UNC Asheville will look to get back to .500 on Wednesday night with a victory over non-conference rival Western Carolina. The Bulldogs (2-3) have dropped two in a row, including a 78-60 defeat on Saturday at the hands of USC Upstate. The Catamounts (1-5) have dropped three straight against a fierce early season slate, but came out on top in their lone contest against a Southern Conference foe.
Turnovers were a major issue in Asheville’s Saturday afternoon loss in Spartanburg. The Bulldogs turned the ball over a season-high 36 times and recorded only 9 assists. The Bulldogs shot only 34% from the field but had an excellent night on the offensive and defensive glass. Linda Aughburns led the way with 10 rebounds, Lindsey Thompson had a career-high with 8, and Kelli Riles added 7. Riles led the Bulldogs in scoring with a career-high 11 points, and Thompson contributed 10.
Through the first few games, the Bulldogs have enjoyed consistent production from Lindsey Montgomery (10.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Chioma Okoli (10.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Thompson (10.6 ppg), and Aughburns (7.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg), but a go-to player on the offensive end has yet emerge. Asheville’s rebounding success will continue to generate second chances, but to fully take advantage of those opportunities the Bulldogs will need to protect the basketball and improve their free-throw shooting (63% on the season).
Western Carolina defeated Wofford in its first conference game of the season before dropping three straight. That losing skid began with two games in the Great Alaska Shootout, where the Catamounts fell to Cincinnati and to Big South representative Coastal Carolina. Western stumbled again in its most recent outing, losing 80-63 to James Madison in Cullowhee on Sunday.
The Catamounts’ record owes mostly to a difficult non-conference schedule. Western Carolina was picked to finish 5th in the 11-team Southern Conference this season, following a 4th place finish one year ago. Western is led by preseason all-conference selection Emily Clarke, who is averaging 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. Clarke is coming off a season-high 20 points in the loss to James Madison. Sophomore guard Kaila’She Menendez averages 11.8 points per game and scored at least 20 in both Great Alaska Shootout contests. Junior guard Kendra Carroll is also averaging double figures at 10.8 points per game, and led all scorers with 18 in the Catamounts’ victory over Wofford.
Western Carolina holds a 24-13 lead over the Bulldogs in the all-time series, but the teams have split their last four meetings. Last season, Asheville defeated Western 90-71 at the Justice Center. In the last contest in Cullowhee, Western came out on top 89-74.
Go Bulldogs!!
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