Celebrating 90 Years - Looking Back on a Historic Women's Basketball Road Win That Helped Lay Foundation for a Championship

The UNC Asheville women's basketball team opened the season at mountain rival Western Carolina last Sunday afternoon.

The two programs have enjoyed some memorable games over the years. Today, we'll look back at a big Asheville win over the Lady Catamounts in Cullowhee in December of 2003.

Betsy Blose enjoyed her first ever win over Western Carolina. She just wishes the trip home from Cullowhee had taken a little longer.

In Blose's second season, she and her staff were working hard to improve the Bulldog program. Blose inherited a 1-28 team that lost its best player when she became head coach in the spring of 2002.

The Bulldogs improved a little bit the following year to 3-25. Asheville was much more competitive but just didn't have the depth to compete late in games.

And they couldn't win on the road. Asheville posted a 69-67 win at Appalachian State on Dec. 4, 2000, two years before Blose came to the mountains. It was a nice road win but there would be no more road victories for three years.

Blose's second Asheville team opened the season with two road losses before rattling off three straight wins, including impressive home wins over Tennessee State and ETSU. The Bulldogs had brought in some impressive new recruits and they were beginning to gel with the holdovers from the previous season.

The streak was at 39 consecutive road losses when the Bulldogs journeyed to Cullowhee on a cold December night. Asheville's recent win-streak notwithstanding, the Bulldogs would have their work cut out for them against the Catamounts. WCU had won the SoCon regular-season title the year before and had most of its team returning.

"We were making progress early in my second year, but we were still trying to figure things out," admitted Blose. "We were better but it was bothersome that we hadn't won on the road yet. The bus rides had gotten pretty long."

Things would be different this time. Asheville would dig in defensively and not let WCU's offense get untracked. The Bulldogs also struggled offensively in the first half but thanks to their defense, the game would be tied 24-24 at halftime.

In the second half, Asheville's offense would be a little better but its defense would be awesome. The Bulldogs limited the Cats to just 17 second-half points and six field goals. Junior college transfer Andrea Clapp would come off the bench to score all 10 of her points in the second half as Asheville took a lead and never looked back.

Sophomore guard Kristal Hood was the Big South Rookie of the Year the previous season and was a high-scoring player for the Bulldogs. She only had five points in this game but had six assists and two steals.

"I remember our effort was just tremendous that night, especially on the defensive end. Kristal Hood was diving all over the place for loose balls as was our whole team," remembered Blose. "We played with a lot of emotion. It wasn't the prettiest of games but our work ethic was just superb.

"I was so happy that we had won, and I think that win set the tone for our program moving forward," added Blose. "The victory announced that we were a different Asheville team from the previous years. And anytime you beat your rival that makes you feel good. Western Carolina went on to have a great season that year so that win really meant a lot to our program."

The only thing Blose wanted was a longer trip home.

"It's only about an hour from Cullowhee to Asheville but I wanted that trip to last a few more hours," joked Blose. "I wanted our program to enjoy that win for as long as we could. I almost told the bus driver to take a detour and just take our time coming home."

The win was a big one for Blose and her program and it was no fluke. The Bulldogs would be the most improved team in the country that year with a 19-9 overall record. After not winning a conference game the year before, Asheville went 9-5 and finished in second place in the league, earning Blose Coach of the Year honors.

A year later the Bulldogs advanced to the Big South Championship game before falling to eventual Sweet 16 participant Liberty on its home floor. Two years later, Blose would complete the turnaround with the program's first-ever Big South Championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament.

**In celebration of UNC Asheville's 90th anniversary, Hall of Famer Mike Gore will look back on important moments in athletics department history over the course of the 2017-18 athletic year**

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Celebrating 90 Years - Looking Back on a Historic Women's Basketball Road Win That Helped Lay Foundation for a Championship

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