Presbyterian College vs. UNC Asheville
Saturday, January 3 - 2 p.m.
Templeton Center - Clinton, S.C.
Live Stats | Live Video
PC Game Notes
CLINTON, S.C. - Presbyterian College (6-6, 1-2 Big South) welcomes the new year with a matinee Big South Conference matchup against UNC Asheville (3-9, 2-1 Big South) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Admission will be free. The Blue Hose will look to bounce back from a 58-45 loss at Campbell on Tuesday night, as will Asheville following a 67-55 home loss to Liberty for their first League defeat of the season. The game will mark the start of a grueling run for PC, who will play four Big South games in the span of a week. PC can even its Big South record and catch UNC Asheville in the standings with a win.
PC took the edge in the all-time series with a win in the last meeting for an 8-7 record in the all-time series. UNC Asheville grabbed a 54-47 victory in the first game between the two sides last year to snap a six-game Blue Hose winning streak. PC bounced back with a 55-41 win at the Templeton Center on January 30 last season. Keyonna Allen scored 12 in the victory and Aianna Kelly grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. UNC Asheville won the first five games of the all-time series that began in 2006 before PC took control, winning eight of the last 10 meetings.
UNC Asheville enters with a 3-9 overall record but two of those wins have come against Big South foes in Charleston Southern (56-47) and Longwood (60-44) before Liberty soiled their previously spotless League record with a 67-55 win on Tuesday. The Bulldogs have lost their last three games and begin a three-game road stretch with Saturday's meeting. Senior Shonese Jones leads the team with 10.1 points per game while Jeannie Buckner handles the lion's share of rebounds, with 6.2 per outing.
PC held a slim lead at halftime in its Big South Conference game at Campbell on Tuesday night, but a big second-half run from the Camels handed the Blue Hose a 58-45 loss. The Blue Hose led 20-18 at halftime before Campbell went on a 19-3 run to start the second half. PC battled to narrow the gap but could not dig from under the deficit as PC suffered its first loss when leading at halftime, snapping a 5-0 record in that category.
The Blue Hose boast the nation's third-ranked scoring defense through Thursday's games, holding opponents to an average of 47.8 points per game. Charlotte set a new season-high for opponents on December 18 with 66 points, but PC bounced back two days later to hold NC Central to only 33 points.
PC also ranks fourth in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 32.4 percent of their shots. PC has held 10 of its 12 its opponents to under 40 percent from the field this season after limiting NC Central to 26.2 percent (11-for-42) on December 20. The team accomplished that feat 22 times last season with a 9-13 record, allowing over 40 percent only eight times. The Blue Hose also rank third in the country in three-point field goal defense, allowing only 21.6 percent of shots from distance.
PC boasts a 4-0 record at home after the team's December 15 win over Southern Wesleyan. The Blue Hose hold opponents to 27.2 percent shooting at the Templeton Center and average a rebounding margin of +16.5. The team has maintained a winning record at home in each of the last three seasons, beginning in 2011-12.
Sophomore Rebecca Walker leads the team with 12 blocks on the season and boasted a run of seven straight games with a block until December 20. In the next game against Campbell on Saturday, Walker blocked two shots for the fourth time this season.
PC powered its way to a lead shortly before halftime and never let go in its December 20 contest at NC Central, toppling the Eagles, 45-33. The Eagles' 33 points tied a season-low for a PC opponent this season. The Blue Hose held the Eagles to 26.2 percent shooting (11-for-42) and only one three-pointer on 13 attempts. Janie Miles scored a career-high 21 points, the first Blue Hose to break the 20-point plateau since Keyonna Allen notched 20 at Coastal Carolina on February 22 of last season. Miles scored 15 of her points from distance on a career-best five three-pointers. Allen paced PC on the boards with eight rebounds and Rebecca Walker chipped in 11 points.
Miles played a combined 11 minutes over the season's first two games but has started the last nine, logging 34 minutes in the Big South opener against Gardner-Webb and 31 at High Point. Miles leads the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game and scored 21 against NC Central on December 20. She averages 42.9 percent from three-point range and has hit 77.3 percent of her free throws.
PC next travels to Liberty for a game on Monday, January 5 at 7 p.m. on ESPN3 before hosting Radford (Thursday, January 8) and playing at Coastal Carolina (Saturday, January 10).
