Presbyterian College at Gardner-Webb
Monday, February 2 - 7 p.m.
Paul Porter Arena - Boiling Springs, N.C.
Live Stats | Live Video
PC Game Notes
CLINTON, S.C. - Presbyterian College (11-10, 6-6 Big South) makes another short road trip on one day of rest to take on the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (8-13, 4-8 Big South) on Monday at 7 p.m. PC closed out a 5-4 January with a 59-46 loss at UNC Asheville on Saturday but will look to start February with its second straight win over Gardner-Webb. The Runnin' Bulldogs snapped a four-game losing skid by handing Coastal Carolina a 71-65 loss in Conway. Gardner-Webb enters Monday two games behind sixth-place PC in the Big South Conference standings.
PC won the first meeting between the two sides in December, 55-50, to snap a three-game losing streak to the Runnin' Bulldogs and improve to 29-13 all-time against Gardner-Webb. PC has played Gardner-Webb more than any other Big South Conference team and owned a 10-game winning streak from 1997 to 2001. PC's last win at Paul Porter Arena came in a 59-57 overtime win on February 13, 2012. In December's game, Janie Miles led the Blue Hose with 11 points and PC shot 44.4 percent as a team. Jessica Heilig and Kiera Currie each scored 11 points for Gardner-Webb.
Gardner-Webb shot nearly 43 percent on Saturday to best Coastal Carolina, 71-65, and earn its first win since January 10. The Runnin' Bulldogs won three straight before dropping four in a row and lead the league in steals through 12 Big South Conference games, with 9.67 per outing. Olivia Parker and Jessica Heilig each pace the team with 12.2 points per game while Parker holds the rebounding lead at 7.9 per game.
Over the last five games, Keyonna Allen leads the team with 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, tying Aianna Kelly's for the team-best on the boards. Kelly also holds the assists lead, with 2.4 per game.
PC rallied from several UNC Asheville double-digit leads throughout the game, including late in the second half, but could not overcome cold shooting down the stretch to fall to the Bulldogs on Saturday, 59-46. Keyonna Allen led the Blue Hose, with 13 points.
Keyonna Allen has hit double figures in her last four games, scoring 17 points against Charleston Southern, 12 against Winthrop, 15 against Campbell and 13 at UNC Asheville on Saturday. She has scored in double figures 11 times this season and leads the team with 9.9 points and ranks second with 6.0 rebounds per game. Out of 21 games, she has led the team in points eight times, rebounds nine times, blocks seven times and steals seven times. The redshirt junior enters the week with a career shooting percentage of 48.9 percent.
The Blue Hose enter Monday 10-2 when leading at halftime, 3-2 when shooting 40 percent and 11-7 when they hold their foe to less than 40 percent shooting after limiting UNC Asheville to 39.3 percent. PC holds a record of 2-4 record this season in North Carolina and a 1-1 marker when playing on Saturday.
Head coach Ronny Fisher, in his seventh season at the helm, moved into sole possesion of second place in PC history on Tuesday with his 74th career victory. He passed Randy Randall (1977-84) and Byron Rucker (1984-89) with 73 wins. Beth Couture holds the record, with 238 wins amassed from 1989 to 2002.
The Blue Hose went 16-for-20 from the free-throw line in Tuesday's win over Campbell, shooting a season-high 80.0 percent. Rebecca Walker went a career-high 5-for-5 and made two in the final minute to seal the win. Aianna Kelly also shot a perfect 4-for-4.
Entering Sunday, the Blue Hose boast the nation's third-ranked scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 49.8 points per game (now at 50.2). PC held Campbell to 42 points on Tuesday and NC Central to 33 on December 20.
PC also ranks seventh in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 33.5 percent (now at 33.8). PC has held 18 of its 21 opponents to under 40 percent from the field this season after limiting UNC Asheville to 39.3 percent (22-for-56) on Saturday. 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 eighth in the country in three-point field goal defense, allowing only 24.9 percent of shots from distance (now at 25.3).
PC never trailed and held on to win a key Big South Conference game over the Campbell Camels on Tuesday night, 51-42. The Blue Hose won a disjointed contest that saw 37 combined fouls and 45 combined turnovers. PC's victory came in part to the team's impressive play on the boards, collecting 42 rebounds to Campbell's 30. Keyonna Allen led the team with 15 points while Rebecca Walker hauled in a team-best six rebounds as PC earned their fourth win in five games.
Sophomore guard Aianna Kelly (1.41) and freshman point guard Cortney Storey (1.29) rank second and fifth respectively in assist/turnover ratio in Big South games. Only two teams boast multiple players in the top 10, with Longwood checking in at eighth and 10th.
Redshirt junior forward Keyonna Allen grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds on January 8 against Radford, passing Sherece Smith's (2010-14) career mark of 402 to take over fifth place in PC's Division I history. She next needs one to tie Chelsea Wright (2007-11) for fourth-place.
PC returns home to host High Point on Thursday at 7 p.m. and will look to avenge a five-point loss to the second-place Panthers from December 6.
