University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, December 20
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:30 PM
UNC Asheville
at
Middle Tennessee
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Continue Road Swing at Middle Tennessee on Thursday
12.19.2018 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes
2018-19 UNC Asheville Women's Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (5-4, 0-0 Big South)
Middle Tennessee State University (7-3, 0-0 C-USA)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Murphy Center)
Date/Time: Thursday, Dec. 20 / 7:30 p.m. ET
Live Stream: C-USA TV
Live Stats: goblueraiders.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlWBB #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Continuing with its four-game road swing, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team travels to Middle Tennessee on Thursday, Dec. 20 inside the Murphy Center.
Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on C-USA TV.
BULLDOG BITES
About UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville travels to Murfreesboro with a 5-4 overall record and are 2-1 in its last three contests. In that three-game stretch, the Bulldogs upended both Warren Wilson and ETSU.
In its last game (at Tennessee Tech on Dec. 18), the Bulldogs fell to the Golden Eagles, 60-53. In the head-to-head contest, senior guard Sonora Dengokl nearly led the come-from-behind victory for Asheville, as the Sumter, S.C. native totaled a career-high 27 points. Dengokl made a single-game best 13 field goals on 24 shot attempts. In her 34 minutes of play, she grabbed four rebounds and three assists.
Nadiria Evans also had a strong performance at Tennessee Tech, as the reigning Big South Player of the Week totaled 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench. The sophomore went 5-for-10 from the field and also grabbed two rebounds and an assist.
On the year, Dengokl continues to lead the offense by averaging 15.6 points per game. The guard has posted double-digit performances in seven of the nine games so far this year. She has scored 18 or more points in three games this year.
Evans, who averaged just over three points per game last season, has already tripled that average for her sophomore campaign with 10.7 points per contest. The Gainesville, Fla. native has played solely off the bench and is averaging 20.2 minutes per game. She has the second-best field goal percentage on the squad (10 minimum field goals made).
Scouting Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders welcome UNC Asheville to the Murphy Center with a 7-3 overall record. They are 3-1 on their home court with victories over Lindsey Wilson, Vanderbilt and Mississippi Valley.
Middle Tennessee has a trio of players that are averaging 12.7 points per game or more – Alex Johnson (14.7), A'Queen Hayes (12.8) and Taylor Sutton (12.7). Jess Louro and Anna Jones are also offensive threats, as they are averaging 8.4 and 6.1 points per game, respectively. Between Johnson, Hayes and Sutton, the three Blue Raiders have combined for 402 of the team's 673 points (59.7 percent).
Hayes and Louro are the two biggest threats on the glass, as they average 6.3 and 6.1 rebounds per game, respectively. Middle Tennessee has five players that are averaging 3.8 or more rebounds per game.
As a team, Middle Tennessee is averaging 67.3 points per game and has a +7.0 scoring margin. The team is shooting .439 percent from the field and is connecting with over seven made three-pointers per game. The Blue Raiders are also stout on defense, as they average 8.1 steals, 2.3 blocks and 36.9 rebounds per game.
All-Time History Versus the Blue Raiders
Thursday's contest will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders. The two clubs met last year in Kimmel Arena, and the last time the two teams met in Murfreesboro was during the 1999-2000 season.
In last year's game inside Kimmel Arena, Middle Tennessee claimed a 72-57 victory. Bronaza Fitzgerald totaled 19 points on 4-for-10 shooting. She was impressive from the free-throw line, as she went 11-for-15 from the charity stripe. She also grabbed eight boards. Khaila Webb and Brooke Jordan-Brown each added 13 points, as the duo combined for seven field goals made.
BARKING ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
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 Middle Tennessee will be streamed on C-USA TV. 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 concludes non-conference play on Sunday, Dec. 30 with a date at Mercer. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
2018-19 UNC Asheville Women's Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (5-4, 0-0 Big South)
Middle Tennessee State University (7-3, 0-0 C-USA)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Murphy Center)
Date/Time: Thursday, Dec. 20 / 7:30 p.m. ET
Live Stream: C-USA TV
Live Stats: goblueraiders.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlWBB #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Continuing with its four-game road swing, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team travels to Middle Tennessee on Thursday, Dec. 20 inside the Murphy Center.
Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on C-USA TV.
BULLDOG BITES
About UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville travels to Murfreesboro with a 5-4 overall record and are 2-1 in its last three contests. In that three-game stretch, the Bulldogs upended both Warren Wilson and ETSU.
In its last game (at Tennessee Tech on Dec. 18), the Bulldogs fell to the Golden Eagles, 60-53. In the head-to-head contest, senior guard Sonora Dengokl nearly led the come-from-behind victory for Asheville, as the Sumter, S.C. native totaled a career-high 27 points. Dengokl made a single-game best 13 field goals on 24 shot attempts. In her 34 minutes of play, she grabbed four rebounds and three assists.
Nadiria Evans also had a strong performance at Tennessee Tech, as the reigning Big South Player of the Week totaled 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench. The sophomore went 5-for-10 from the field and also grabbed two rebounds and an assist.
On the year, Dengokl continues to lead the offense by averaging 15.6 points per game. The guard has posted double-digit performances in seven of the nine games so far this year. She has scored 18 or more points in three games this year.
Evans, who averaged just over three points per game last season, has already tripled that average for her sophomore campaign with 10.7 points per contest. The Gainesville, Fla. native has played solely off the bench and is averaging 20.2 minutes per game. She has the second-best field goal percentage on the squad (10 minimum field goals made).
Scouting Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders welcome UNC Asheville to the Murphy Center with a 7-3 overall record. They are 3-1 on their home court with victories over Lindsey Wilson, Vanderbilt and Mississippi Valley.
Middle Tennessee has a trio of players that are averaging 12.7 points per game or more – Alex Johnson (14.7), A'Queen Hayes (12.8) and Taylor Sutton (12.7). Jess Louro and Anna Jones are also offensive threats, as they are averaging 8.4 and 6.1 points per game, respectively. Between Johnson, Hayes and Sutton, the three Blue Raiders have combined for 402 of the team's 673 points (59.7 percent).
Hayes and Louro are the two biggest threats on the glass, as they average 6.3 and 6.1 rebounds per game, respectively. Middle Tennessee has five players that are averaging 3.8 or more rebounds per game.
As a team, Middle Tennessee is averaging 67.3 points per game and has a +7.0 scoring margin. The team is shooting .439 percent from the field and is connecting with over seven made three-pointers per game. The Blue Raiders are also stout on defense, as they average 8.1 steals, 2.3 blocks and 36.9 rebounds per game.
All-Time History Versus the Blue Raiders
Thursday's contest will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders. The two clubs met last year in Kimmel Arena, and the last time the two teams met in Murfreesboro was during the 1999-2000 season.
In last year's game inside Kimmel Arena, Middle Tennessee claimed a 72-57 victory. Bronaza Fitzgerald totaled 19 points on 4-for-10 shooting. She was impressive from the free-throw line, as she went 11-for-15 from the charity stripe. She also grabbed eight boards. Khaila Webb and Brooke Jordan-Brown each added 13 points, as the duo combined for seven field goals made.
BARKING ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
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 Middle Tennessee will be streamed on C-USA TV. 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 concludes non-conference play on Sunday, Dec. 30 with a date at Mercer. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
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