CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team returns home on Wednesday night to begin a four-game homestand with a matchup against UNC Asheville.
Matchup: Presbyterian (8-8, 7-7) vs UNC Asheville (7-7, 6-3)
Date: Wednesday, February 3
Time: 6:00 pm
Site: Templeton Center (Clinton, S.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.GoBlueHose.com
Twitter: @bluehosewbb
Notes
Opening Tip...
After splitting its road series at Longwood last weekend, the Blue Hose return home to begin a four-game homestand against UNC Asheville. PC and Asheville are slated to meet on Wednesday and then again on Feb. 16 to make up for the series between the two from Jan. 4-5 which was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
Last Time Out...
PC is coming off of its fifth split in seven conference series, having gone 1-1 last weekend at Longwood. In the opener, the Blue Hose had a double-digit lead in the second half, but Longwood heated up late in the third quarter and into the fourth to rally for a 73-66 win. PC bounced back the next day, breaking open a tight contest with a 30-10 fourth quarter to win 77-56. A Georgia Stockton triple broke a 49-49 deadlock early in the final period, and PC proceeded to go on an 18-3 run to put the game out of reach. Maleia Bracone led the five Blue Hose in double-figures with a game-high 17 points. It marked the first time PC has had five players score in double-figures since Dec. 16, 2011 against Montreat.
More on Saturday's Victory...
The Blue Hose netted a season-high 77 points on their way to their seventh conference win of the year on Saturday, a win which helped PC match its Big South win total from last season. It also marked Presbyterian's 100th regular season Big South win. The 21-point margin equaled the Blue Hose largest margin of victory in a conference road tilt during head coach Alaura Sharp's tenure. The 30 points scored by Presbyterian in the fourth quarter also set a new program standard for points in the fourth quarter, and came within two points of tying the program record for points in any quarter.
Scouting the Bulldogs...
UNC Asheville knocked off Hampton 78-69 last Friday before having its Saturday matchup against the Lady Pirates postponed. Bulldogs' guard Nadiria Evans leads the Big South in scoring at 19.7 points per game, and has bumped it up a notch in league play, averaging 20.4 points per contest in conference games. Asheville boasts the third-best offense in the Big South (64.2 ppg), while PC owns the second-best defense (59.4 ppg allowed).
Getting to the Line...
Presbyterian has been getting to the free throw line at a strong rate all season long, having taken at least 20 free throws in 11 of 16 games this season. The Blue Hose took that to a new level in Saturday's win at Longwood, registering a season-high 29 makes on a season-high 37 attempts. The 37 attempts marked the most PC has had in a game since attempting 46 at Kennesaw St on Nov. 17, 2007, and established a new program record against a Big South foe. The 29 makes were also a record against a Big South opponent, and were one shy of tying the DI era team record of 30, set on Dec. 17, 2017 against NC Central. PC has attempted more free throws than any other team in the conference (328), and is tied for the most makes in the league (234). Presbyterian's attempts are the 15th-most in the country, while its makes are 18th-most.
Cleaning the Glass...
PC has won the rebounding battle in 13 of its 16 games, including 12 of 14 in conference play. The Blue Hose top the Big South in rebounding margin (+4.6/game) and boast the top rebounding margin in conference games (+5.9/game). PC also has two of the top-7 rebounders in the conference in Jade Compton (3rd, 8.5) and Tionna Carter (7th, 6.4). Compton is averaging 8.9 rebounds in Big South play, the third-highest average in the league.
Among the Leaders...
Tionna Carter leads PC in scoring at 12.2 ppg, ninth in the Big South, while Jade Compton sits in 11th at 11.4 ppg. Carter ranks third in field goal percentage (.493) and Compton is fourth (.480). PC boasts three of the top-10 in free throw percentage in Carter (5th, .773), Trinity Johnson (7th, .741) and Nyah Willis (10th, .694). Carter's 18 blocks and 1.1 per game average are fourth in the Big South. Johnson is handing out 4.1 assists per game, third in the conference, while Maleia Bracone is tied for fourth in the league in steals, averaging 1.9 per contest.
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 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 Jan. 4-5 series against UNC Asheville and subsequent rescheduling of its series against CSU (moved up from Feb. 19-20) pushed the number of games affected by COVID-19 to seven for the Blue Hose. Presbyterian had its originally scheduled season opener on Nov. 25 at Kennesaw State canceled after positive tests within the KSU program, and then their games at Furman (Dec. 1) and against Mercer (Dec. 10) canceled after COVID-19 concerns within their own program.
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.
