ROCK HILL, SC— UNC Asheville overcame an eight-point halftime deficit with 19 unanswered points to begin the third quarter and squashed an upset bid by Winthrop with a 68-53 Big South Conference victory Tuesday night at the Winthrop Coliseum.
The loss extends Winthrop's losing streak to 14 and drops the Eagles to 1-14 overall and 0-3 in league play. UNC Asheville, the defending Big South champion and the preseason favorite to win the title, improves to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference. The game marked the 70
th all-time meeting between the two schools. Winthrop now leads the series 39-31 after losing its last three games to the Bulldogs.
Behind a 15-point first half performance by
Erica Williams, Winthrop played its best opening 20 minutes of the season to take a 35-27 lead at intermission. It was just the second time this season that Winthrop held a halftime lead, but the Eagles came out ice cold in the third quarter as they missed 15 straight field goal attempts. The Bulldogs scored 19 unanswered points to take a 46-35 lead with just over a minute left in the period.
KJ Weaver scored six straight points to open the third quarter. She had 10 of her game-high 19 points in the third period as UNC Asheville outscored Winthrop 21-4.
Bronaza Fitzgerald and preseason Player of the Year Chatori Major finished with 13 points each for Asheville. Weaver and Fitzgerald also recorded double-doubles with 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively. The Bulldogs dominated the boards 51-28 and had a 17-2 advantage in second chance points.
Williams was held to one 3-point field goal in the second half and finished with 18 points to lead Winthrop.
CiiCii Buford was also in double figures with 11 points.
After connecting on 14 of 32 field goals in the first half, Winthrop finished the game with 21 of 61 (34 pct.). Asheville, on the other hand, made only 9 of 31 in the first half, but connected on 18 of 32 in the second half to finish 27 of 63 for the game (43 pct.)
Winthrop returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 14, when it travels to North Charleston, SC to take on Charleston Southern at 2 p.m.