Women's Basketball Heads to Gardner-Webb Saturday for Conference Matchup

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville women's basketball team will head back out on the road for its fourth away contest in two weeks when they face Gardner-Webb in a 3:00 p.m. showdown at Paul Porter Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday's game will be video-streamed live and can be see for free on the Big South Network. Additionally, the game will be broadcast live on WPEK Radio (880-AM) and can be heard on iHeartRadio via the free mobile app.

Asheville (3-13, 2-5 BSC) is coming off a home loss, 67-50, to defending Big South Regular-Season champions, High Point and are in the midst of a seven game losing streak. Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb (7-10, 3-5) is coming off of a one-point loss at Campbell on Tuesday evening.

“Gardner-Webb plays tough at home. They have depth, talent and rebound the ball extremely well,” said head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick. “We will have to continue to focus on rebounding and taking care of the basketball tomorrow to put ourselves in position to win. Our kids are hungry, but in addition to wanting to win, we must value possession and team basketball and the results will come. We are excited.”

Senior guard Shonese Jones leads the Bulldogs with a 10.7 scoring average in conference games, while Paige Love has picked up her scoring output in conference games, averaging 6.3 markers per contest in league outings. Love also adds 3.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore KJ Weaver leads Asheville in rebounding with 6.1 per contest, while senior Jeannie Buckner is averaging 6.0. Senior Brittany Gwyn leads the team with 38 assists for the season.

The Runnin' Bulldogs have won five straight and have a 13-8 advantage in the all-time series, including a 6-2 record in Boiling Springs. Asheville's last victory came on January 21, 2012. Shonese Jones led the Bulldogs to victory that night, scoring 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, while adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Gardner-Webb is led junior Olivia Parker who leads the team with a 12.7 scoring average. Senior Jessica Hellig adds 11.7 points per contest for GWU. Defensively, the Runnin' Bulldogs give up 69.8 points per game, while holding their to a 39.0 field goal percentage.

BULLDOG NOTES

Senior guard Shonese Jones is currently the Big South's all-time active career leading scorer with 1,196 points. Shonese also has 98 career steals, needing just two more to become the 11^th player in school history to reach 100 career steals.

Ten Bulldogs average over 11 minutes of playing time per game, with Brittany Gwyn playing a team-high 30.8 minutes per game.