University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
North Carolina Central
Okoli Leads Bulldogs Past N.C. Central 64-58
01.22.2010 | Women's Basketball
The win by the Bulldogs (6-13) broke a five-game losing streak, while the Lady Eagles (6-12) had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Okoli went 9-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. She also had five assists and four steals. Lindsey Montgomery added her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
N.C. Central was led by Joanna Miller with 16 points, while Shanise Blanks chipped in 12 points on four 3-pointers. Braire Houston contributed 10 points.
The Bulldogs led for most of the game but could not put the Eagles away. Leading 58-56 with less than a minute to play, Asheville had possession and with the shot-clock winding down, freshman Grace Blaylock hit her only field goal of the game, a long three-pointer with 23 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 61-56 lead.
The visitors got a three-point attempt from Miller that was short and Asheville's Lindsey Thompson came down with the rebound and was fouled with 12 seconds left. She made both free throws to push the lead to 63-56 and seal the win.
"It wasn't pretty at times but we found a way to win and that's always good," commented Bulldog coach Betsy Blose. "Chioma Okoli was sensational tonight. She had a great game and carried us at times. But we had other folks step up and make plays."
Asheville won despite committing 30 turnovers, including 20 in the first half.
"We've got to stop turning the ball over so much," explained Blose. "We were fortunate tonight that they turned the ball over a lot too."
The Bulldogs owned the backboards with a 50-28 advantage. Each team had 16 steals. Danielle Deberry led the visitors with five, while Okoli and Thompson finished with four each.
Asheville led for most of the first half thanks to 13 points from Okoli and 10 from Montgomery. However, five turnovers in the final three minutes of the half led to a 9-0 Eagle run to allow N.C, Central to take a 33-32 halftime lead. Miller scored the final seven points with a three-pointer and two lay-ups off turnovers.
Tied at 44-44 with 11 minutes left, Okoli fueled a 9-0 Bulldog run to allow Asheville to take a 53-44 lead. The junior guard hit a three-pointer, scored on a lay-up in transition and hit a free throw over a five-minute span. The Eagles misfired on seven straight field goal attempts during the Asheville run.
But three-point shooting from Blanks helped get N.C. Central back in the game. She fed DeBerry for a long trey at the 3-minute mark to narrow the lead to 57-55.
With 1:50 left, Houston was fouled on a drive to the rim. She had two free throws and a chance to tie the game but both shots rimmed out, leaving Asheville in front 57-55 and setting up the wild last minute of play.
UNC Asheville returns to Big South Conference play Monday night against High Point starting at 7 p.m. at Justice Center.
