CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Presbyterian College women's basketball team fell in its 2011-2012 season opener with a 58-42 road loss to Charlotte on Friday night.
PC moves to 0-1 while Charlotte opens its year at 1-0.
Kristen Stevens (Pickerington, Ohio) led the Blue Hose with 10 points on the night, scoring six from beyond the three-point line. Sherece Smith (Clemson, S.C.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and two steals. Mariah Pietrowski (Elizabethton, Tenn.) added nine points while Dria David (Lawrenceville, Ga.) dished out four assists and blocked a shot.
With Stevens' two three-point field goals, the senior moves to eighth all-time in program history in that category, with 106. She passes Amber Forrester's mark of 105, set during Forrester's career from 1988 to 1992. Stevens now stands one shy of catching Toni Leopard's (1999-2002) tally of 107.
PC outgained Charlotte in bench points, 23 to 22, and picked up 18 points in the paint. The 49ers reached the WNIT Semifinals last season with a 27-win campaign.
The Blue Hose opened with a strong first half, trailing Charlotte by only three at halftime. The 49ers outscored PC in the second half by a 28-15 margin, however, to pull away for the win.
Stevens and Pietrowski led the Blue Hose with seven points each in the opening frame and the squad shot 41.7 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Four different PC players registered a steal as the squad kept the pressure on the home 49ers early in the contest.
The Blue Hose received 14 points from the bench in the first half, more than half of its 27 points.
PC grabbed an early 5-4 lead thanks to a Smith layup and rallied from a six-point deficit with 6:36 left in the first half to pull within one five minutes later.
The second half began with a 14-point Charlotte run that put the Blue Hose in comeback mode, but Shonda Burnside (Gray Court, S.C.) broke the dry spell with a layup, two of her four points in the half.
PC climbed back to within eight points midway through the stanza on a three-point play from Megan Schaaf (Ellicott City, Md.) and a jumper from David, but the Blue Hose could not narrow the gap any further as Charlotte held on for the win.
Freshman Noelle Carter (Neptune, N.J.) also made her collegiate debut with an appearance in the second half.
The Blue Hose return to action on Tuesday night with the team's 2011-2012 home opener against Furman. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will be broadcast online on the Big South Network.
