University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Campbell
Women's Basketball Edged by Campbell, 60-55
01.10.2015 | Women's Basketball
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Campbell Camels overcame a 13-point second half deficit to defeat the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 60-55 on Saturday afternoon at Gilbert Craig Gore Arena.
Asheville falls to 3-12 on the campaign and 2-4 in Big South action, while Campbell improves to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in league play.
“We certainly brought enough effort and energy into this game to win and gave ourselves an opportunity,” stated head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpartick. “There is always a why and the reason we lost comes down to little things. We missed box-outs, fouled at crucial times and they hit some big shots while we missed some open looks down the stretch. I am proud of our effort. We are a hard working team that will become a team that executes well. I believe that version of us is just around the corner if we continue being committed to getting better. I have tremendous belief in these kids and we will get there.”
A strong opening half gave the Bulldogs a 34-25 lead heading into the break. After a show start shooting the basketball - 2-of-10 from the field over the first 8:12 - Asheville responded by converting 12 of their final 21 shots in the first half. Shonese Jones led the offensive efforts with 10 points, while Chatori Major added eight in the half.
Major gave the Bulldogs a big lift coming off of the bench and igniting a quick 6-0 spurt off back-to-back baskets to give the Blue & White a 17-12 lead with 8:34 left in the opening twenty minutes. From there, Asheville slowly began to open up a lead which rose to as much as 12 points with 3:22 to play in the half following made three pointers on consecutive possessions by Jones and Jeannie Buckner.
Asheville found much of its first half success in the paint and off the bench where they owned a 16-4 advantage on points in the paint and an 18-8 margin in points off the bench.
An aggressive Paige Love helped give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game, as she hit four consecutive free throws to gain a 38-25 with 18:08 remaining in the contest.
Campbell began its comeback from there, going on a 10-0 run over the next 3:29 to cut the Asheville lead to three. Jeannie Buckner's three from the left corner extend the margin back out to six but it was quickly answered by a RaeChaun Edwards three.
Jones then connected on consecutive buckets for the Bulldogs, first on a jumper from the left elbow before getting all the way to the rim to covert a layup and push the lead back out to seven points. Free throws helped Campbell to a 7-0 run which erased the Asheville lead. Summer Leverette, who scored a game-high 16 points, connected on five of her six attempts at the line during the run and Edwards added a jumper from the left corner.
Leah Wormack's hook shot in the lane and free throws allowed Asheville to go back out in front at 48-45 with 5:08 remaining in the half and after a pair of Camel free throws closed the margin to one, Major sent the lead back to three when she connected on her lone bucket of the half.
Summer Price's fast break layup with 2:17 left to play capped a 5-0 Campbell run which gave the Camels their first lead of the half. Price then hit a three late in the shot clock from the right corner to extend Campbell's lead to four with 0:52 seconds remaining in the game.
Paige Love journeyed back to the foul line with Asheville trailing by four with 0:13 seconds left. Love knocked down both free throws to close the Bulldogs to within two. Leverette was fouled on the ensuing inbound play but was only able to convert 1-of-2 free throws, allowing the Blue & White to stay within one possession at 58-55 with 10.4 seconds on the clock.
With a chance to tie the game, Brittany Gwyn drove down the right side of the lane forcing the Campbell defense to collapse on her. Gwyn turned and pivoted to pass the ball back out to Tianna Knuckles at the top of the key for a three, however, Kiera Gaines closed out quickly and was able to block the shot which was gathered by Leverette, who knocked down the final two foul shots of the game and give Campbell a 60-55 victory.
Jones finished the game with a team-best 15 points for the Bulldogs. Major added 10 points, while Buckner, Love and Bronaza Fitzgerald each contributed six points. KJ Weaver finished with seven rebounds for the Blue & White who were narrowly out-rebounded, 41-38, by Campbell.
After shooting just 26.7 percent (8-for-30) from the field in the first half, the Camels hit on 40.7 percent of their shots in the second half and took advantage of a 10-0 advantage in fast break points. In addition to Leverette's 16 points, Gaines posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday evening when they host defending Big South Conference regular-season champions High Point for a 7:00 p.m. contest at Kimmel Arena.
