University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Gardner-Webb
Stout Defense Leads Women's Basketball Past Gardner-Webb
01.17.2015 | Women's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Shonese Jones scored 16 points and Chatori Major added 15 to lead the UNC Asheville Bulldogs over Gardner-Webb, 64-55 on Saturday afternoon at Paul Porter Arena.
Asheville (4-13, 3-5 BSC) took advantage of stout man-to-man defense and led wire-to-wire in the contest as they held Gardner-Webb (7-11, 3-6 BSC) to just 25.4 percent (15-of-59) shooting from the field, while forcing 18 turnovers.
“I am proud of our kids overall effort and bringing all of the right intangibles to the game and that is a big part of why we won,” stated head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick. “We played for each other and focused on being someone that everyone wants to play with instead of focusing on individual performances. Gardner-Webb is a tough team and are difficult to stop on the glass. They made a great run at the end but our girls withstood the run and completed the job. We executed down the stretch to keep enough distance between us and them. It was a great team win.”
Senior Shonese Jones carried the load offensively early on for the Bulldogs, scoring 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first half. Jones connected on her first field goal attempt of the game, a three from the left wing, and it was all Asheville from that moment forward.
Chatori Major helped open the Bulldog lead to ten points with 13:21 left to play in the first half following back-to-back baskets. The Blue & White them came alive from long distance late in the half connecting on three consecutive attempts from deep during an 11-2 run to give Asheville a 31-12 lead with 5:24 left to play in the first half.
Without its two leading scorers, Olivia Parker and Jessica Heilig, who were saddled with foul trouble in the half, Gardner-Webb managed to end the first half on a 10-0 run to close the Asheville lead to 33-24 at the break. Kiera Currie converted on three free throws in the final minute to end the run which was began with two free throws by Alicia Quinn.
Parker and Heilig, who coming into the game combined to average 24 points per game, combined for just four first half points for Gardner-Webb. The Bulldogs held GWU to just six made field goals in the first half and 20.7 percent shooting from the field (6-of-29). The Runnin' Bulldogs did connect on 11-of-12 free throws attempts in the half.
Asheville outrebounded Gardner-Webb 23-20 in the half, led by KJ Weaver's six first half rebounds. The Blue & White forced GWU to commit nine turnovers in the half and Jones registered two steals to give her 100 for her career and make her the 11th player in program history to reach the 100 steals plateau.
The second half had a very similar feel to the first half with the Bulldogs playing committed team defense and holding Gardner-Webb to just 30 percent shooting (9-of-30) in the half and forcing nine more turnovers.
On the opening offensive possession of the half, Weaver forced Parker to commit her third foul and send her back to the bench for a long stretch and connected on both free throws. Jones then scored on a runner in the lane before Leah Wormack converted on a layup, giving the Bulldogs a 6-2 run to start the half and extend the lead to 14.
Gardner-Webb whittled their deficit down to seven at 45-38 with 9:48 left to play following a bucket by Alexus Hill and a free throw from Heilig. Major provided the answer for the Blue & White, first with a driving one-hander in the lane and a free throw, then a layup when she curled into the lane from the left wing and finished with the right hand.
A run of five turnovers of a 1:46 span and an 11-2 run, allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs to cut the UNC Asheville lead to just five, 56-51, following a layup by Heilig. Asheville responded, closing out the game by remaining aggressive. The Blue & White converted on their final five shots on the game, including four layups over the final 2:49.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field in the second half (13-of-16) and finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (24-of-56). Gardner-Webb narrowly edged Asheville in rebounding 43-40, while AVL owned a 34-20 advantage in points off the bench.
Weaver led all players with nine rebounds, while Brittany Gwyn added seven boards from her guard position. Leah Wormack scored a season-high eight points off the bench and added four rebounds. Olivia Parker and Jessica Heilig each finished with a team-high nine points for GWU, but were both held on the season scoring averages. Candace Brown led the Runnin' Bulldogs with seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Tuesday evening when they host the Radford Highlanders in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Kimmel Arena.
