University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Set to Face No.3 Seeded Kentucky in Lexington
03.18.2016 | Women's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
Teams: Asheville (26-6)
University of Kentucky (23-7)
Location: Memorial Coliseum /Lexington, Ky.
Time: 4:00 p.m.
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UNC Asheville Women's Basketball team makes their 2016 NCAA tournament debut in a first round match-up with No. 3 seeded University of Kentucky on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Lexington.
ROAD TO LEXINGTON
The Bulldogs punched their ticket to the big dance for the second time in program history less than a week ago with a double-overtime victory over Liberty University to secure a Big South Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
NOTABLES
Tournament Talk: The Bulldogs enter the tournament as the No.14 seed facing Kentucky as the No. 3 seed. Fourteen has a familiar feel as the Bulldogs carried the same seed into their 2007 NCAA tournament run, facing the No. 3 seeded LSU. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs in Baton Rouge 77-39.
Record Breaking 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 surpasses 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.
Scouting the Wildcats: UK averages 74.3 points per game on 45 percent shooting behind Makayla Epps' average of 16.5 points per game. For the Wildcat offense, Janee Thompson and Evelyn Akhator also average double figures at 12.6 and 11.6 points per game respectively. Off the glass, the Wildcats average 39.5 boards per game with Akhator leading Kentucky on the boards with an average of 9.4 rebounds per game.
Head-to-Head: The Bulldogs and the Wildcats have met twice in program history, both times in 1995. In both meetings, the Wildcats came away with the win, delivering a 70-55 victory in Asheville and 98-76 in Lexington.
UP NEXT
The winner of tomorrow's first round game between the Bulldogs and the Wildcats will advance to play the winner of the other first round match of No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11 Purdue at 1: 30 p.m. The second round match would be held on Monday, March 21.
