University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Going Dancing: Four Wins in Four Days
04.10.2020 | Women's Basketball
With the NCAA taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the 2020 NCAA Basketball Championships have been canceled. In lieu of March Madness, UNC Asheville and Big South Conference Hall of Famer Mike Gore will take Bulldog fans down memory lane, recounting each Asheville trip to The Big Dance.
Sometimes preseason predictions turn out to be right.
Prior to the 2016-2017 season, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team was a natural pick to win the Big South Conference Tournament once again.
The Bulldogs had stunned the Big South and many other teams the previous year as they roared to a 26-7 overall record, won the program's first regular-season title, and then won an exciting double-overtime triumph over Liberty to claim the tournament championship on their homecourt of Kimmel Arena.
Asheville had just about everybody back from 2016 title team, including senior guard Chatori Major, the preseason Big South Player of the Year.
Not to spoil the ending: The Bulldogs would indeed win the 2017 tournament championship, but the journey to get there was both memorable and remarkable. Â
The non-conference schedule was tougher than the previous season but the Bulldogs were ready early. After a loss at ACC squad Virginia Tech to open the season, Asheville rattled off four-straight wins. The Dogs won at UNC Greensboro for their first win of the year as Tianna Knuckles scored 25 points. Asheville dispatched Western Carolina in the home opener and then took care of Tennessee Tech in the next game before easily knocking off Warren Wilson on Education Day.
A loss at Furman was followed by two wins over Wofford and USC Upstate to push the Bulldogs record to 6-2.
But then Asheville ran into some adversity. The Bulldogs lost their final game before Christmas at Appalachian State and then lost two games in a tournament at Fordham. Big South Conference play began in early January of 2017 and it didn't start as planned. Campbell surprised Asheville at Kimmel Arena, 61-55.
The Bulldogs appeared to recover when they romped past Longwood (80-53) and Winthrop (68-53).
And then some big-time adversity happened. Asheville lost a disappointing home game to High Point, 76-60. Knuckles injured her knee and would be lost for the rest of the season. Ja'Da Brayboy, a senior guard who had been a starter for the last three years, was also out with a knee injury.
As the Bulldogs limped into Gardner-Webb, starting guard Khaila Webb couldn't play due to an injury.
But suddenly Asheville began to turn things around. They lost at Gardner-Webb, 55-52 but played much better. Three starters were out and yet the Bulldogs came close to winning on the road against a team that always gave them fits.
Four days later Asheville announced to everyone in the Big South that the Bulldogs would be heard from despite all the injuries. The Bulldogs whipped Liberty, 64-54, without their three starters. They beat a Flames team that was still smarting from Asheville winning the previous season's Big South championship. Major pumped in 19 points, while Sonora Dengokl chipped in 14 points. Jessica Wall added 11 points.
The next game at Presbyterian College saw Major return to her Player of the Year status with a career-high 31 points. She set a school-record with seven 3-pointers as the Bulldogs held off the Blue Hose, 67-60.
But Asheville simply could not maintain consistency. With the injuries, the Bulldogs were having to reinvent themselves in the middle of the season. Asheville lost four of its next five games and the dream of winning a regular-season title was done.
But Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick Brown and her staff were slowly getting closer to putting together another championship team. It was not the same team as last season and it was not the same team that was playing in December.
As the regular season entered its final weeks, the Bulldogs started to come together. Routs of Longwood and Winthrop earned Asheville some much-needed victories.
The Bulldogs would go into the final week having to play three games, including a tough two-game trip to Virginia. It would start with regular-season champion Radford. The Highlanders were having an outstanding season and owned impressive victories throughout the year. RU had edged Asheville a month before in overtime at Kimmel Arena.
This time it would take two overtime periods before the Highlanders would subdue the Bulldogs 76-73. Despite the loss, Asheville had taken on the Big South's best and had nearly come away with a win.
The Bulldogs journeyed to Liberty next. Not too many Big South teams owned three straight wins over the Flames like Asheville did. Liberty was anxious to make amends against the Bulldogs on its home court.
Asheville made it four straight over the Flames and enjoyed its first win over the Liberty at the Vines Center in 10 years with a 57-53 win. Major had 13 points, while Jessica Wall pumped in 12 points. KJ Weaver led a strong Bulldog rebounding effort with 11 boards. Asheville made plays down the stretch and stunned the Flames.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with nemesis Gardner-Webb. The Runnin' Bulldogs were the only Big South team to beat Asheville twice the previous year and had edged Asheville earlier in the season. It was Senior Day and it would be an emotional one as Bulldog fans would say goodbye to Coach Mock's first recruiting class.
Gardner-Webb and Asheville found a way to allow Brayboy and Knuckles to start the game despite their injuries. It was an emotional pregame ceremony and an emotional day. However, the Bulldogs made their final game at Kimmel Arena a winning one as they roared past Gardner-Webb, 67-49. Four players finished in double figures and the Bulldogs looked ahead to the Big South Conference Tournament.
The Bulldogs arrived at the Tournament perhaps as confident as any seventh-place team could be. Asheville was playing its best basketball of the year going into the Big South Tournament. Brenda's team came to Lynchburg with wins in four of the last five games. The only loss was a double-overtime decision at Big South Conference regular-season champion Radford.
