University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Monday, November 15
Asheville, N.C.
6:30 p.m.
UNC Asheville
2-1,0-0Big South
71
vs
38
Mars Hill
0-3,0-0SAC
1
2
3
4
F
Mars Hill
5
12
12
9
38
UNC Asheville
23
17
15
16
71
Balanced Bulldogs down Mars Hill in home opener, 71-38, for second straight victory
11.15.2021 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville women's basketball team notched its second straight victory Monday evening as it opened its home schedule with a 71-38 win over Mars Hill at Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs are now 2-1 on the young 2021-22 season with Monday's result.
"It was great having fans back in Kimmel Arena," said Head Coach Honey Brown afterward. "It was nice after two road games to be in a building where the fans were cheering for us. Eight of our players have never played a game here at home with fans in the stands with three sophomores and five freshmen. We appreciate everyone coming out for sure."
Balance was key for Asheville in Monday's win. Eleven different Bulldogs scored in the contest, and nine of those players scored five points or more. The only Bulldog to finish the night in double figures was freshman Alonna Sellers, who finished a rebound shy of her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
"Overall, I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and looking for different options," Brown added. "I think our transition game helped that along with our offensive rebounding. When a team does all three of those things, the ball tends to find different people."
Asheville was also dominant down low, out-rebounding the Lions 57-27 and outscoring the Lions 42-16 in the paint. Freshman Mallory Bruce led this charge, finishing with a career-high 11 rebounds, while Sellers' nine boards along with seven rebounds apiece from Jordaynia Ivie and Jamia Blake helped fuel one of Asheville's best performances on the glass in recent memory.
"I told the players after the game that this might be our best game defensive rebounding, maybe even including last season," Brown said of her team's performance. "We did a great job boxing out, which helped us hold Mars Hill one shot on most of its possessions."
The Bulldogs jumped on the Lions early and often as Monday's contest got underway. Asheville built a 12-0 lead through the first five minutes of the contest. Even after Mars Hill broke the offensive dry spell, Asheville kept things rolling and led 23-5 after one quarter of play. Overall, the Bulldogs shot nearly sixty percent from the field (58.8) and knocked down a trio of shots from beyond the arc.
Balance was key for the Bulldogs as they had 10 different players score in the first half. Asheville was still efficient offensively in the second, shooting 50 percent from the floor. With the Bulldog offense coming from several places, they grew their lead to as many as 24 points. The 24-point lead was what Asheville took with it to the locker room for the halftime break, 40-16.
When the two teams returned for the second half, the Bulldogs kept coming at the Lions and eventually built the lead to as many as 35 points with a little over six minutes to go. Mars Hill cut into the Bulldog lead a bit in the closing minutes, but Asheville still went on to win handily, 71-38.
Asheville will look for its third straight victory on Saturday when it makes the short trip to Greenville, S.C. to take on Furman. Tip-off between Furman and UNC Asheville is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the game can be seen on ESPN+.
"It was great having fans back in Kimmel Arena," said Head Coach Honey Brown afterward. "It was nice after two road games to be in a building where the fans were cheering for us. Eight of our players have never played a game here at home with fans in the stands with three sophomores and five freshmen. We appreciate everyone coming out for sure."
Balance was key for Asheville in Monday's win. Eleven different Bulldogs scored in the contest, and nine of those players scored five points or more. The only Bulldog to finish the night in double figures was freshman Alonna Sellers, who finished a rebound shy of her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
"Overall, I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and looking for different options," Brown added. "I think our transition game helped that along with our offensive rebounding. When a team does all three of those things, the ball tends to find different people."
Asheville was also dominant down low, out-rebounding the Lions 57-27 and outscoring the Lions 42-16 in the paint. Freshman Mallory Bruce led this charge, finishing with a career-high 11 rebounds, while Sellers' nine boards along with seven rebounds apiece from Jordaynia Ivie and Jamia Blake helped fuel one of Asheville's best performances on the glass in recent memory.
"I told the players after the game that this might be our best game defensive rebounding, maybe even including last season," Brown said of her team's performance. "We did a great job boxing out, which helped us hold Mars Hill one shot on most of its possessions."
The Bulldogs jumped on the Lions early and often as Monday's contest got underway. Asheville built a 12-0 lead through the first five minutes of the contest. Even after Mars Hill broke the offensive dry spell, Asheville kept things rolling and led 23-5 after one quarter of play. Overall, the Bulldogs shot nearly sixty percent from the field (58.8) and knocked down a trio of shots from beyond the arc.
Balance was key for the Bulldogs as they had 10 different players score in the first half. Asheville was still efficient offensively in the second, shooting 50 percent from the floor. With the Bulldog offense coming from several places, they grew their lead to as many as 24 points. The 24-point lead was what Asheville took with it to the locker room for the halftime break, 40-16.
When the two teams returned for the second half, the Bulldogs kept coming at the Lions and eventually built the lead to as many as 35 points with a little over six minutes to go. Mars Hill cut into the Bulldog lead a bit in the closing minutes, but Asheville still went on to win handily, 71-38.
Asheville will look for its third straight victory on Saturday when it makes the short trip to Greenville, S.C. to take on Furman. Tip-off between Furman and UNC Asheville is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the game can be seen on ESPN+.
Team Stats
MH
UNC-A
FG%
.241
.476
3FG%
.211
.313
FT%
.333
.545
RB
27
57
TO
19
26
STL
12
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
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