Women's Basketball Downs Presbyterian College, 66-59

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Chioma Okoli scored a game-high 18 points to rally UNC Asheville to a 66-59 Big South Conference win over Presbyterian College Saturday afternoon.

The win by the Bulldogs snapped a nine-game BSC losing streak. Asheville improved to 7-17 overall and 2-9 in league play.

Freshman guard Grace Blaylock tallied 13 points, including some crucial three-pointers in the second half. Lindsey Montgomery had her 10^th double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Kendall Shepard finished with 11 points. Freshman guard Breaira Barksdale had a season-best six assists.

The Blue Hose (5-18, 3-7 BSC) had a three-game winning streak stopped with the loss. The visitors were led by Amanda Mills with 16 points, while Kristen Stevens added 15 points. Dria David chipped in 10 points and six assists.

PC scored the first nine points of the game, and the Bulldogs shot just 26 percent from the field in the opening half to help the Blue Hose lead 29-20 at halftime.

Asheville had fought back to tie the game at 18-18 on a Dana Wagner jumper but the victors scored the next eight points to roar to a 26-18 lead. Mills and Stevens hit back-to-back treys to get the run started. Mills and Stevens combined for 13 points n the opening half.

The Bulldogs came out of the gates strong to start the second half. Asheville went on a 21-2 run in the first six minutes to roar to a 41-31 lead. Montgomery sparked the run with nine points.

PC would not go away and whittled the lead to 54-52 on a Mills lay-up off a steal at the 3:20 mark. However, Blaylock would knock down two treys to spark an 8-2 run to push the Asheville advantage to 62-54. She hit a three-pointer to start the run and then hit a trey with the shot clock winding down to seal the Asheville victory.

The Bulldogs shot a season-high 64 percent (14-of-22) from the field in the second half. They also went 14-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second half.

Asheville hosts Big South Conference leader Gardner-Webb on Monday night at 7 p.m. Presbyterian College hosts North Carolina Central on Tuesday at 5 p.m.