University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Tennessee Tech
Women’s Basketball Opens Road Swing on Tuesday Afternoon at Tennessee Tech
12.17.2018 | Women's Basketball
2018-19 UNC Asheville Women's Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (5-3, 0-0 Big South)
Tennessee Tech (5-3, 0-0 OVC)
Location: Cookeville, Tenn. (Hooper Eblen Center)
Date/Time: Tuesday, Dec. 18 / 12 p.m. ET
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: ttusports.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlWBB #ThePursuit
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – To open a four-game road swing, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team travels to Cookeville, Tenn. to square off with Tennessee Tech inside the Hooper Eblen Center.
Tipoff is set for noon ET and will be streamed on ESPN+. The game versus the Golden Eagles will also be TTU's annual Education Day game, and so far this season, UNC Asheville is undefeated in Education Day contests, 1-0.
BULLDOG BITES
About UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville travels to Cookeville with a 5-3 overall record. The Bulldogs have been outstanding in their last six games, as they are 5-1 with wins over Western Carolina, Davidson, Wofford, Warren Wilson and ETSU.
In the lone game last week (versus ETSU), the Bulldogs finished their non-conference home schedule with a one-point victory over the Bucs, 56-55. Nadiria Evans led both squads in points, as the sophomore totaled 18 points in 23 minutes of action. The Gainesville, Fla. native went 6-for-11 from the hardwood and went an unblemished 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Jimeshia Lawson also posted a strong performance, as the rookie totaled a career-high 12 points off the bench. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native grabbed a team-high eight boards, including four offense rebounds.
On the year, senior guard Sonora Dengokl leads the team with 14.1 points per game. Evans (10.6) and Jessica Wall (10.0) are also averaging double figures to join their teammate. Ali Trani continues to lead the Bulldogs in rebounds per game with 4.4, but Brooke Jordan-Brown is right behind her teammate with 4.3 boards per contest.
Scouting Tennessee Tech
Like UNC Asheville, Tennessee Tech sports a 5-3 overall record and is undefeated at home (3-0). In their last six contests, the Golden Eagles are 4-2 with wins over Middle Tennessee, Western Carolina, Charleston Southern and Wichita State. They have played several tough opponents this year too in Xavier, Old Dominion and Arkansas.
Tuesday's contest inside the Hooper Eblen Center will mark the first time TTU has been in their home arena since a 77-58 victory over Western Carolina on Nov. 19.
Jordan Brock paces the Golden Eagle offense, as she averages 11.5 points per game. Kesha Brady is the second player averaging double digits with 10 points per contest. Overall, Tennessee Tech has seven players averaging 5.8 points per game or better.
Lacy Cantrell is a 6-foot-2 forward that is leading the TTU defense with 6.5 rebounds per game. Of her 52 total rebounds, 18 have come on the offensive glass. She is also the team's third leading scorer with 9.6 points per game. There are three Goldens Eagles averaging 5.3 rebounds per game or more.
All-Time History Versus the Golden Eagles
Tuesday's contest will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles.
The last time the two clubs met was during the 2016-17 campaign inside Kimmel Arena. In that head-to-head contest, Khaila Webb totaled a team-high 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Three other Bulldogs totaled double-digit performances - Tianna Knuckles (18), Bronaza Fitzgerald (13) and Ja'Da Brayboy (10). Fitzgerald led the team with eight rebounds.
The last time the two teams met in Cookeville was during the in the 2002-2003 season. That year the Golden Eagles upended the Bulldogs, 69-46.
BARKING ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
CONTE EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NCAA POSTGRADUATE INTERNSHIP: A senior swimming and diving student-athlete, Elizabeth Conte will get to live out her passion with her new opportunity as one of just 30 to receive a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Internship. The Chapel Hill, N.C. native will be working in NCAA Division I governance as part of her postgraduate internship. To learn more, please visit HERE.
NEW STRATEGIC PLAN: UNC Asheville athletics officially unveiled its newest strategic plan on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. The strategic plan entitled "Believe. Achieve. Thrive." is the road map for UNC Asheville athletics over the course of the next five years. The strategic plan outlines key areas of focus and growth in developing lifetime leaders from the most valuable resource that UNC Asheville athletics has in its student-athletes. To learn more about the strategic plan, please visit HERE (PDF).
NATIONAL CHAMPS: The nationally second-ranked UNC Asheville men's tennis doubles duo of Oli Nolan and Henry Patten secured a national championship on Sunday, Nov. 11, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over nationally 42nd-ranked Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn of Texas Tech in the championship match of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. In addition to the national championship win, Patten was also voted by the ITA Officials at the event to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. The championship match win for Nolan and Patten was part of a tremendous fall of 2018 for the pairing. Nolan and Patten went undefeated playing together during the fall and won three titles including the national championship.
MORE THAN MAKING THE GRADE: For the 2017-18 athletic year, the UNC Asheville student-athletes showed their commitment to the classroom by finishing the academic year with a combined grade-point average of 3.142. Impressively, 72 percent (161 of 223) UNC Asheville student-athletes during the 2017-18 athletic year received Athletic Director Honor Roll recognition with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
TWO-TIME SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: For the second time in his career, UNC Asheville senior Blanton Gillespie was selected as a Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Gillespie was chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26. The honor is just the latest for Gillespie, who was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
BIG SOUTH WOMAN OF THE YEAR: UNC Asheville graduate Kayli Nichols was selected as the 2017-18 Big South Conference Woman of the Year. With degrees in German and Political Science and a minor in Spanish, Nichols graduated from UNC Asheville with a GPA of 3.974. During her senior campaign, she was named the Big South Outdoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Big South Indoor Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
BIG SOUTH MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: On the same day that he started his new full-time position in the Corporate Analyst Development Program at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Columbus, Ohio on July 11, 2018, former UNC Asheville men's basketball standout Kevin Vannatta was chosen as the 2017-18 Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to winning the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the conference, Vannatta was also chosen as the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's basketball and as the Big South Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native was also selected to the 2017-18 Academic All-America® NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). An Accounting major at UNC Asheville, Vannatta graduated with a 3.94 grade-point average.
How To Follow The Game Live
The game at Tennessee Tech will be streamed on ESPN+, and the streaming link can be found by clicking HERE. Live stats will also be available, and the link can be found by clicking HERE.
What's Next?
UNC Asheville will continue its road trip with a date with Middle Tennessee on Thursday, Dec. 20. The Bulldogs and Blue Raiders will face off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and the contest will be streamed on C-USA TV.
Players Mentioned
