CLINTON, S.C. – After nearly a two-week hiatus, the Presbyterian College women's basketball team returns to the court on Tuesday for its second meeting of the season against UNC Asheville.
Matchup: Presbyterian (9-8, 8-7) vs UNC Asheville (7-10, 6-6)
Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Time: 6:00 pm
Site: Templeton Center (Clinton, S.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.GoBlueHose.com
Twitter: @bluehosewbb
Notes
Opening Tip...
After having its scheduled home series with Hampton postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, Presbyterian returns to action on Tuesday for the second game of its season series against UNC Asheville.
Last Time Out...
Presbyterian shot 55.0 percent from the floor on its way to setting a new season high in points for the second game in a row as it knocked off UNC Asheville 82-64 back on Feb. 3 at the Templeton Center. Jade Compton led all players with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Nyah Willis netted a career-high 21 in the victory, making the duo the first pair of Blue Hose to score 20+ in the same game in 2020-21. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Presbyterian in the series against the Bulldogs.
Compton Catches Fire...
The 27 points scored by Jade Compton in the Feb. 3 win over Asheville marked the most points scored by a Blue Hose this season, and tied for the sixth-most points in a single game in PC's DI era (since 2007). Compton went 13-for-17 from the floor in the contest, tying the DI era single-game record for made field goals. As a team, the Blue Hose made 33 field goals, a new program record against a Big South foe. Compton has netted double-digit points in 10 straight games, a new career-best. She also snared 11 rebounds in the contest to collect her team-leading fifth double-double of the season.
Scouting the Bulldogs...
Since falling to the Blue Hose just under two weeks ago, UNC Asheville has dropped a pair against USC Upstate to dip back to the .500 mark (6-6) in Big South play. The Bulldogs have two of the top-6 scorers in the conference, with Nadiria Evans pacing the league at 18.9 points per game and Kai Carter ranking sixth at 13.8 points per contest. That duo has helped lead an offense which ranks as the third-best scoring outfit in the Big South at 62.9 points per game, just ahead of PC in fourth (62.2 ppg).
Raising the Bar...
With its win over UNC Asheville on Feb. 3, the Blue Hose surpassed last season's Big South win total with their eighth of the campaign. The eight league wins are the most for PC under third-year head coach Alaura Sharp. Presbyterian also climbed over .500 (8-7) in league play, which marks the latest the Blue Hose have had a conference record above .500 since the 2016-17 campaign, when they went 10-8 and finished sixth in the league standings.
Getting to the Line...
PC has been getting to the free throw line at a strong rate all season, having taken at least 20 free throws in 11 games this season. Presbyterian is averaging 20.1 free throw attempts per contest in 2020-21, which is the highest average in the Big South. The Blue Hose have taken that up a tick in conference play, as they are averaging 20.7 attempts from the foul line in league play.
Cleaning the Glass...
PC has won the rebounding battle in 14 of its 17 games, including 13 of 15 in conference play. The Blue Hose own the top overall rebounding margin in the Big South (+4.9/game), as well as the best rebounding margin in conference games (+6.2/game). PC also has two of the top-9 rebounders in the conference in Jade Compton (3rd, 8.6) and Tionna Carter (9th, 6.3). Compton's 9.1 rebounds in conference games are also third-best in the league.
Among the Leaders...
Jade Compton leads Presbyterian in scoring at 12.3 ppg, ninth in the Big South, while Tionna Carter sits in 11th at 11.9 ppg. Compton is third (.509) and Carter is fifth (.487) in field goal percentage. PC boasts three of the top-11 in free throw percentage in Carter (6th, .776), Trinity Johnson (9th, .753) and Nyah Willis (11th, .712). Johnson is handing out 4.3 assists per game, which is third in the conference. Defensively, Carter ranks fourth in blocks per game (1.1) and Maleia Bracone is fifth in steals (1.8/game) for a PC defense which ranks second in the Big South, allowing 59.6 points per game this season.
Century Club...
Senior forward Tess Santos hit a trio of three-pointers on Jan. 29 at Longwood to surpass 100 made threes for her collegiate career, making her the eighth Blue Hose to do so in the program's DI era. Junior guard Shamani Stafford (93) sits seven shy of reaching that same milestone. Karlee Taylor owns the DI era career record for PC, having made 264 from 2010-14. Santos also played the 100th game of her Blue Hose career on Jan. 16 against Campbell.
COVID Concerns Affecting Schedule...
The postponement of PC's Feb. 12-13 series against Hampton pushed the number of games affected by COVID-19 to nine for the Blue Hose. In Big South play, PC also had its Jan. 4-5 series against Asheville postponed to Feb. 3 and 16, and its Feb. 19-20 series at CSU moved up to Jan. 4-5. Presbyterian also lost three of its five scheduled non-conference games, with Nov. 25 at Kennesaw State, Dec. 1 at Furman and Dec. 10 against Mercer all canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Back in Blue...
Coach Sharp brought back four starters from last year's squad, with Tionna Carter (30 GP/19 GS), Jade Compton (30 GP/28 GS), Trinity Johnson (29 GP/29 GS) and Tess Santos (30 GP/28 GS) all back in the fold. In total, the Blue Hose returned 10 letterwinners, which accounted for 77 percent of their scoring in 2019-20. Among those back are the team's top three scorers from a year ago in Johnson (15.2 ppg), Carter (8.9 ppg) and Compton (8.2 ppg).
New Kids on the Block...
Coach Sharp brought five newcomers into the fold for the 2020-21 season, four freshmen and one transfer. Center Aaliyah Austin (Satsuma, Ala.) and guards Sabrina Belquist (Los Gatos, Calif.), Maleia Bracone (Anderson, S.C.) and Kelsey Brown (Simpsonville, S.C.) make up PC's freshman class, while sophomore guard Nyah Willis (San Jose, Calif.) joins the Blue Hose as a transfer from Chabot College in Hayward, Calif.