To win a second straight title, the Bulldogs would have to do something that had never been done: Win four games in four days. Asheville hoped to have a breather in its first game with Longwood, a team the Bulldogs had blown out twice.
But somebody forgot to tell the Lancers. Longwood played very well and led the entire first half as it took a 24-20 halftime lead. In the third quarter, the Bulldogs made some shots and finally took the lead. Sophomore Sonora Dengokl saved Asheville with a career-high 20 points. The Blue & White could never put Longwood away but in the end, the Bulldogs made enough plays to win, 65-59. The close games were just beginning.
The next night was a date with second-seeded Campbell. Ronny Fisher had moved from PC to Campbell and had done a marvelous job improving the Camels' program. Fisher led his squad to a surprising second-place finish.
Asheville's championship mettle showed as the Bulldogs shut down the Camel attack early and raced to a 13-4 lead at the end of the opening period. Campbell would get as close as three points but would never catch Asheville.
Khaila Webb led the Bulldogs with 16 points, while Denogkl had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She hit eight big free throws in the second half. Major and Wall added 12 points each as the Bulldogs roared into the semifinals with a 64-55 triumph.
Awaiting Asheville was sixth-seeded Presbyterian College. The Blue Hose had whipped High Point in the quarterfinals and were also playing good basketball.
The Bulldogs were hot early and jumped out strong as they built a 24-13 lead. But the Blue Hose would not go away. It was Asheville's third game in three days while PC didn't have to play in the first round. The Blue Hose steadily chipped into Asheville's lead behind the shooting of Courtney Storey who scored a game-high 22 points.
PC caught the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter and four different times built a three-point lead. But Asheville would not go away quietly as the Bulldogs got some key baskets from Bre Fitzgerald and Major to stay close.
A Storey free throw put Presbyterian in front 55-53 with 20 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs would come down and try and tie the game and get the contest into overtime.
But Bre Fitzgerald had other ideas. She took a pass in the lane and went through the Blue Hose defense and scored a lay-up to tie the game with 1.8 seconds left. She was fouled on the play and had a chance to put the Bulldogs in front.
Bre was a 48 percent foul shooter and on the day, she was 3-of-9 from the charity stripe. But this one was perfect and suddenly the Bulldogs led 56-55.
PC still had time to win the game and called a timeout to set up a potential winning play. But Asheville was simply not going to be denied another trip to the championship game. The last-second Presbyterian shot never came to be as KJ Weaver stole the inbounds pass and sealed the thrilling Bulldog victory.
Asheville had advanced to the championship game and would get a chance to defend its title. It would not be easy as a proud Radford squad stood in its way. The Highlanders had been the best team in the Big South all year. RU was looking to win its first championship since 1996. A program that had once dominated the Big South wanted to get back on top.
And early on it looked like Radford would do just that as the Highlanders scored the first eight points of the game. An exhausted Bulldog team, playing for the fourth time in four days, appeared to be spent.
But when you're a champion, you do not go down easy. Asheville got off the deck and cut the lead to 14-11 at the end of the opening period. They would tie the game twice in the second quarter before a late RU run had the Highlanders in front, 33-27 at halftime.
Asheville continued to fight and cut the lead to 42-38 entering the final period. Radford responded and pushed the lead to 48-41 with four minutes remaining. It appeared the Bulldogs' amazing effort would come up short.
Instead Asheville found another gear. The Bulldogs never let Radford score again. There was no dramatic run by Asheville. They just kept getting stops on defense and chipped away at the lead.
With 2:55 left, Major scored on a lay-up to cut the lead to 48-43. Khaila Webb hit two free throws on the next possession to narrow the margin to 48-45.
Asheville had two more chances to get closer but came up short. In turn though, the Bulldogs weren't allowing Radford to score. With under a minute to go, Major scored with the shot-clock winding down to make it 48-47.
Another Bulldog stop and suddenly the seventh-seeded team had a chance to take the lead. A year ago, Major had made a perfect pass to Bre Fitzgerald for the winning points in the Big South title game. It worked again.
Major sent a pass to Fitzgerald, who had an open lane to the basket before being fouled with 5.8 seconds remaining. She didn't make the shot but earned two free throws.
Bre was 0-for-4 from the line on the day but she had hit the winning shot the day before. The junior sank both free throws and for the first time in the game, Asheville lead, 49-48.
But the Highlanders had plenty of time to still win the game. Radford got a shot off and even got an offensive rebound but misfired on both and when the horn sounded, the Bulldogs were once again Big South champions!!!!
The win raised Asheville's record to 19-14, not 26-7 as the year before, but still a champion. A Bulldog team that simply would refuse to give up its crown. The Asheville program became the first team in any sport in the history of the Big South to win four games in four days.
Fitzgerald made the All-Tournament team while Sonora Dengokl was awarded the MVP of the tourney. It was a glorious bus ride home from Lynchburg.
The Bulldogs were sent to South Carolina for the NCAA Tournament where they would face the top-seeded Gamecocks. The same USC team that would go on and win the national championship. And why not one more injury as sophomore guard Jessica Wall hurt her back and couldn't play.
The Bulldogs lost 90-40 but were competitive for a half with the powerful Gamecocks. However, this season wasn't about this game. It was a year where a team that dealt with expectations and adversity but still managed to finish on top.
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