University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, March 14
Radford, VA
8:00 PM
UNC Asheville
vs
Gardner-Webb
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Women’s Basketball Opens Big South Tournament Play Against No. 5 Gardner-Webb
03.13.2019 | Women's Basketball
2018-19 UNC Asheville Women's Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUP
Teams: No. 4 UNC Asheville (16-13, 11-7 Big South)
No. 5 Gardner-Webb (16-14, 10-8 Big South)
Location: Radford, Va. (Dedmon Center)
Date/Time: Thursday, March 14 / 8 p.m.
Live Stream: ESPN3
Radio: Can be heard on local radio (100.3 FM) or online HERE – Mike Gore (PBP)
Live Stats: Big South StatsBroadcast
Twitter: @UNCAvlWBB #ThePursuit
RADFORD, Va. – To open the 2018-19 Big South Conference Tournament, the No. 4 UNC Asheville women's basketball team will first square off with No. 5 Gardner-Webb inside the Dedmon Center in Radford, Va.
Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3.
BULLDOG BITES
About The Big South Tournament
The conference tournament features a new format where the top two seeds – No. 1 Radford and No. 2 High Point – will each host three other teams in a pod system. The winner of each pod will travel to the highest remaining seed's home court to face off in the championship on Sunday, March 17.
The opening rounds occurred on Tuesday, and No. 9 Presbyterian upset No. 8 Winthrop, 64-52, as the Blue Hose were the only team to win on the road in the opening round. No. 7 Charleston Southern downed No. 10 USC Upstate, 67-52, and No. 6 Campbell fended off No. 11 Longwood, 54-49, in Buies Creek, N.C.
In UNC Asheville's pod, No. 1 Radford faces No. 9 PC on Thursday at 6 p.m. inside the Dedmon Center. The Bulldogs face GWU at 8 p.m., and the winner of both games will play in the semifinals on Friday, March 15 in Radford, Va.
For more information on the format of the tournament and to keep up with scores in the Big South Tournament, click HERE.
About UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville travels to Radford to face Gardner-Webb with a 16-13 overall record and an 11-7 mark in league games. To end the regular season, the Bulldogs were 5-2 in the last seven games. During that seven-game stretch, they handed losses to Presbyterian, Winthrop, Longwood, USC Upstate and Charleston Southern.
At the conclusion of the regular season, three Bulldogs earned postseason awards in Sonora Dengokl, Jessica Wall and Brooke Jordan-Brown. Dengokl finished on the Second-Team All-Conference, as she led the team in both overall (14.8 points per game) and conference-only scoring (16.2 ppg). Wall was tabbed to the Honorable Mention squad, as she averaged a Big South-best 2.6 made three-pointers per game and total made three-pointers (74). Jordan-Brown earned All-Academic honors. As a double major in Health & Wellness and Biology, the center has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.976. She has posted four straight semesters with a 4.0 GPA.
The Bulldogs had several accomplishments during the regular season. Head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick earned her 100th career victory at UNC Asheville on Senior Day, as the team recognized five graduating seniors – Alexis Toney, Wall, Kelli Fisher, Tiffany Wilson and Ali Trani. The five seniors are currently the most winningest class in DI program history, as it currently sits at 77 total wins. Dengokl also had a historic outing at USC Upstate, as the guard dropped 36 points on 18 made field goals. At Campbell, Wall broke the UNC Asheville record for made career three-pointers. She currently has 222 career made three-pointers. Jordan-Brown also ended the regular season strong, as she broke the school record for the most blocks in a single game with seven. The Bulldogs are also guaranteed to have a winning record at the conclusion of the season, which marks the ninth overall occurrence for the Bulldogs and the fourth straight season under Coach Mock.
Scouting Gardner-Webb
The Runnin' Bulldogs enter postseason play with a 16-14 overall mark and a 10-8 record in Big South games. In games away from Paul Porter Arena, GWU is 6-9. Thursday's contest against Asheville will be GWU's first neutral site contest of the season.
Gardner-Webb enters the tournament on a two-game winning streak, as it defeated both Presbyterian and USC Upstate. With its two wins to end the regular season, the Runnin' Bulldogs were able to catapult into the five seed, whereas Campbell dropped to the six seed.
Gardner-Webb had two players honored by the Big South – Carley Plentovich and Jhessyka Williams. Plentovich was named to the First-Team All-Conference. The guard has a team-best 14.1 scoring average and surpassed 30 points in a game twice this season. Williams was tabbed to the All-Academic team. She averages 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in a Runnin' Bulldog uniform.
