University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Furman
UNC Asheville Downed at Furman, 81-71
12.10.2014 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Brittany Hodges scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Furman Paladins to an 81-71 victory over the UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena.
Asheville (2-6) started the game 6-of-8 from the field to open up an early 13-4 lead at the first media timeout. Hodges scored the opening bucket of the game for Furman (8-3), before the Bulldogs went on a 13-2 run over a five minute span. Five different players scored for Asheville during the run, including Brittany Gwyn who contributed five of her 10 points in the early stages of the game.
The Paladins responded out of the timeout with an 11-0 run to take control of the game. Holli Wilkins scored five quick points before Hodges scored on three straight buckets to take a 15-13 lead. The Bulldogs kept things tight and with 9:24 left in the half, Tianna Knuckles connected on a three to trim the Paladins' lead to 18-17.
A decisive 15-6 stretch over the final nine minutes gave Furman a 33-23 lead heading into the break. After knocking down the first six of eight shots, the Bulldogs finished the half shooting 33.3 percent (9-27). Brittany Gwyn led Asheville with eight points heading into the break, while Hodges scored 13 points in the first 20 minutes.
After scoring the first two buckets of the half, Furman's lead hovered around 15 for much of the half before a 6-0 run stretched the lead out to 19 points, 70-51, with 3:56 seconds left to play in the half.
Much to the chagrin of the boisterous Furman student section, the Bulldogs pushed forward and cut the deficit to 11 on the heels of a 7-1 run for the Blue & White. Layups from Chatori Major, Tiffany Wilson and Gwyn brought the score to 77-66 with 37 seconds to play. Free throws, resulting from a confrontation, attributed for seven of the final nine points for each side.
A physical Paladins team owned the glass with a 47-31 advantage in rebounds which led to a 16-2 margin, in favor on Furman, in second chance points. Furman outscored Asheville 44-40 in the paint which led to a 45.3 field goal percentage (29-64), including 55.6 percent (15-27) in the second half.
The Asheville bench was very productive, outscoring the Furman bench, 40-15. Wilson and Knuckles each scored 16 points off the bench for the Bulldogs who finished the game with a 41.9 field goal percentage for the game. The Blue & White were more efficient offensively in the second half, shooting 48.6 percent, connecting on 17-of-35 shots.
Big South Conference play resumes on Sunday when the Bulldogs travel to Farmville, Va. for a matchup with Longwood University.
