University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Winthrop
Bulldogs Fall to Winthrop, 73-66; Set Big South Record With Perfection at FT Line
03.05.2010 | Women's Basketball
Asheville (8-21, 3-13 BSC) was a perfect 23-of-23 from the charity stripe to set both a school and Big South Conference record for free throw shooting in a game.
The Lady Eagles (13-16, 7-8 BSC) won their third straight but had to rally in the second half. Winthrop trailed 29-24 at halftime before outscoring the Bulldogs, 49-37 in the second half.
Asheville was led by a career-high 16 points from red-shirt junior Kiana Rainey. She enjoyed her second straight double-double with 10 rebounds. It was Rainey's final home game as she will graduate in May. Also in double figures for Asheville was Kendall Shepard with 13 points and six assists. Lindsey Montgomery added 12 points. Lindsey Thompson finished with 10 points.
The Lady Eagles picked up 16 points from leading scorer Shanice Cole. Chanel White added 11 points.
Winthrop went on a 16-4 run early in the second half to take the lead for good. Fansler knocked down three treys during the Lady Eagle run as Winthrop led 45-38 with 11 minutes left in the game.
The Bulldogs kept staying in the game thanks to their great free throw shooting. A Shepard three-point play brought the home team to 55-51 with 5:33 left on the clock. Asheville was within 61-55 with thee minutes left and had two chances to get closer but suffered two turnovers. Fansler knocked down a long trey at the 2:22 mark to give the Eagles a 64-55 advantage. Asheville could get no closer than six the rest of the game.
The first half was close for most of the way as there were seven lead changes. Asheville made a run late in the half with an 8-0 to grab a 29-21 lead. Rainey scored four of her 10 first-half point during the run. She also collected three rebounds during the run, as well.
The Lady Eagles scored the final three points of the half to cut the lead to 29-24 at halftime.
Asheville was 9-of-27 from the field in the opening half for 33 percent. The Bulldogs were perfect from the free throw line going 10-for-10. Montgomery had eight points to in the first half.
Winthrop struggled from the field and three-point line. The Lady Eagles shot just 34 percent (11-of-32) from the field and were 1-of-11 from beyond the arc. Each team had 10 turnovers.
The Bulldogs are off until next week's Big South Conference Tournament at High Point. UNC Asheville will be the #8 seed and take on top-seeded Gardner-Webb on Friday, March 12 at Noon. Winthrop has one more regular season game left. The Lady Eagles finish the regular season at Charleston Southern Monday night at 7 p.m.
