ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Blue Hose connected on 11 threes and withstood a late rally from UNC Asheville in the final minute as the Presbyterian College women's basketball team defeated the host Bulldogs 76-73 on Saturday afternoon inside Kimmel Arena. Mara Neira led the Blue Hose with 20 points as Bryanna Brady added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Aubrie Kierscht totaled 15 points on five threes in the victory.
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian 76, UNC Asheville 73
LOCATION: Kimmel Arena (Asheville, N.C.)
RECORDS: Presbyterian (11-14, 7-7) | UNC Asheville (9-16, 5-9)
Scoring the Game
- The Bulldogs began the game scoring five of the first seven points to get the early 5-2 edge before Tilda Sjökvist layup and Kierscht three pushed PC ahead 7-5 with 5:46 to play in the opening frame. After a Bulldog layup, Sjökvist continued her fast start with a triple to give PC the 10-7 edge at the 3:47 mark of the opening quarter. UNC Asheville used a quick 6-2 burst to jump in front 13-12 with 2:15 to play in the first. PC answered with a quick four points to jump in front 16-13 before the hosts evened it at 16 after one with a late three.
- PC used the three-pointer in the second as Kierscht buried three, along with one from Laila Grant, as the Blue Hose outscored the Bulldogs 12-6 and took a 28-22 lead with 6:50 to play, forcing an Asheville timeout. Asheville went on a 9-4 run to cut its deficit to one, 32-31, with 4:20 to play in the first half. PC pushed it back to a three-point edge 36-33 before a three-pointer evened it at 36-36. The two teams traded points over the final minutes, with PC taking a 40-38 lead to the break.
- The Blue Hose opened the second half with the first five points before a four-point spurt from Asheville quickly cut it to 45-42 with 7:22 to play in the third quarter. PC answered with six of the following nine points to push back in front by six, 51-45, with 6:11 to play in the third quarter. Asheville got three unanswered at the foul line before Ashley Carrillo connected on a layup to give PC the 53-48 edge with 4:30 to play in the third. The Bulldogs cut it to three, 53-50, before a 7-2 Blue Hose burst gave the guests a 60-52 lead heading to the fourth.
- The two teams traded threes in the early going before a 5-2 burst from the Bulldogs cut the deficit to five, 65-60, with 6:41 to play, forcing PC to call a timeout. Neira connected on a quick three out of the timeout before the Bulldogs battled back with a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to two, 71-69, with 1:18 to play in the fourth quarter. PC scored five straight points and held off a late surge as the Blue Hose tallied the 76-73 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
Players of the Game
- Neira led the Blue Hose on Saturday with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting which also included a pair of threes in the contest. Brady added 18 points and seven rebounds as she went 8-of-9 from the field in the win. Aubrie Kierscht continued her three-point prowess with five more threes to give her 15 points on the afternoon. Christina Kline pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds with five assists and three steals. Jordaynia Ivie led the Bulldogs with 16 points, Dakota McCaughan added 12 points, and Mallory Bruce rounded out Asheville's double-figure scorers with 10 points. McKinley Brooks-Sumpter led the way on the glass with nine rebounds, and Jamaya Blanks totaled a team-high five assists.
Stats of the Game
- PC shot 53.6% (30-of-56) from the floor on Saturday compared to Asheville, who shot 36.2% (25-of-69) from the field. PC connected on 11 threes compared to 10 from the hosts. Asheville made 13-of-18 free throws, and the Blue Hose were 5-of-9 at the charity stripe. The Bulldogs held a slight edge on the glass at 37-35, including 17 offensive rebounds for the hosts. Presbyterian tallied 16 assists, and UNC Asheville recorded 15. The Blue Hose had a 34-18 edge in points in the paint, while Asheville outscored PC's bench 30-11 on Saturday. UNC Asheville totaled six steals compared to four from PC.
Notables
- Neira led the offense on Saturday with her third 20+ point performance of the season and her 10th double-figure scoring game of the year.
- Brady finished with 18 points for her 14th double-figure season scoring output. It's her ninth double-figure scoring performance of the 2023 Big South season.
- Kierscht picked up her third straight double-figure performance with 15 points as she connected on five threes. The Salina, Kan. native has had eight games this season with 4+ threes this year.
- Kline set a new career-high on Saturday with 10 rebounds and matched a season-high with five assists. She also set a new season-high with three steals to lead PC.
- With her three assists, Sjökvist moved into sole possession of eighth place in the single-season DI record book with her 95 helpers on the season.
- With her eight field goals, Brady moved into third place in the single-season DI record book with 141 field goals.
- PC improved to 6-1 on Saturday in games where the Blue Hose make at least 10+ threes.
Up Next
- PC returns to the hardwood on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as the Blue Hose travel to High Point to battle the Panthers on ESPN+. The Blue Hose look to avenge an 82-80 defeat of the Panthers that took place in Clinton on Jan. 14.
