Bulldogs Blast Presbyterian 62-36

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Jessica Monroe scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead UNC Asheville to a 62-36 Big South Conference victory over visiting Presbyterian Monday night at Justice Center.

The Bulldogs (6-11, 3-1 BSC) led from start to finish and picked up their third victory in the last four games. The Blue Hose (2-11, 0-2 BSC) lost for the eighth straight time.

Asheville had 10 players play and all 10 scored in the Bulldogs biggest margin of victory of the season. Chioma Okoli and Lindsey Thompson finished with nine points each.

Presbyterian was led by Lea Smith with a game-high 15 points. She also collected eight rebounds. Katlin Moore chipped in 11 points and six assists.

“This was a great team effort,” stated Bulldog coach Betsy Blose. “I really liked the fact that we were able to have everyone score and make a contribution. We wanted to dominate defensively and I thought we did that for most of the game. I like the fact that we had 13 steals.”

Asheville took command of the game in the first half. The Bulldogs led 10-8 after five minutes of play but limited the Blue Hose to just eight points the rest of the half. The home team shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field and 80 percent (8-of-10) from the free throw line to lead 33-15 at intermission. Asheville had nine players score in the opening half.

“In the first half, we created our offense with our defense,” commented Blose. “I thought everyone did a good job playing team defense and executing on the offensive end.”

In the second half, the Bulldogs continued to steadily build on the lead and led by as many as 31 at 55-24 on a trey from Kyla Jones with 10 minutes left. The Blue Hose could get no closer than the final score.

Asheville controlled the boards 40-27. Kendall Shepard had six assists for the Bulldogs. Jones went 3-of-3 from the field with seven points and four assists.

UNC Asheville hosts Big South rival Radford Saturday afternoon at Justice Center starting at 2 p.m. Presbyterian is at home Saturday evening to face defending Big South champ Liberty at 5 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Kyla Jones

Jessica Monroe

Chioma Okoli

Kendall Shepard

Lindsey Thompson

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics