University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Asheville's Journey to the Tourney Begins Friday at Noon
03.07.2016 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C.- After a record-breaking regular season, UNC Asheville prepares to enter the Big South Conference Championship tournament as the number one seed on their home floor on Friday, March 11 at 12:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will face the winner of Campbell University and Coastal Carolina University to be played on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
Asheville claimed its first-ever Big South regular season championship and clinched the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 16-4 conference record, setting a school record for league victories as well as the first time with double-figure Big South wins.
The Bulldogs were picked to finish 8th of ten teams in the Big South Conference Preseason Poll back in October. Throughout the 2015-16 season, the Bulldogs never dropped below second place in conference standings, opening league play with four straight wins.
Asheville cracked CollegeInsider.com's Women's Mid-Major Poll for the first time in school history this season. Asheville landed in the number 25 spot for the first time on February 25. The Bulldogs would hold a spot in the rankings for three consecutive weeks, moving up as high as the 21 spot in the third week.
The Bulldogs finished the season leading the Big South Conference in two statistical categories, scoring (69), and field goal percentage (42.5%). Asheville led the conference in as many as seven categories at once during the season.
Entering the final day of Big South Conference regular season play, The Bulldogs were tied for first place with Liberty University at 15-4. Asheville's (85-64) victory over High Point boosted them to their most-ever league wins, replacing a previous high of nine conference wins. The Flames dropped their final contest to Presbyterian College to drop them to second place with a record of 15-5.
Liberty finished a game behind the Bulldogs for the top spot and earned the No. 2 seed, as the Flames landed in the Top-2 in the league standings for the eighth straight season. The Flames closed the regular season with a 15-5 conference mark and will look for their fourth championship in five seasons.
With Radford, Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian College tied for third-place at 13-7, the tiebreaker procedure to compare records among the tied teams was. The Highlanders posted a 3-1 combined record against GWU and PC, which gave RU the No. 3 seed. Gardner-Webb was 2-2 in the grouping, with PC 1-3, thus giving the Runnin' Bulldogs the No. 4 seed with the Blue Hose falling to No. 5.
High Point finished the year with an even 10-10 conference record, which lands the Panthers in the No. 6 seed. HPU will square off with No. 11 Winthrop in the opening round on Thursday at 7 p.m. Charleston Southern wrapped up the No. 7 seed and will face No. 10 seed Longwood on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The opening game of the championship features No. 8 seed Campbell against No. 9 seed Coastal Carolina at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
With their regular-season victory, Asheville receives an automatic bid to the Women's NIT.
All games of the 2015-16 Big South Conference tournament will be played at Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville. Tickets are on sale here or by calling the UNC Asheville Athletics Ticket Office at 828-258-7900.
