University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Liberty
Women’s Basketball Plays at Liberty Monday Night
02.26.2017 | Women's Basketball
Asheville-Liberty Game Notes (PDF)
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (13-14, 7-9 Big South Conference)
Liberty (12-15, 11-5 Big South Conference)
Location: Lynchburg, Va. / Vines Center
When: Monday, Feb. 27, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Live Stats: www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
SERIES WITH LIBERTY: Monday's game will mark the 64th meeting between UNC Asheville and Liberty in women's basketball. The Flames own the all-time series with a record of 52-11, but Asheville has flipped the script on the Flames recently, claiming the last three meetings.
THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET (1/21/17): The UNC Asheville women's basketball team carried over the strong intensity and effort from their game at Gardner-Webb and used it to take down the Liberty Flames 64-54 in Big South Conference action at home inside Kimmel Arena on ESPN3. The Bulldogs jumped all over the Flames right from the get-go, scoring the first 12 points of the game before Liberty was able to score two. By the end of the first quarter, Asheville was on top 18-8, in part thanks to 10 points from senior Chatori Major. In the opening period alone, Major went 4-for-7 (.571) from the field, including hitting both of her three-point attempts. Eventually in the second quarter, Liberty was able to regroup enough to mount a comeback, out-scoring Asheville 13-3 in the final 10 minutes of the first half to knot the score at 21-all at halftime. The second half saw UNC Asheville retake the lead off a layup by Zip Scott 57 seconds into the third quarter and from there the Bulldogs never looked back. They built up the lead over the middle portion of the third, flirting with a double-digit lead with just under a minute left in the quarter. Liberty attempted to mount a second comeback in the fourth, but the Bulldogs never blinked, keeping the intensity up on both ends of the court to secure the win. For the game, Major led all players with 19 points, including going 5-for-7 (.714) from the free throw line. Behind her, sophomore Sonora Dengokl scored 14 points, including converting eight of her 10 free throw attempts, and Jessica Wall chipped in 11. Wall ended the game with seven rebounds, matching Scott for second on the team behind senior center KJ Weaver's eight. The Bulldogs shot 36.8 percent (21-57) from the field and drained half of their three-point attempts (6-for-12). The Flames, who entered the game leading the nation in offensive rebounds, were led by Iva Ilic's 16 points and Lela Sellers' 10 off the bench. Liberty shot 34.8 percent for the game and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 43-40 overall.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES: The Flames enter Monday's game having won their last three games, including wins over Charleston Southern, Longwood and Winthrop. Liberty is currently tied with High Point for third in the league with matching 11-5 league records. Liberty is led in scoring by Keyen Green's 12.4 points per game. She also leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game and is the only player to have started all 27 games for the Flames.
LAST TIME OUT (Radford, 2/25/17): The last time the UNC Asheville and Radford women's basketball teams played, it took overtime for a winner to emerge. Saturday afternoon in the Dedmon Center, it took two overtimes with the Bulldogs coming up just three points short, 76-73. The two teams were fittingly neck-and-neck the entire game with Radford edging out to a 19-18 lead through the first quarter. The Highlanders were able to get a little breathing room in the second quarter, out-scoring the Bulldogs 18-11 in the quarter, but UNC Asheville didn't give up. In the second half, Asheville shot 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from the field and out-scored Radford 31-23 in the third and fourth quarters, forcing overtime. In the first overtime period, both sides scored just five points, sending the game to a second overtime that would eventually decide the winner. In the final period of the game, the Highlanders out-scored the Bulldogs 11-8 to hang on for the three-point win. UNC Asheville ended the double-overtime thriller shooting 45.6 percent (31-for-68) from the field and 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from three-point range. The Highlanders were just slightly better, shooting 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the field for the game and 68.2 percent (15-for-22) from three-point range. Chatori Major led the way for Asheville with a game-high 23 points. She shot 9-for-21 from the field and converted five of her 10 three-point attempts. She also added three rebounds, a block and a steal in 46 minutes of work. Jessica Wall had a career day as she scored a career-best 18 points against the Highlanders. Wall went 8-for-13 from the field, converted a pair of three-pointers and had a team-high five assists. Sonora Dengokl was the third and final Bulldog player to finish in double-digit points, scoring 10. Radford was led by Jayda Worthy's 20 points and Claudia Quevedo's 19. The duo combined to go 16-for-26 from the field, including four three-pointers from Quevedo.
MAJOR SCORING: Chatori Major scored 20 or more points for the fifth time this season and third game in a row. In the last three games, the senior guard has scored 26 points against Longwood, 22 against Winthrop and 23 at Radford. She averages 14.5 points per game for the season.
CAREER HIGH FOR WALL: Jessica Wall scored a career-high 18 points against Radford, Saturday afternoon. It is the sixth time this season the sophomore guard has scored in double figures. It is also the fourth time in five games she has accomplished the feat. Over the last five games, Wall has averaged 13.6 points per game, including Saturday's 18.
CLOSE GAMES WITH THE HIGHLANDERS: In the last three meetings with Radford, the Bulldogs have played close games with the Highlanders. In the second game of the 2015-16 series, the Bulldogs claimed a six-point, 57-51 victory. Earlier this season, Radford won by only two points in a 64-62 overtime thriller inside Kimmel Arena. Saturday afternoon, the Highlanders needed double overtime to claim a three-point, 76-73 win over the Bulldogs.
1,000 CAREER POINTS: Chatori Major became the 106th Big South Conference player and 16th UNC Asheville women's basketball player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. The senior guard from Camp Lejeune, N.C., needed just five points last Tuesday night against Winthrop to hit the mark, and she accomplished that less than five minutes into the game. With her 22 points Tuesday night and 23 Saturday at Radford, Major now boasts 1,040 career points.
BLOCK PARTY: Freshman Brooke Jordan-Brown swatted away two shots last Tuesday night against Winthrop, marking the first time in her short career that she has accomplished the feat.
DISHING THEM OUT: Jessica Wall and Khaila Webb both dished out a game-high six assists Tuesday night against Winthrop. For Webb, it was the fourth time this season she has recorded six assists in a game. For Wall, it was three shy of her career-high of nine set against Warren Wilson earlier this season.
MOVING ON UP: Senior KJ Weaver finished Tuesday's win over Winthrop with five rebounds, giving her 687 over her illustrious career. That mark has her fifth in Asheville's NCAA Division I era and seventh all-time. The next milestone will be 720 career rebounds for sixth all-time and fourth in the D-1 era. Tonisha Jackson (1999-2004) currently holds those marks. Weaver's 206 rebounds as a senior are a career-high for rebounds in a season for her.
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.
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: The Bulldogs return home on Saturday, March 4, for the regular season finale against Gardner-Webb. It will also serve as Senior Day for Chatori Major, KJ Weaver, Tianna Knuckles and Ja'Da Brayboy.
QUOTABLES
"We have a quick turnaround which we are thankful for after a tough ending to a great game yesterday. It will be great to get out on the court again. Liberty is leading the league in rebounding and they have great size as well. We must pay attention to the rebounding on both ends as well as continue to take care of the ball." - Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick
