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Winthrop hosts Radford on Saturday.
