University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, March 5
Johnson City, TN (Freedom Hall Civic Center)
5 pm
UNC Asheville
4-26,1-15Big South
69
vs
63
Presbyterian
6-24,4-12Big South
1
2
3
4
F
UNC Asheville
19
18
13
19
69
Presbyterian
16
24
12
11
63
Late Surge Pushes Bulldogs Past Presbyterian in the First Round of the Big South Championship
03.05.2025 | Women's Basketball
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - A late surged pushed UNC Asheville Women's Basketball past Presbyterian 69-63 in the first round of the Big South Conference Championship Wednesday night (Mar. 5) inside Freedom Hall.
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The teams traded buckets in the opening quarter, with either side not leading by more than three in the period. Dakota McCaughan's third three-pointer of the quarter gave Asheville a 19-16 lead headed to the second.
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Asheville was able to stretch its lead to as many as six in the quarter, before hitting a cold spell at the end of the quarter. Presbyterian finished the half on a 7-0 run over the final two and a half minutes to take a 40-37 lead to the break.
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Asheville would win the third quarter 13-12 in a low-scoring defensive effort, despite the Bulldogs going scoreless for almost the final three minutes of the frame. Swift scored a turnaround jumper just past the five-minute mark to tie the game at 46, before Presbyterian scored six of the final 10 points in the quarter.
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Presbyterian stretched its lead to as many as eight in the early goings of the fourth quarter, before and old-fashioned three-point play from LaImani Simmons got the game back within five. A transition layup from Deborah Orianegbena assisted by McCaughan cut the deficit to four, before a layup from Taylor Wilkins got the game back within two and a pair of free throws from Alana Swift tied the game with about three minutes left. After Presbyterian took a two-point lead with two and a half minutes left, Swift scored a layup to tie the game up again with under two minutes left. Asheville would make the most of a few late Presbyterian empty possessions, as Swift scored the final six points of the game to give Asheville the win.
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Asheville shot 47.2 percent (25-53) from the field, 28.6 percent (4-14) from long range and 65.2 percent (15-23) from the foul line in the game. Asheville outscored Presbyterian 8-7 on fast breaks in the game and a season-best 42-7 off the bench in the contest. Asheville was paced by a game-high and career-high 30 points from Swift, marking the first 30-point game for the Bulldogs since Nadiria Evans scoring 33 back on Feb. 2, 2022 against Campbell. It is also the second-highest scoring Big South Championship game for the Bulldogs in program history behind Kristal Hood back on Mar. 7, 2006 at High Point along with being only three points off the conference record for points in a first round tournament game. McCaughan added 12 points while Simmons had 11 off the bench, along with seven from Abigail Wilson to reach 900 points for her Bulldog career. Orianegbena added six points in the game, while Wilkins had two and Trinity Barnes had one. Orianegbena pulled down a team-high nine boards in the game, while McCaughan, Wilson, Swift and Burris each had five boards in the game. Wilkins and Skylar Bailey each pulled down one rebound in the game. McCaughan dished out two assists in the game, while Wilkins and Bailey each had one. McCaughan also led the way with three steals in the game, along with two from Swift and one each from Wilson, Orianegbena and Burris.
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The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow (Thursday, Mar. 6) to face top seed High Point in the quarterfinal. Tip-off is set for 11:30 a.m. from Freedom Hall with video, live stats, audio and tickets available at www.uncabulldogs.com. Check out the Tournament Central page for more information.
About Women's Athletics Presenting Partner First Bank
First Bank is the banking subsidiary of First Bancorp and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina, with total assets of approximately $12.1 billion. As a state-chartered community bank, First Bank operates 113 bank branches in North Carolina and South Carolina and a nationwide SBA platform. Since 1935, First Bank has taken a tailored approach to banking, combining best-in-class financial solutions, helpful local expertise, and technology to manage a home or business. First Bancorp's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "FBNC." Visit our website at www.LocalFirstBank.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender.
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The teams traded buckets in the opening quarter, with either side not leading by more than three in the period. Dakota McCaughan's third three-pointer of the quarter gave Asheville a 19-16 lead headed to the second.
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Asheville was able to stretch its lead to as many as six in the quarter, before hitting a cold spell at the end of the quarter. Presbyterian finished the half on a 7-0 run over the final two and a half minutes to take a 40-37 lead to the break.
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Asheville would win the third quarter 13-12 in a low-scoring defensive effort, despite the Bulldogs going scoreless for almost the final three minutes of the frame. Swift scored a turnaround jumper just past the five-minute mark to tie the game at 46, before Presbyterian scored six of the final 10 points in the quarter.
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Presbyterian stretched its lead to as many as eight in the early goings of the fourth quarter, before and old-fashioned three-point play from LaImani Simmons got the game back within five. A transition layup from Deborah Orianegbena assisted by McCaughan cut the deficit to four, before a layup from Taylor Wilkins got the game back within two and a pair of free throws from Alana Swift tied the game with about three minutes left. After Presbyterian took a two-point lead with two and a half minutes left, Swift scored a layup to tie the game up again with under two minutes left. Asheville would make the most of a few late Presbyterian empty possessions, as Swift scored the final six points of the game to give Asheville the win.
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Asheville shot 47.2 percent (25-53) from the field, 28.6 percent (4-14) from long range and 65.2 percent (15-23) from the foul line in the game. Asheville outscored Presbyterian 8-7 on fast breaks in the game and a season-best 42-7 off the bench in the contest. Asheville was paced by a game-high and career-high 30 points from Swift, marking the first 30-point game for the Bulldogs since Nadiria Evans scoring 33 back on Feb. 2, 2022 against Campbell. It is also the second-highest scoring Big South Championship game for the Bulldogs in program history behind Kristal Hood back on Mar. 7, 2006 at High Point along with being only three points off the conference record for points in a first round tournament game. McCaughan added 12 points while Simmons had 11 off the bench, along with seven from Abigail Wilson to reach 900 points for her Bulldog career. Orianegbena added six points in the game, while Wilkins had two and Trinity Barnes had one. Orianegbena pulled down a team-high nine boards in the game, while McCaughan, Wilson, Swift and Burris each had five boards in the game. Wilkins and Skylar Bailey each pulled down one rebound in the game. McCaughan dished out two assists in the game, while Wilkins and Bailey each had one. McCaughan also led the way with three steals in the game, along with two from Swift and one each from Wilson, Orianegbena and Burris.
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The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow (Thursday, Mar. 6) to face top seed High Point in the quarterfinal. Tip-off is set for 11:30 a.m. from Freedom Hall with video, live stats, audio and tickets available at www.uncabulldogs.com. Check out the Tournament Central page for more information.
About Women's Athletics Presenting Partner First Bank
First Bank is the banking subsidiary of First Bancorp and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina, with total assets of approximately $12.1 billion. As a state-chartered community bank, First Bank operates 113 bank branches in North Carolina and South Carolina and a nationwide SBA platform. Since 1935, First Bank has taken a tailored approach to banking, combining best-in-class financial solutions, helpful local expertise, and technology to manage a home or business. First Bancorp's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "FBNC." Visit our website at www.LocalFirstBank.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender.
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Team Stats
AVL
Presb
FG%
.472
.426
3FG%
.286
.188
FT%
.652
.500
RB
32
40
TO
14
17
STL
8
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
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