University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Sunday, November 26
Asheville, NC
2:00 PM
UNC Asheville
0-5
57
vs
72
MTSU
4-0
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tennessee
21
21
13
17
72
UNC Asheville
8
17
14
18
57
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Fitzgerald Posts Career-High 19 Points; Bulldogs Fall 72-57 to Middle Tennessee
11.26.2017 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Despite Bronaza Fitzgerald scoring a career-high 19 points and the Bulldogs knocking down 23 free throws, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team fell 72-57 to Middle Tennessee inside Kimmel Arena on Sunday afternoon.
BULLDOG BITES
Game Highlights
Fitzgerald had a career night as she dropped 19 points in the third start of her senior campaign. In 25 minutes of play, the center went 4-for-10 including making 11 free throws at the charity stripe. To go along with her new career high, she matched a career record with a pair of steals to go along with a team-leading eight rebounds. It was the third game in the last four that the Danville, Va. native has paced the squad in rebounds.
For the first time this year, the Bulldogs had three players post double-digits in points as senior guard Khaila Webb (13 points) and sophomore center Brooke Jordan-Brown (13 points) joined Fitzgerald in double-figures. Jordan-Brown grabbed three rebounds while Webb was tied for the team-lead in assists with four. Jessica Wall also had four assists to go along with her four points.
Alexis Toney led the team in steals with three as the junior set a personal best in that category. The Wilson, N.C. native grabbed the second-most boards on the team with four.
Sophomore Juliet Esadah was a perfect 2-for-2 from the field as she totaled four points in 13 minutes. Jordan-Brown was nearly perfect as she went 4-for-5 along with scoring five free throws.
As a team, the Bulldogs went to the charity stripe 35 times and converted on 23, as both categories mark a season high. Leading the team was Fitzgerald with 11 while Webb went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
Middle Tennessee jumped out quickly in the first quarter as it went on a 21-8 run in the first 10 minutes. The Bulldogs started to find a rhythm as they scored 17 points in the second quarter, but the Blue Raiders doubled their lead to make it a 42-25 advantage at half time.
Despite the 17-point deficit, UNC Asheville made it an exciting game in the second half as it out-scored Middle Tennessee 32-30 in the final 20 minutes of play. In the second half, the Bulldogs shot a season-best 47.6 percent from the field (10-for-21) as
Fitzgerald and Webb each tallied at least three made shots. The senior duo also combined for nine free throws in 11 attempts in the second half.
Defensively, the Bulldogs played smarter in the final 20 minutes as they limited Middle Tennessee to 18 shots with only seven shots attempted in the final 10 minutes. UNC Asheville tallied five steals including two total blocked shots from Fitzgerald and Jordan-Brown. UNC Asheville started to also force turnovers as MTSU recorded 12 in the final two quarters.
Also, the Blue Raiders started to see their players getting fouled out as three MTSU players were fouled out in the second half. As a team, MTSU totaled 31 fouls with four players totaling four or more fouls in the weekend showdown.
Quotable
"Our physicality and effort improved from our last outing, but we are still working on making adjustments during the game. I thought our post players did incredibly well battling down low and creating foul trouble for Middle Tennessee. We gave MTSU too many extra possessions on turnovers and for a team of that caliber, it can be crushing. We are going to continue to work hard as a team to get better and put ourselves in the position to get a result."
- Head Coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick
What's Next?
The Bulldogs hit the road on Thursday, Nov. 30 as they travel to Wofford. Tipoff in the new Richardson Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.
BULLDOG BITES
Game Highlights
Fitzgerald had a career night as she dropped 19 points in the third start of her senior campaign. In 25 minutes of play, the center went 4-for-10 including making 11 free throws at the charity stripe. To go along with her new career high, she matched a career record with a pair of steals to go along with a team-leading eight rebounds. It was the third game in the last four that the Danville, Va. native has paced the squad in rebounds.
For the first time this year, the Bulldogs had three players post double-digits in points as senior guard Khaila Webb (13 points) and sophomore center Brooke Jordan-Brown (13 points) joined Fitzgerald in double-figures. Jordan-Brown grabbed three rebounds while Webb was tied for the team-lead in assists with four. Jessica Wall also had four assists to go along with her four points.
Alexis Toney led the team in steals with three as the junior set a personal best in that category. The Wilson, N.C. native grabbed the second-most boards on the team with four.
Sophomore Juliet Esadah was a perfect 2-for-2 from the field as she totaled four points in 13 minutes. Jordan-Brown was nearly perfect as she went 4-for-5 along with scoring five free throws.
As a team, the Bulldogs went to the charity stripe 35 times and converted on 23, as both categories mark a season high. Leading the team was Fitzgerald with 11 while Webb went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
Middle Tennessee jumped out quickly in the first quarter as it went on a 21-8 run in the first 10 minutes. The Bulldogs started to find a rhythm as they scored 17 points in the second quarter, but the Blue Raiders doubled their lead to make it a 42-25 advantage at half time.
Despite the 17-point deficit, UNC Asheville made it an exciting game in the second half as it out-scored Middle Tennessee 32-30 in the final 20 minutes of play. In the second half, the Bulldogs shot a season-best 47.6 percent from the field (10-for-21) as
Fitzgerald and Webb each tallied at least three made shots. The senior duo also combined for nine free throws in 11 attempts in the second half.
Defensively, the Bulldogs played smarter in the final 20 minutes as they limited Middle Tennessee to 18 shots with only seven shots attempted in the final 10 minutes. UNC Asheville tallied five steals including two total blocked shots from Fitzgerald and Jordan-Brown. UNC Asheville started to also force turnovers as MTSU recorded 12 in the final two quarters.
Also, the Blue Raiders started to see their players getting fouled out as three MTSU players were fouled out in the second half. As a team, MTSU totaled 31 fouls with four players totaling four or more fouls in the weekend showdown.
Quotable
"Our physicality and effort improved from our last outing, but we are still working on making adjustments during the game. I thought our post players did incredibly well battling down low and creating foul trouble for Middle Tennessee. We gave MTSU too many extra possessions on turnovers and for a team of that caliber, it can be crushing. We are going to continue to work hard as a team to get better and put ourselves in the position to get a result."
- Head Coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick
What's Next?
The Bulldogs hit the road on Thursday, Nov. 30 as they travel to Wofford. Tipoff in the new Richardson Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.
Team Stats
MT
AVL
FG%
.604
.372
3FG%
.583
.286
FT%
.778
.657
RB
27
26
TO
19
18
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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