University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
17-16
Furman
18-13
Fitzgerald, Wall Break School Records in Tight Loss in Opening Round of WBI
03.15.2018 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Despite Bronaza Fitzgerald and Jessica Wall breaking UNC Asheville records, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team fell in a tight loss, 65-64, to Furman in the opening round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) on Thursday in Kimmel Arena.
Fitzgerald broke the UNC Asheville Division I record for single-season rebounds, as she finished her senior season with 319 rebounds.
Wall also broke her own school record for the most made three-pointers in a game (nine 3-pointers), which she set earlier this season at USC Upstate.
BULLDOG BITES
Game Highlights
UNC Asheville held the advantage in the first quarter, as it saw its lead get as high as nine points three and a half minutes into the contest. At the end of opening stanza, Asheville held a narrow 18-16 lead.
The Bulldogs continued to hold the lead until the 6:34 mark in the second quarter, as Furman went on a 19-5 run to close out first half to hold the 40-31 lead at the half.
At the halftime intermission, Asheville was shooting at a 45 percent clip (12-for-25) from the field. Wall paced the offense in the first half, as she knocked down four 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Bulldogs started to chip away at the deficit in the third quarter, as Wall made a trio of three-pointers. Fitzgerald added two field goals made and four boards, but Furman still held a 55-48 advantage heading into the final quarter.
UNC Asheville out-scored Furman, 16-10, in the fourth quarter, as it attempted the fourth-quarter comeback. Asheville chipped away at the deficit and even held the lead three times in the final stanza. Fitzgerald scored the go-ahead layup with 58 seconds left to put the Bulldogs up 64-63. Twenty-one seconds later, Fitzgerald and Zip Scott forced a Furman turnover to give the Bulldogs a chance to extend their lead. The Bulldogs pulled up a shot with 11 seconds left in regulation, but the shot rimmed out. Following a timeout and an advancement by the Paladins, Furman's Stephanie Oramas netted the game-winner with 2.4 seconds left to seal the narrow 65-64 victory in the opening round of the WBI.
Wall finished the contest with 27 points, which was a career best. The junior guard was lights out behind the three-point arc, as she netted nine 3-pointers to set a new single-game program record. She added three assists and two boards to conclude her play.
Fitzgerald contributed 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting, but more importantly, she broke the UNC Asheville Division I record for the most rebounds in a single season by corralling 14 boards on Thursday. She ends her career with 319 rebounds this season.
Khaila Webb and Scott each tallied a team-high four assists, and Fitzgerald and Scott each recorded a block.
The Bulldogs drop to 17-16 overall, and Furman moves to 18-13 overall, as it advances to play the winner of South Alabama/Stetson in the second round of the WBI.
Quotable
