University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Open Big South Championships with Campbell Friday at Noon
03.10.2016 | Women's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
Big South Conference Championships: Quarterfinals
Teams: Asheville (23-6, 16-4 BSC)
Campbell University (13-17, 8-13 BSC)
Location: Kimmel Arena/Asheville, N.C.
Time: 12:00 p.m.
ASHEVILLE – The UNC Asheville Women's Basketball team makes their Big South Conference Tournament debut on their home floor against Campbell University on Friday at noon in the quarterfinal round.
FIRST ROUND RECAP
The Campbell University Camels punched their ticket to the quarterfinal round with a three-point victory over Coastal Carolina on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. Campbell and Coastal went point for point down the stretch. Coastal hit a jumper to tie the game at 64 with 12 seconds remaining. Campbell took advantage of their final possession, with the Camels knocking down a three-pointer just as the clock expired to give them a 67-64 win.
NOTABLES
Tournament Talk: Asheville enters the tournament as the number one seed, facing Campbell as the number eight seed. Asheville received a first round bye as the regular season champions, making Friday's matchup the first game of the tournament for the Bulldogs. In the 2014-15 Big South Championships, the Bulldogs defeated Coastal Carolina in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals in Conway, S.C. Asheville ended their run in the championships with an eight-point loss to Liberty University in the quarterfinals.
Bulldogs in the Regular Season: Asheville posted program-bests across the board in the 2015-16 season. They started the season matching a program-best start of 9-2. The Bulldogs would build on that start for an overall record of 23-6, and a Big South Conference record of 16-4. This replaces the previous program-highs in both regular season (19) and conference (9) wins. Asheville capped off their Cinderella season with their first ever Big South Conference regular season crown. The Bulldogs finished one win ahead of Liberty University (15-5) in second place.
Head-to-Head: Campbell and Asheville last met on February 27 for the Bulldogs' Senior Day, where the Camels handed Asheville one of their four conference losses (85-64). Asheville and Campbell split the series, with the Bulldogs picking up the win in Buies Creek on January 2, 72-58.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH BRENDA MOCK KIRKPATRICK
On the Tournament – “We are excited for our first opportunity to play in the Big South Conference Championships. Our players have a healthy respect for Campbell and every other team in this league. The last time we faced off against the Camels they took it to us. We learned a lot from that game and know that it will require our best effort to get a result tomorrow. We have had a focused week of practice and preparation. I am just so excited for the community of Asheville and our university to have the privilege of being the host city and institution. We have a mission as a team but we also desire that everyone participating in the tournament has a good experience.”
