Charlotte, N.C. –Winthrop blew a six-point lead with 37 seconds left and fell to UNC Asheville by a final score of 59-58 on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Big South Tournament, ending their 2022-23 season.
 
Winthrop (8-22, 6-12 Big South) | UNC Asheville (12-18, 7-11 Big South)
Mar. 1, 2023 | Bojangles Coliseum
Winthrop 58, UNC Asheville 59
 
How it Happened
 
First Quarter | The Bulldogs started the game up 4-0 before Jada Ryce got the Eagles on the board with a jumper nearly two minutes in. Trailing 6-2, Leonor Paisana nailed a three-pointer on the run and baskets by Paige Powell and Tori Hall put Winthrop in the lead, 9-6 at the 5:38 mark. UNC Asheville then scored the next five points to go up 11-9 heading to the first media timeout of the contest. Hall tied it up after the timeout and put Winthrop on top with 1:46 left. UNC Asheville went ahead with a triple with 45 seconds to go but Ally Ross hit one from deep to give Winthrop with 19 seconds left to give the Eagles a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Second Quarter | UNC Asheville tied it on their first possession of the second quarter but Powell gave Winthrop an 18-16 lead on the next play. Three quick points by the Bulldogs resulted in them going back up by one but Shamyjha Price, Powell and Hall put the Eagles up five with 5:43 left, forcing UNC Asheville to call timeout. The Eagles kept it going with layups by Price, Hall, two Ryce layups and two Price free throws to go up 15 with 1:48 left while holding the Bulldogs to zero points for nearly seven minutes. The Bulldogs finally scored after they called another timeout but Ross drained another triple to go up 37-21 inside of a minute. UNC Asheville scored at the buzzer to trail 37-23 to Winthrop at the break.
 
Third Quarter | UNC Asheville started the second half with two free throws but Price nailed a jumper for the first Winthrop points of the second half with 6:20 left to go up 39-25. The teams would split the next two baskets and trips to the charity stripe but Price would hit one from deep to go up 46-29 with 4:24 left. The Bulldogs would score on two layups and both teams each hit a free throw to cut it to 13. UNC Asheville would then score on a jumper and hit two free throws but Aaishah Barry scored on a reverse layup with time almost gone to make it a 49-38 Winthrop lead going into the final quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter | The Bulldogs started the final quarter with a layup to get to within single digits but Price answered with a jumper as the shot clock expired to go back up 11 at the 8:20 mark. UNC Asheville hit a triple on the next play to make it an eight-point game only for Powell to make it a double-digit lead again on a jumper. The Bulldogs got a jumper immediately thereafter but Powell got a free throw to make it a nine-point game with 6:10 left. UNC Asheville only got a free throw on their next offensive possession. Following the final media timeout of the game, Powell sank a jumper to go up 10 with 4:36 remaining. The Bulldogs then got four quick points to make it a six-point game with 3:21 left. Neither team would score until UNC Asheville hit two free throws with 37 seconds left to cut it to four at 56-52. After Winthrop turned it over on the inbounds pass, the Bulldogs capitalized to make it a two-point game with 22 seconds to go. UNC Asheville had to foul and Hall hit two free throws to go back up four at 58-54 with 17 seconds to go. The Bulldogs then scored while being fouled and made the free throw to make it a one-point contest with 13 seconds left. After forcing another turnover, the Bulldogs scored the winning layup with three seconds left.
 
Statistical Standouts (Team)

• There were a combined 16 lead changes and eight lead changes
• Winthrop outscored the Bulldogs in fast break points, 13-5
• Winthrop shot 9-of-14 from the field in the second quarter and 46% from the field for the game
• Winthrop held UNCA to 27.78% from the field in the first quarter
• Winthrop outshot UNCA both from the field and from deep
• Three Eagles played more than 35 min
• Four Eagles scored in double-figures
• Winthrop's eight wins is the most since winning 11 games in 2019-20
• Winthrop ends the season having lost their final five games
• This was Hall's first double-double on the season and set a season-high in minutes

 
Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Paige Powell (29 min, 6-9 FG, 1 block, 11 pts)
Jada Ryce (29 min, 5-10 FG, 1 block, 12 pts)
Tori Hall (38 min, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 11 pts)
Shamyjha Price (37 min, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 11 pts)
 
Up Next
Winthrop looks ahead to 2022-23.
 
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