University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Asheville Women’s Basketball Travels to Campbell Saturday
02.10.2017 | Women's Basketball
Asheville-Campbell Game Notes (PDF)
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (11-11, 5-6 Big South Conference)
Campbell (16-6, 8-3 Big South Conference)
Location: Buies Creek, N.C. / Gore Arena
When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017 / 2 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Live Stats: www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
INSIDE THE STANDINGS: Tuesday night was a wild one for the Big South Conference. Both of the top two teams in the league lost and the third place team won, causing there to be a three-way tie atop the standings. Liberty (9-13, 8-3 Big South Conference) defeated Radford (16-6, 8-3 Big South Conference) by a single point while Campbell (16-6, 8-3 Big South Conference) fell on the road to Charleston Southern to set up the tie. Even further, the Buccaneers of CSU (13-9, 7-4 Big South Conference) are now just a came back from the three-way tie for first and are in a tie with High Point (9-13, 7-4 Big South Conference) for fourth. Charleston Southern will have a shot at creating even more havoc Saturday as the Bucs play at Radford. Asheville will have a similar chance as they travel to Campbell and Presbyterian will play host to Liberty.
SERIES WITH CAMPBELL: Campbell owns a 37-9 all-time series lead over UNC Asheville.
THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET (1/3/17): KJ Weaver corralled in a season-high 18 rebounds, seven off the offensive glass, and finished with a double-double with 14 points to go along with a block and a steal, but it was not enough as the UNC Asheville women's basketball team fell 61-55 to Campbell in the Big South Conference opener for both teams inside Kimmel Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 3. The Bulldogs bounced back after a slow first quarter, shooting 45 percent (18-40) through the final three periods, including 45.5 percent (5-11) in the third. The third quarter also proved to be the difference maker for the Camels as they hit on eight of their 15 attempts from the field (53.3%).
SCOUTING THE CAMELS: Campbell enters Saturday's game as the top scoring defense in the Big South Conference and also boasts the best scoring margin. The Camels have held opponents to just 47.4 points per outing and hold a +12.5 margin over their opponents. Campbell also boasts the second-best team field goal percentage, converting 41.4 percent of their attempts from the field. They are also second in steals, averaging 8.3 per contest, and turnover margin (+1.59). The Camels are led in scoring by junior Summer Price's 12.9 points per outing, a mark that has her currently sixth in the Big South. She enters Saturday's game shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three-point range while Brianna Cribb leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per contest.
LAST TIME OUT (PC, 2/7/17): The UNC Asheville women's basketball team was able to overcome a nearly 10-point deficit to start the fourth quarter, but the Presbyterian College women found a way to hold on and push through late to claim a 52-47 win in Big South Conference action inside Kimmel Arena. The two teams were tied 10 times and swapped the lead five times, but Presbyterian was able to take the lead for good with 43 seconds left in regulation when Rebecca Walker hit a pair of free throws. Cortney Storey then added one of her own a few seconds later and Kaycie Reffner sealed things up with a pair of free throws with just eight seconds remaining.
A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING: Junior guard Khaila Webb did a little bit of everything, Tuesday night against Presbyterian. She led the Bulldogs with 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists and was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and converted her lone three-point attempt.
CLEANING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: As a team, the Bulldogs collected 19 offensive rebounds and turned those into 17 points Tuesday night against the Blue Hose. On the flip side, Presbyterian had just five offensive boards and turned those into just three points.
BLOCK PARTY: Tuesday night's two-block effort by senior center KJ Weaver marked the 12th time this season she has swatted away multiple shots. Weaver ended Tuesday's game against Presbyterian with two blocks and now has 145 career blocks, a mark that has her in the top-five of program history.
WEAVER FEATURED IN BIG SOUTH MUSCO SPOTLIGHT: UNC Asheville women's basketball senior forward KJ Weaver has been featured in the most recent Big South Conference MUSCO Spotlight, a video feature produced by the conference office that focuses on women's student-athletes and their personal stories during the 2016-17 year. In the video released by the Big South Conference office, Weaver talks about growing up with parents who are deaf and how her stepfather's passion for basketball led her to the sport she now loves. She also talks about how her parents helped teach her patience and understanding both on and off the court.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Senior Chatori Major is quickly closing in on 1,000 career points. She now has 934 career points. Last season, she scored 452 points en route to earning Big South Conference Player of the Year honors and currently has 286 points this season.
MOVING ON UP: Senior KJ Weaver finished Tuesday's game against Presbyterian with seven rebounds, giving her 652 over her illustrious career. That mark has her now sixth in Asheville's NCAA Division I era and eighth all-time. The next milestone will be 670 career rebounds for seventh all-time and fifth in the D-1 era. Jessica Guarneri (1999-2002) currently holds those marks.
SEEING DOUBLE: When centers KJ Weaver and Bronaza Fitzgerald each recorded a double-double in the Bulldogs' 68-53 win over Winthrop on Tuesday, Jan. 10, it was the first time the feat had been accomplished by two UNC Asheville women's basketball players since the 2010-11 season. That year, Lindsay Montgomery scored 20 points and brought down 10 boards while Kelli Riles chipped in 11 points and added 10 rebounds in a loss to Charleston Southern on Feb. 9, 2011. In fact, the duo of Montgomery and Riles accomplished the feat four times that season.
IT'S AN HONOR: Prior to the win over Wofford (Dec. 15), Tianna Knuckles was honored for joining the prestigious 1,000-point club at UNC Asheville. One of only 105 in Big South Women's Basketball history to surpass 1,000 points, Knuckles passed the 1,000-point mark in the Bulldog win over Western Carolina on Friday, Nov. 18, at Kimmel Arena. The senior guard out of Wendell, N.C. now has 1,129 career points.
GET ON BOARD: UNC Asheville senior center KJ Weaver became the 108th player in Big South Conference women's basketball history to eclipse the 500 rebound plateau in the Bulldogs' win over Western Carolina on Nov. 18. She has since joined an even more elite group, becoming the 74th player in Big South history to eclipse the 600 rebound mark. She presently has 645 rebounds in her career.
BIG SOUTH UNVEILS NEW BRAND IDENTITY (Per the Big South Conference): "The Big South Conference introduced its new brand identity on Saturday, Jan. 14, that epitomizes the league's strong commitment to its student-athletes and re-establishes the Conference's vitality, personality and longstanding success in NCAA Division I collegiate athletics under a new mantra – 'Where Winners Are Made.'" Full Release: Visit BigSouthSports.com.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville will continue a two-game road swing on Valentine's Day, Tuesday, Feb. 14, by traveling to Charleston, S.C., where the Bulldogs will take on the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs and Bucs will tip off at 7 p.m. inside the Buc Dome. Following the game in the Palmetto State, Asheville will return to action inside Kimmel Arena for two games.
QUOTABLES
"We are looking forward to having an opportunity to show growth from our last outing on Tuesday. Campbell is having a great season thus far and is tough defensively." – Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick
