University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian
UNC Asheville Falls on Road at Presbyterian, 69-57
01.03.2015 | Women's Basketball
CLINTON, S.C. - Presbyterian College used defense and foul shooting to overcame a 10-point deficit and defeat the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 69-57, Saturday afternoon at the Templeton Center.
Asheville started strong scoring the first 10 points of the contest after utilizing full court pressure to force a pair of turnovers that led directly to points on a layup by Brittany Gwyn and two free throws from Jeannie Buckner. Shonese Jones capped the run with a layup and two free throws.
Bronaza Fitzgerald extended the lead back to double-digits at 16-6 following a layup and a free throw. From that point, the Blue Hose went on a 16-2 run to grab a 22-18 lead with 7:08 left in the half. The run was fueled by PC's defense forcing turnovers and converting them into points. Six different Blue Hose scored during the run, which was bookended by three pointers from Allie Wagner and Rebecca Walker.
The Bulldogs responded with an 8-2 run of its own thanks to a pair of long distance buckets by Shonese Jones and Chatori Major, and an offensive rebound and put back from Fitzgerald.
It would be Presbyterian who took the lead into the break after Aianna Kelly knocked down back-to-back jumpers with under a minute left in the half to give the Blue Hose a 30-26 lead.
Fitzgerald led all-scorers with nine points going into the intermission and added a team-high four rebounds in the half. Asheville shot 38.1 percent in the half on 8-of-21 shooting from the field. The Blue Hose posted a 48.0 field goal percentage in the first half, led by Aianna Kelly's six points. Keyonna Allen led all players with five rebounds in the half which helped PC to a 14-12 rebounding advantage.
In the second half, Presbyterian routinely found themselves on the free throw line, attempting 27 free throws in the half and making 22.
PC used runs of 8-2 and 11-1 to open the lead up to 18 points with 3:12 left to play in the second half. Asheville attempted to mount a late comeback closing to within ten points at 63-53. Tianna Knuckles converted back-to-back three-point plays and Chatori Major knocked down a 15-foot jump shot.
The Bulldogs had a chance to further cut into the lead after a Paige Love steal with 1:25 left to play. Love found Ja'Da Brayboy wide open in the corner, but Brayboy was unable to connect, she then had a second attempt from the right wing after Major tracked down the offensive rebound, but was unable to convert and PC preoceeded to close out the game from the foul line.
Presbyterian's Cortney Storey scored a game-high 15 points, while Aianna Kelly added 14 points. Tianna Knuckles led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Fitzgerald added 11 points and a team-best six rebounds for Asheville. Keyonna Allen led all players with eight rebound for the game.
The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday, January 8 when they travel to Rock Hill, S.C. to face the Winthrop Eagles.
