CLINTON, S.C. - A season best shooting night helped Presbyterian College women's basketball to a 65-54 win over UNC Asheville in the Blue Hose's Big South home opener.  The hosts shot at a season high clip from the field (52.4 percent) and from beyond the arc (46.7 percent) in the win.  Sophomore Kristen Stevens scored a career high 19 points while junior Amanda Mills matched the total for a season high of her own.

The Blue Hose (2-12, 1-1 BSC) opened up a 14-7 lead in the first five minutes thanks to a trio of baskets from downtown by Kristen Stevens.  Freshman Mariah Pietrowski added five more in the run.

PC went cold over the next seven minutes failing to make a basket until the 7:56 mark.  Over that stretch, Asheville (5-11, 1-3 BSC) leveled the score at 14.  The run came to an end when Stevens scored a deuce inside the paint, giving the Blue Hose the lead yet again. 

The layup sparked an 11-0 run over the next four minutes where PC went up 25-14.  Stevens eclipsed her career high scoring output of 14 points she drained a basket with 4:11 left in the first half.  Her previous high came against Colgate on November 24, 2008.

Going into the intermission, PC held a 13 point lead to set a new season high for a lead at the break.  Late in the half, Pietrowski added four more to give her nine points in the period.  Breaira Barksdale and Chioma Okoli led the Bulldogs with four points each.

Out of the break, PC went up 34-17 to garner the team's largest lead of the season at 17 points at 18:58.  But the Bulldogs would knife into the advantage, cutting the lead to 12 points at 16:41. 

A rash of PC turnovers in the middle portion of the second half let the Bulldogs cut the margin further.  An 11-2 run put PC up 42-35 with 10:11 remaining.  A trey from Amanda Mills on the next trip up the floor extended the lead back to double-digits as the clock went under 10 minutes.

Coming out of the final media timeout, PC held a 54-43 lead.  Pietrowski got PC's final field goal of the evening at the 2:55 point to get her into double figures.  She finished the game with 12 points. 

The Bulldogs started intentional fouling with 1:39 left.  PC went 9-14 from the charity stripe in the final moments including four from Mills who finished the game with 19 points and 16 in the second half.

Pietrowski shared the team lead in rebounds with Dria David at four each.  David also tallied eight points.

The Blue Hose will take to the road for a two-game swing against Liberty and Radford next weekend.  PC visits Liberty on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. before playing Radford on Monday night at 7 p.m.  The trip will be PC's only excursion into the Old Dominion and will be followed by a six game homestand.