ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team led at halftime but dropped its final game of 2013 on Monday night, falling at UNC Asheville in a 54-47 nail-biter.
PC moves to 2-10 on the year and 0-3 in the Big South. The Blue Hose return home to host Longwood on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Templeton Center. UNC Asheville improves to 5-8 on the year, 2-2 in the Big South and will host Winthrop on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Blue Hose led 26-23 at the half but a second-half scoreless stretch combined with a cold shooting touch at the line helped Asheville slip past the visitors.
Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C.) led PC with 12 points on the night while Sherece Smith (Clemson, S.C.) added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
In the end, Tianna Knuckles proved too much for PC. The Bulldog guard scored 21 points in 21 minutes of action and the Blue Hose could not capitalize on her absence in the second half when she picked up her fourth foul at the 13:23 mark. Leah Wormack also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
After going 10-for-12 from the free-throw line in the opening half, PC converted only four of its 10 opportunities in the second stanza as Asheville grabbed its final lead at the 7:20 mark.
Each team scored its points in distinctly different ways in the opening period en route to a 26-23 halftime lead for PC. Asheville scored 18 of its 23 points from beyond the three-point arc while the Blue Hose converted from the free-throw line 10 times in the opening frame and knocked down four treys of their own.
Asheville jumped out to an early lead but PC stayed close by using Bulldog fouls. Seven of PC's first 10 points came from foul shots, including five from Smith to pull PC within four, 14-10.
Rebecca Walker (Snellville, Ga.) entered the game and hit two free throws before draining a three to narrow the gap to one point. PC continued to attack as Taylor hit a three and tied the game at 20-20 with PC's first two-point field goal at the 3:52 mark.
The Blue Hose held Asheville to only two points in the final 3:30 before halftime as Kaycie Reffner (Altoona, Pa.) got in on the long-range action with a three-pointer and a Taylor layup in the final minute made it 26-23 for the visitors at the break. Taylor had 10 points in the opening period and the Blue Hose missed only two of their 12 free throw attempts.
Asheville regained the lead early in the second half thanks to eight straight points from Tianna Knuckles. Two straight buckets from Keyonna Allen (Forest Park, Ga.) put PC back in front at 38, setting the stage for a back-and-forth battle that raged until Shonese Jones and Paige Love hit back-to-back three-pointers to get Asheville five points of breathing room, 48-43.
Reffner knocked down a wide-open three to break a 6:02 scoreless span for PC and slash Asheville's lead to two points. The Bulldogs then drew a foul on Keyonna Allen on the other end, her fifth of the night and one that forced her exit from the game. Shonese Jones hit the ensuing free throws to extend the Bulldogs' lead to four with 3:24 to go.
From there, Noelle Carter (Neptune, N.J.) hit a free-throw in the final three minutes but Asheville would score four more points in the final minute to take the win, 54-47.
PC held Asheville to 35.3 percent shooting on the night and won the turnover battled, 14 to 13.
Walker extended her block streak to seven straight games with at least one blocked shot and Asheville native Karlee Taylor played in her 99th career game. Four of PC's last five losses have come by seven points or fewer.
