Bulldogs Open Up Big South Championships Tuesday

CONWAY, S.C. – The UNC Asheville women's basketball team begins the 2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Women's Basketball Championships on Tuesday evening when they face Coastal Carolina at 6:00 p.m. at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C.

Asheville (8-21) returns to Conway after defeating Coastal (12-17) on Saturday afternoon, 87-53. The victory gave the Bulldogs their first season sweep of the Chanticleers since the 2010-11 season. The Blue & White defeated CCU 68-61 on January 24 in the first meeting at Kimmel Arena.

This is just the fifth meeting between the teams in Big South Tournament play. Coastal holds a 3-2 advantage, with the Bulldogs winning the most recent meeting, 65-51 in the quarterfinals of the 2007 tournament which the Blue & White went on to win.

“It is a bit unusual to face an opponent on back-to-back occasions,” said head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick. “We know going into Tuesday's matchup that we will have our hands full with Coastal Carolina. I know both teams went home and made adjustments to get ready for round two”

Last season, Asheville picked up a day one victory at the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Women's Basketball Championships, defeating Radford 43-42 in dramatic fashion as Shonese Jones tipped in Leah Wormack's shot with no time remaining on the clock.

“We are excited to be down in Myrtle Beach against for the tournament,” Mock Kirkpatrick continued. “The kids enjoy this experience and Coastal Carolina does a great job along with VisitMyrtleBeach.com of putting on a great event. Any team from top to bottom is capable of winning big games and our league has been incredibly tough this year.”

The Blue & White will be right in the thick of things this season with a chance to make some noise. In their 13 league losses, seven came by five or fewer points.

Shonese Jones has been the catalyst for the Bulldogs all season, including in the two victories against Coastal Carolina. Jones averaged 20 points per contest against the Chanticleers, while connecting on 14-of-26 field goals attempts and seven treys. Jones was selected Big South Honorable Mention All-Conference on Monday.

For the season Jones leads the team with a 12.2 scoring average, which bumped up to 13.1 in league games. KJ Weaver's 6.0 rebounds per contested led the team, with Jeannie Buckner adding 5.2 boards per game. Brittany Gwyn eclipsed the 200 career assist plateau this season, she leads the team with 74 for the year.

The Chanticleers are led by AJ Jordan who earned First Team All-Conference honors, scoring 17.0 points per game this season. Jordan scored 14 at Kimmel Arena in January, and 28 of CCU's 53 against the Bulldogs at the HTC Center.

Anna Vogt (13.5) and Ced Gibson (10.9) each averaged double-figures in scoring as Coastal was the second highest scoring team in the league this season with 69.5 points per outing. Alexis Robinson leads CCU in rebounding with an 8.3 average.

The winner of Tuesday's game will play No. 1 seeded Liberty on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. at the HTC Center.