Women's Basketball Hosts USC Upstate on Tuesday Night

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville women's basketball team is back at home Tuesday night when the Bulldogs host USC Upstate at Justice Center starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday's game will be video-streamed and can be seen for a small fee at www.uncabulldogs.com.

Asheville (2-1) is coming off a dramatic 78-75 victory at Campbell Saturday afternoon. Kendall Shepard banked in a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give the Bulldogs their second win of the year. It was just the second win for the Asheville program in Buies Creek in 15 tries.

"I'm really proud of our team for winning at Campbell," commented Asheville coach Betsy Blose. "We played well and led most of the way, until they made a run and took the lead late in the game. But we bounced back, tied the game up and then Kendall made a great play to get up and hit the winning shot. This win is a great shot in the arm for us and hopefully we can build on this the rest of the year."

The Bulldogs face another team from the Atlantic Sun Conference in USC Upstate. The Spartans are coached by former Asheville assistant coach Tammy George. Tammy was on Coach Blose' s staff in her first year during the 2002-03 season. She left after that season to become the head coach at Brevard College before moving to USC Upstate. George led the Spartans to a 20-9 record last season. They are off to a 1-1 start this year with an impressive win at Marshall in their last game.

"Tammy did a wonderful job when she worked here, and I had no doubt she would someday be a great head coach," declared Blose. "The success we had after our first year had a lot to do with the hard work Tammy did for us when she was here.

"She's done a great job at USC Upstate," added Blose. "They had a great year last season and are going to be very good again this year. We're going to have to play very well to have a chance at winning Tuesday night."

Junior guard Lindsey Thompson is Asheville's leading scorer this year with a 19.3 average. Shepard is right behind her at 19.0 points per game. Sophomore Kelli Riles is averaging close to a double-double with 9.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.

USCS is led by Tee'Ara Copney with a 19.5 scoring average. Chelsea McMillan is averaging 12 points and an amazing 17 rebounds per game.

The Spartans won last year's meeting in Spartanburg, 78-60.