University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Tuesday, March 1
Charlotte, N.C.
8:35 p.m.
UNC Asheville
9-21,3-15Big South
68
vs
59
North Carolina A&T
14-15,11-7Big South
1
2
3
4
F
UNC Asheville
24
19
9
16
68
N.C. A&T
11
15
23
10
59
Bulldogs down North Carolina A&T in the opening round of the Big South Tournament
03.01.2022 | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 11 seed UNC Asheville women's basketball team knocked off No. 6 seed North Carolina A&T in the opening round of the 2022 Hercules Big South Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night by a score of 68-59 from the Bojangles Coliseum.
"I can't say enough about our resilience tonight," said Head Coach Honey Brown after the victory. "We could not have drawn it up any better early on, but then A&T answered back with a run of their own but we stayed the course and came out on top. We have had a tough year, and I don't think our record reflects the strength of this team. We talked about reaping the rewards of the harvest, and maybe it took all the way to the tournament for that to come true."
The tandem of Jordaynia Ivie and Nadiria Evans led the way for the Bulldogs in the upset victory. Both Bulldogs finished with 20 points. For Ivie, it marked a new career-high point total for her. Evans, meanwhile, broke the program's single-season scoring record during the Division I era with her 20 point effort on Tuesday. Kai Carter and Abigail Wilson both chipped in nine points each to help the cause as well.
Tuesday started well for the Bulldogs as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter. Even when the Aggies started to find themselves a bit offensively, the Bulldogs reeled off a 6-0 run to build a 16-9 lead to force A&T to burn a timeout.
Even after the timeout, A&T scuffled to get rolling. In the last 2:57 of the first quarter, A&T went scoreless. This allowed Asheville an opportunity to build upon its lead, and it led 24-11 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, A&T made some adjustments that seemed to help its offense click a bit more, but it was Asheville that kept rolling. Collectively, the Bulldogs shot 63.6 percent from the field, with Evans and Ivie doing the bulk of the damage with eight points apiece. With Asheville clicking so well, it expanded upon its first quarter lead and held a 43-26 advantage at halftime.
Much like Asheville did in the first two quarters, A&T was rolling when the game resumed for the second half. The Aggies shot 64.3 percent from the field and knocked down all five of their free throw attempts to put a sizable dent in Asheville's lead, 52-49, heading to the fourth and final quarter.
With it being a one possession game again, the Bulldogs bounced back with a much better outing in the fourth quarter. Evans was especially good in the fourth, scoring nine points in the final frame to help maintain Asheville's lead and seal the win, 68-59. The tournament win for Asheville marked the eighth time in the last nine years that the Bulldogs have won at least one game in the tournament.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a matchup with third-seeded USC Upstate on Thursday. Tip-off for that is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN+.
"I can't say enough about our resilience tonight," said Head Coach Honey Brown after the victory. "We could not have drawn it up any better early on, but then A&T answered back with a run of their own but we stayed the course and came out on top. We have had a tough year, and I don't think our record reflects the strength of this team. We talked about reaping the rewards of the harvest, and maybe it took all the way to the tournament for that to come true."
The tandem of Jordaynia Ivie and Nadiria Evans led the way for the Bulldogs in the upset victory. Both Bulldogs finished with 20 points. For Ivie, it marked a new career-high point total for her. Evans, meanwhile, broke the program's single-season scoring record during the Division I era with her 20 point effort on Tuesday. Kai Carter and Abigail Wilson both chipped in nine points each to help the cause as well.
Tuesday started well for the Bulldogs as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter. Even when the Aggies started to find themselves a bit offensively, the Bulldogs reeled off a 6-0 run to build a 16-9 lead to force A&T to burn a timeout.
Even after the timeout, A&T scuffled to get rolling. In the last 2:57 of the first quarter, A&T went scoreless. This allowed Asheville an opportunity to build upon its lead, and it led 24-11 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, A&T made some adjustments that seemed to help its offense click a bit more, but it was Asheville that kept rolling. Collectively, the Bulldogs shot 63.6 percent from the field, with Evans and Ivie doing the bulk of the damage with eight points apiece. With Asheville clicking so well, it expanded upon its first quarter lead and held a 43-26 advantage at halftime.
Much like Asheville did in the first two quarters, A&T was rolling when the game resumed for the second half. The Aggies shot 64.3 percent from the field and knocked down all five of their free throw attempts to put a sizable dent in Asheville's lead, 52-49, heading to the fourth and final quarter.
With it being a one possession game again, the Bulldogs bounced back with a much better outing in the fourth quarter. Evans was especially good in the fourth, scoring nine points in the final frame to help maintain Asheville's lead and seal the win, 68-59. The tournament win for Asheville marked the eighth time in the last nine years that the Bulldogs have won at least one game in the tournament.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a matchup with third-seeded USC Upstate on Thursday. Tip-off for that is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN+.
Team Stats
UNC-A
NCA&T
FG%
.500
.463
3FG%
.500
.214
FT%
.688
.667
RB
24
34
TO
12
20
STL
12
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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