University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
7-8,6-4Big South
Presbyterian
9-8,8-7Big South
Strong Second Half Powers Presbyterian Past Asheville
02.03.2021 | Women's Basketball
CLINTON, S.C. – A strong second half from Presbyterian powered it to an 82-64 victory over the UNC Asheville women's basketball team Wednesday evening in Big South action. Senior Amaryah Corpening led the way for the Bulldogs with 19 points in the contest.
"Tonight, we were not very tough defensively or on the glass," said Head Coach Honey Brown. "I have to do a better job getting us ready for how they attack the paint. Credit to Presbyterian for the way they played tonight to get the win."
In addition to Corpening's 19-point effort, the tandem of Nadiria Evans (17 points) and Kai Carter (16 points) also finished the night in double figures. Evans and Carter also led the Bulldogs on the boards, securing eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
Asheville started the night slowly, and Presbyterian used it to build a 13-4 lead at the contest's first media timeout. However, when play resumed, the Bulldogs looked like a different team going on a 13-0 run to dig themselves out of the early hole and took a 17-13 lead after one quarter of action.
Much like the Bulldogs did in the first, Presbyterian rebounded in the second quarter. The Blue Hose shot 58.8 percent from the field on 17 attempts in the frame and, in doing so, nearly doubled their point total from the first in the second (25 points). Asheville, meanwhile, upped its field goal percentage from 25 percent to 50 percent in the second. However, the difference was PC turned four Bulldog turnovers into eight points to swing the lead back to them as the two teams paused for halftime with the Blue Hose on top, 38-34.
Presbyterian kept things rolling offensively in the second half. The Blue Hose began the third quarter on a 7-0 run to build a double-digit lead for the first time in the game. Asheville soon got the deficit back into the single digits with makes from Evans and Corpening. However, PC's offense kept humming, shooting 60 percent in each of the final two quarters to grow its lead to as many as 18 points, which proved to be the final margin of victory, 82-64.
Asheville, now 7-8 overall and 6-4 in Big South play, will return home to Kimmel Arena for a two-game Big South series against USC Upstate on Friday and Saturday. Both games, which are set for 2 p.m. start times, can be watched on ESPN+.