The Plentovich twins are the biggest offensive threats for GWU, as both Carley and Savannah Plentovich lead the team in scoring. Carley Plentovich has started all 30 games this year, and she is averaging 14.1 points per game on 4.4 made field goals per contest. Savannah Plentovich has played in 29 of the 30 games this year and averages 11.1 ppg. Between the two sisters, they have combined for 227 made field goals, 112 made three-pointers, 179 made free throws, 745 points, 225 rebounds, 98 assists and 106 steals.
Ky'Asia Stanford is another Runnin' Bulldog to keep an eye on, as the senior guard averages 9.7 ppg. She has started in 29 games and is shooting 35.6 percent from the field.
On the defensive side, Gabrielle Caponegro is the team's leading rebounder, as the forward averages 7.0 rebounds per contest. She also leads the team in blocks with 37 – 1.23 blocks per game. Nia Lee is the team's second-leading rebounder with a 4.4 rebounding average.
All-Time History Versus the Runnin' Bulldogs
Thursday's contest will mark the 32nd all-time meeting between the two Bulldog clubs. This also marks the first meeting between the two teams in the Big South tournament since the 2010-11 season and the first time under seventh-year Coach Mock.
The last time the two teams met on the hardwood was earlier this year in Boiling Springs, N.C., and the Runnin' Bulldogs won the game, 69-59, for their first Big South victory of the season. Wall had a team-high 14 points in 36 minutes of play. Juliet Esadah had a strong performance, as she connected on five field goals (12 points). Jimeshia Lawson had a team-high nine rebounds, and Dengokl had nine points on four made field goals. She also contributed five rebounds.
The last time the two teams met in the Big South Tournament was during the 2010-11 season, and GWU won, 69-58. Of the 58 total Asheville points, Kendall Shepard tallied 28 of those points. She went 8-for-18 from the field, including an impressive 10-for-11 from the charity stripe. Kelli Riles added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
How To Follow The Game Live
The game versus Gardner-Webb will be streamed on ESPN3. The streaming link can be found by clicking HERE. The game can also be heard locally on the radio on REWIND 100.3 or online by clicking HERE. Live stats will also be available, and the link can be found by clicking HERE.
What's Next?
The winner between UNC Asheville/Gardner-Webb will play the winner of Radford/Presbyterian on Friday, March 15 at 6 p.m. on BSN on ESPN+.
THE MATCHUP
Teams: No. 4 UNC Asheville (16-13, 11-7 Big South)
No. 5 Gardner-Webb (16-14, 10-8 Big South)
Location: Radford, Va. (Dedmon Center)
Date/Time: Thursday, March 14 / 8 p.m.
Live Stream: ESPN3
Radio: Can be heard on local radio (100.3 FM) or online HERE – Mike Gore (PBP)
Live Stats: Big South StatsBroadcast
Twitter: @UNCAvlWBB #ThePursuit
RADFORD, Va. – To open the 2018-19 Big South Conference Tournament, the No. 4 UNC Asheville women's basketball team will first square off with No. 5 Gardner-Webb inside the Dedmon Center in Radford, Va.
Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3.
BULLDOG BITES
About The Big South Tournament
The conference tournament features a new format where the top two seeds – No. 1 Radford and No. 2 High Point – will each host three other teams in a pod system. The winner of each pod will travel to the highest remaining seed's home court to face off in the championship on Sunday, March 17.
The opening rounds occurred on Tuesday, and No. 9 Presbyterian upset No. 8 Winthrop, 64-52, as the Blue Hose were the only team to win on the road in the opening round. No. 7 Charleston Southern downed No. 10 USC Upstate, 67-52, and No. 6 Campbell fended off No. 11 Longwood, 54-49, in Buies Creek, N.C.
In UNC Asheville's pod, No. 1 Radford faces No. 9 PC on Thursday at 6 p.m. inside the Dedmon Center. The Bulldogs face GWU at 8 p.m., and the winner of both games will play in the semifinals on Friday, March 15 in Radford, Va.
For more information on the format of the tournament and to keep up with scores in the Big South Tournament, click HERE.
About UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville travels to Radford to face Gardner-Webb with a 16-13 overall record and an 11-7 mark in league games. To end the regular season, the Bulldogs were 5-2 in the last seven games. During that seven-game stretch, they handed losses to Presbyterian, Winthrop, Longwood, USC Upstate and Charleston Southern.
