University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Women's Basketball Plays at Marquette on Saturday Night
12.17.2010 | Women's Basketball
Asheville (5-3) has won two straight games and played some good basketball over the past week. The Bulldogs downed Furman 86-75 on Saturday and rallied past South Carolina State on Wednesday, 84-69.
However, Asheville faces a very good opponent in Marquette. The Golden Eagles are 8-2 on the season with one of those losses to defending national champion Connecticut. Marquette is coming off a 63-60 victory over nationally-ranked Wisconsin-Green Bay earlier in the week.
"Marquette is really, really good," stated Asheville coach Betsy Blose. "They defend very well and have great athletes. We've got our work cut out for us.
"However, we're looking forward to playing Marquette," added Blose. "The game should be a great experience for us and will make us a better team when we get to conference play."
The Bulldogs' offense has been electrifying this season as Asheville continues to lead the Big South Conference in scoring as they're averaging 76.5 points per game. The Bulldogs' inside game has been solidified with the return of senior forward Lindsey Montgomery from suspension. She has posted two double-doubles in her two games back, including 25 points vs. Furman last Saturday.
Asheville's inside game has been led this season by red-shirt sophomore center Keilli Riles, who has been nothing short of dominant in the first part of the year. Riles has posted six double-doubles on the year. She's averaging 13 points per game and leads the Big South in rebounding with an 11.9 average. Riles is shooting a team-leading 58.3 percent (42-of-72) from the field.
The Bulldogs have also been strong in the backcourt. Senior guard Kendall Shepard is having an outstanding year with a Big South and team-leading 18.1 points per game. She leads the club in assists with 40 and is coming off a career-best 22 points against South Carolina State Wednesday night. Junior guard Lindsey Thompson is right behind her with a 17.6 average.
Marquette is led by senior guard Angel Robinson with a 14.9 scoring average. Paige Fiedorowicz is averaging 10.6 points per game.
"We're playing some good basketball," commented Blose. "There's still plenty to work on as we need to play better defense and be more consistent with our rebounding. Our effort has been outstanding and hopefully we can keep getting better with each game."
BULLDOG NOTES
This is UNC Asheville's first ever game in the state of Wisconsin. The game is a homecoming for senior guard Dana Wagner who is from Sun Prairie. She played at Sun Prairie HS and Madison Area Technical College before transferring to Asheville in the fall of 2009.
Marquette has a UNC Asheville connection in women's soccer. The Golden Eagles women's soccer is coached by 1990 Asheville graduate Marques Roeders. His top assistant is another Asheville graduate in Frankie Pelaez. Both played on the men's soccer team for the Bulldogs and played for former Marquette head men's soccer coach Steve Adlard.
Sophomore forward Kelli Riles has posted six double-doubles in eight games this year. She's averaging 13 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Her rebound average leads the Big South Conference and was 13th nationally in the latest NCAA stats. Riles also leads the Bulldogs and Big South in field goal percentage at 58.3%.
The Bulldogs received three votes in the Collegiate Insider Mid-Major Poll this week. It's the first time Asheville has ever picked any votes in the poll.
Asheville has three of the top seven scorers in the Big South Conference. Kendall Shepard leads the league in scoring with an 18.1 average, followed by Lindsey Thompson with a 17.6 mark. Kelli Riles is seventh in the league in scoring at 13.0 points per game.
Asheville has three of the top seven free throw shooters in the Big South Conference. Lindsey Thompson is ranked 15th nationally and first in the league at 90.0% (30-of-33). Breaira Barksdale is second in the league at 79.4% (27-of-34). Kelli Riles is seventh at 69% (20-of-29).
