University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, February 25
Asheville, N.C.
5 p.m.
UNC Asheville
10-11,9-7Big South
53
vs
73
Gardner-Webb
9-12,9-7Big South
1
2
3
4
F
Gardner-Webb
16
18
17
22
73
UNC Asheville
19
12
11
11
53
Photo by: Mark Godin
Gardner-Webb Stops Asheville’s Win Streak at Three
02.25.2021 | Women's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. –The UNC Asheville women's basketball team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Thursday evening as Gardner-Webb downed Asheville by a score of 73-53 at Kimmel Arena.
Senior Nadiria Evans led the way for the Bulldogs Thursday scoring a team-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Kai Carter also finished in double figures with 16 points and led Asheville on the boards with seven rebounds.
The game was going Asheville's way early Thursday, as it scored 10 of the first 11 points of the contest. Asheville's advantage grew to as many as 10 points, 15-5, after Tamiah Lewis connected from 3-point range.
Gardner-Webb looked for a spark and found one in pressuring the Bulldogs. GWU forced 12 Bulldog turnovers in the first half that led to 16 points. Those points were just the boost Gardner-Webb needed as it was able to come all the way back to pull in front of Asheville before the buzzer sounded indicating the end of the second quarter, 34-31.
The momentum seemed to shift to the Runnin' Bulldogs when the teams returned for the third quarter. GWU started to knock down some shots as it shot 17-for-29 (58.6 percent) from the field in the second half. Defensively, Gardner-Webb also slowed the Bulldogs holding them to under 33 percent shooting in the final two quarters. Evans scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half, but GWU's complete effort proved too much to overcome as Asheville ultimately fell, 73-53.
"I think their length and how they change defenses impacted us today," said Head Coach Honey Brown. "They are always trying to disrupt your rhythm and preventing what you want to do offensively. We just weren't as sharp as we needed to be."
Asheville, now 10-11 overall and 9-7 in Big South play, will look to bounce back Friday as it takes on the same Gardner-Webb team in its final home game of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
"I think we have to play harder than they do," Brown added. "We have to get on the glass a bit more and execute better after we got ourselves a little out of whack to Gardner-Webb's credit today. We need to get back to what we do well in moving the ball and finding the open player."
Senior Nadiria Evans led the way for the Bulldogs Thursday scoring a team-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Kai Carter also finished in double figures with 16 points and led Asheville on the boards with seven rebounds.
The game was going Asheville's way early Thursday, as it scored 10 of the first 11 points of the contest. Asheville's advantage grew to as many as 10 points, 15-5, after Tamiah Lewis connected from 3-point range.
Gardner-Webb looked for a spark and found one in pressuring the Bulldogs. GWU forced 12 Bulldog turnovers in the first half that led to 16 points. Those points were just the boost Gardner-Webb needed as it was able to come all the way back to pull in front of Asheville before the buzzer sounded indicating the end of the second quarter, 34-31.
The momentum seemed to shift to the Runnin' Bulldogs when the teams returned for the third quarter. GWU started to knock down some shots as it shot 17-for-29 (58.6 percent) from the field in the second half. Defensively, Gardner-Webb also slowed the Bulldogs holding them to under 33 percent shooting in the final two quarters. Evans scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half, but GWU's complete effort proved too much to overcome as Asheville ultimately fell, 73-53.
"I think their length and how they change defenses impacted us today," said Head Coach Honey Brown. "They are always trying to disrupt your rhythm and preventing what you want to do offensively. We just weren't as sharp as we needed to be."
Asheville, now 10-11 overall and 9-7 in Big South play, will look to bounce back Friday as it takes on the same Gardner-Webb team in its final home game of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
"I think we have to play harder than they do," Brown added. "We have to get on the glass a bit more and execute better after we got ourselves a little out of whack to Gardner-Webb's credit today. We need to get back to what we do well in moving the ball and finding the open player."
Team Stats
GW
UNC-A
FG%
.500
.392
3FG%
.350
.167
FT%
.750
.833
RB
35
30
TO
12
18
STL
9
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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