University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, December 29
Asheville, N.C.
6:30 p.m.
UNC Asheville
6-6,1-0Big South
69
vs
60
Radford
4-8,0-1Big South
1
2
3
4
F
Radford
23
8
17
12
60
UNC Asheville
14
21
19
15
69
Bulldogs persevere to down Radford, 69-60, in conference opener
12.29.2021 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville women's basketball team overcame some early adversity and a slow start to down Radford, 69-60, to open its Big South schedule on Wednesday from Kimmel Arena. With the victory, the Bulldogs move to 6-6 on the season and 1-0 in league play.
"The best word I can use to describe tonight is perseverance," said Head Coach Honey Brown. "So proud of this team's fight through some difficulties the past few days and playing their tails off tonight! My assistants have been awesome all year, and it really showed tonight. Radford is always a tough team, and I am thankful we got this one!"
Kai Carter led the charge on the scoreboard for the Bulldogs finishing with 19 points. Nadiria Evans stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds with eight assists. Carter and Evans were not the only the Bulldogs to have good outings as Amanda Blake (eight points, 4-for-4 from the field), Faith Adams (nine points, 3-for-3 from 3-point range), Jamia Blake (eight points, seven rebounds), and Mallory Bruce (seven points, five rebounds) each logged sizable contributions to fuel the victory. Furthermore, the Bulldogs knocked down a season-high 10 3-pointers in the victory, which is the most the team had had in a game since last February when it knocked down 11 treys to down Winthrop.
Before Wednesday's contest even began, the Bulldogs had to deal with some adversity as they learned that it'd be without Head Coach Honey Brown for the contest. Assistant Coach Paige Love would step in as the team's acting Head Coach against the Highlanders.
Each team had a quarter in the first half where they seized the momentum. Radford shot near 60 percent from the field in the first 10 minutes and built a double-digit lead on the Bulldogs at one point. However, the Bulldogs got the deficit down to single digits heading to the second quarter, 23-14.
In the second, Asheville put together one of its most complete quarters of the season to date. The Bulldogs outscored Radford 21-8 in the second and closed the half on a 13-0 run. With the Bulldogs rolling, they snatched back the lead and held a 35-31 advantage at the break.
It looked like the Bulldogs may run away with Wednesday's contest as they built their lead to 10 after being down by 10 earlier in the night. However, Radford knocked down some shots and made stops down the stretch to cut Asheville's lead to six, 54-48, heading to the fourth.
As the fourth quarter began, Radford quickly erased the Bulldog lead with a pair of makes from beyond the arc to tie the game at 54. Carter, however, found another gear and netted eight points in the final 10 minutes to give Asheville the lead back for good. Radford did make it a three-point game with 1:52 to go, but a clutch three from Carter and three made free throws from Evans, and Jamia Blake clinched the 69-60 win for the Bulldogs. It marks the fourth time that Asheville has won its conference opener in the past five seasons.
Asheville will return to action on Saturday as it visits USC Upstate in its first game of 2022. Tip-off for Saturday's tilt is set for 4 p.m., and the game can be watched on ESPN+.
"The best word I can use to describe tonight is perseverance," said Head Coach Honey Brown. "So proud of this team's fight through some difficulties the past few days and playing their tails off tonight! My assistants have been awesome all year, and it really showed tonight. Radford is always a tough team, and I am thankful we got this one!"
Kai Carter led the charge on the scoreboard for the Bulldogs finishing with 19 points. Nadiria Evans stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds with eight assists. Carter and Evans were not the only the Bulldogs to have good outings as Amanda Blake (eight points, 4-for-4 from the field), Faith Adams (nine points, 3-for-3 from 3-point range), Jamia Blake (eight points, seven rebounds), and Mallory Bruce (seven points, five rebounds) each logged sizable contributions to fuel the victory. Furthermore, the Bulldogs knocked down a season-high 10 3-pointers in the victory, which is the most the team had had in a game since last February when it knocked down 11 treys to down Winthrop.
Before Wednesday's contest even began, the Bulldogs had to deal with some adversity as they learned that it'd be without Head Coach Honey Brown for the contest. Assistant Coach Paige Love would step in as the team's acting Head Coach against the Highlanders.
Each team had a quarter in the first half where they seized the momentum. Radford shot near 60 percent from the field in the first 10 minutes and built a double-digit lead on the Bulldogs at one point. However, the Bulldogs got the deficit down to single digits heading to the second quarter, 23-14.
In the second, Asheville put together one of its most complete quarters of the season to date. The Bulldogs outscored Radford 21-8 in the second and closed the half on a 13-0 run. With the Bulldogs rolling, they snatched back the lead and held a 35-31 advantage at the break.
It looked like the Bulldogs may run away with Wednesday's contest as they built their lead to 10 after being down by 10 earlier in the night. However, Radford knocked down some shots and made stops down the stretch to cut Asheville's lead to six, 54-48, heading to the fourth.
As the fourth quarter began, Radford quickly erased the Bulldog lead with a pair of makes from beyond the arc to tie the game at 54. Carter, however, found another gear and netted eight points in the final 10 minutes to give Asheville the lead back for good. Radford did make it a three-point game with 1:52 to go, but a clutch three from Carter and three made free throws from Evans, and Jamia Blake clinched the 69-60 win for the Bulldogs. It marks the fourth time that Asheville has won its conference opener in the past five seasons.
Asheville will return to action on Saturday as it visits USC Upstate in its first game of 2022. Tip-off for Saturday's tilt is set for 4 p.m., and the game can be watched on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Rad
UNC-A
FG%
.410
.417
3FG%
.300
.526
FT%
.364
.750
RB
38
34
TO
16
12
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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