At the conclusion of the regular season, three Bulldogs earned postseason awards in Sonora Dengokl, Jessica Wall and Brooke Jordan-Brown. Dengokl finished on the Second-Team All-Conference, as she led the team in both overall (14.8 points per game) and conference-only scoring (16.2 ppg). Wall was tabbed to the Honorable Mention squad, as she averaged a Big South-best 2.6 made three-pointers per game and total made three-pointers (74). Jordan-Brown earned All-Academic honors. As a double major in Health & Wellness and Biology, the center has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.976. She has posted four straight semesters with a 4.0 GPA.
The Bulldogs had several accomplishments during the regular season. Head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick earned her 100th career victory at UNC Asheville on Senior Day, as the team recognized five graduating seniors – Alexis Toney, Wall, Kelli Fisher, Tiffany Wilson and Ali Trani. The five seniors are currently the most winningest class in DI program history, as it currently sits at 77 total wins. Dengokl also had a historic outing at USC Upstate, as the guard dropped 36 points on 18 made field goals. At Campbell, Wall broke the UNC Asheville record for made career three-pointers. She currently has 222 career made three-pointers. Jordan-Brown also ended the regular season strong, as she broke the school record for the most blocks in a single game with seven. The Bulldogs are also guaranteed to have a winning record at the conclusion of the season, which marks the ninth overall occurrence for the Bulldogs and the fourth straight season under Coach Mock.
Scouting Gardner-Webb
The Runnin' Bulldogs enter postseason play with a 16-14 overall mark and a 10-8 record in Big South games. In games away from Paul Porter Arena, GWU is 6-9. Thursday's contest against Asheville will be GWU's first neutral site contest of the season.
Gardner-Webb enters the tournament on a two-game winning streak, as it defeated both Presbyterian and USC Upstate. With its two wins to end the regular season, the Runnin' Bulldogs were able to catapult into the five seed, whereas Campbell dropped to the six seed.
Gardner-Webb had two players honored by the Big South – Carley Plentovich and Jhessyka Williams. Plentovich was named to the First-Team All-Conference. The guard has a team-best 14.1 scoring average and surpassed 30 points in a game twice this season. Williams was tabbed to the All-Academic team. She averages 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in a Runnin' Bulldog uniform.
The Plentovich twins are the biggest offensive threats for GWU, as both Carley and Savannah Plentovich lead the team in scoring. Carley Plentovich has started all 30 games this year, and she is averaging 14.1 points per game on 4.4 made field goals per contest. Savannah Plentovich has played in 29 of the 30 games this year and averages 11.1 ppg. Between the two sisters, they have combined for 227 made field goals, 112 made three-pointers, 179 made free throws, 745 points, 225 rebounds, 98 assists and 106 steals.
Ky'Asia Stanford is another Runnin' Bulldog to keep an eye on, as the senior guard averages 9.7 ppg. She has started in 29 games and is shooting 35.6 percent from the field.
On the defensive side, Gabrielle Caponegro is the team's leading rebounder, as the forward averages 7.0 rebounds per contest. She also leads the team in blocks with 37 – 1.23 blocks per game. Nia Lee is the team's second-leading rebounder with a 4.4 rebounding average.
All-Time History Versus the Runnin' Bulldogs
Thursday's contest will mark the 32nd all-time meeting between the two Bulldog clubs. This also marks the first meeting between the two teams in the Big South tournament since the 2010-11 season and the first time under seventh-year Coach Mock.
The last time the two teams met on the hardwood was earlier this year in Boiling Springs, N.C., and the Runnin' Bulldogs won the game, 69-59, for their first Big South victory of the season. Wall had a team-high 14 points in 36 minutes of play. Juliet Esadah had a strong performance, as she connected on five field goals (12 points). Jimeshia Lawson had a team-high nine rebounds, and Dengokl had nine points on four made field goals. She also contributed five rebounds.
The last time the two teams met in the Big South Tournament was during the 2010-11 season, and GWU won, 69-58. Of the 58 total Asheville points, Kendall Shepard tallied 28 of those points. She went 8-for-18 from the field, including an impressive 10-for-11 from the charity stripe. Kelli Riles added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
How To Follow The Game Live
The game versus Gardner-Webb will be streamed on ESPN3. The streaming link can be found by clicking HERE. The game can also be heard locally on the radio on REWIND 100.3 or online by clicking HERE. Live stats will also be available, and the link can be found by clicking HERE.
What's Next?
The winner between UNC Asheville/Gardner-Webb will play the winner of Radford/Presbyterian on Friday, March 15 at 6 p.m. on BSN on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
Forward
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Center
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
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