Rock Hill, S.C. – Coming off a hard-fought 59-55 loss to Longwood on Senior Night this past Wednesday, Winthrop women's basketball (14-14, 8-7 Big South) wraps up the regular-season at UNC Asheville (3-25, 1-14 Big South) Saturday afternoon.
A LOOK AT UNC ASHEVILLE
- This will be the 87th time in history that the Eagles and Bulldogs will meet, with UNC Asheville leading the series, 44-42
- The first meeting in the series was a 58-56 victory by the Bulldogs in Asheville, N.C. on Feb. 9, 1985 as the two teams went on to split the first 56 meetings from 1985 to 2010
- Winthrop went on an 11-1 run from 2010 to 2015 to take a 38-29 lead in the series
- UNC Asheville responded with a 15-1 run from 2016 to 2023
- The Eagles won both regular-season encounters from the Bulldogs last season in 2024, the first being a 70-64 overtime result in Rock Hill on Jan. 17 and 65-56 in Asheville on Feb. 7
- Winthrop won the most recent meeting, 63-43 on Jan. 18, 2025 at home as three Eagles scored in double figures and ended a two-game skid
- Winthrop head coach Semeka-Randall Lay face UNC Asheville for the 10th time in her career and is 4-5 against the Bulldogs
- A big fourth quarter lifted UNC Asheville past Presbyterian 67-60 Wednesday night (Feb. 26) in Clinton, S.C.
- UNC Asheville entered the 2024-25 season with seven returners and eight newcomers for the first season under new head coach Tynesha Lewis
- Among the returners are seniors LaImani Simmons (10.1 points per game) and Abigail Wilson (5.1 points per game)
- Of Asheville's eight returners, six are transfers and two are freshmen
EAGLES IN OVERTIME AFTER THE WIN AT PRESBYTERIAN (JAN. 29)
- Winthrop moves to 5-7 all-time on the road in overtime games
- Winthrop moves to 10-14 all-time in Big South regular-season games in overtime
- Winthrop is 1-0 in overtime this year
- Winthrop is now 16-25 all-time in overtime
LAST TIME OUT
- Amourie Porter led the Eagle offense with 20 points and seven rebounds in a hard-fought 59-55 loss to Longwood on Senior Night
- Winthrop finishes this season 9-4 at home
- Winthrop outscored Longwood 14-4 in second chance points, 24-17 in bench points and 32-26 in the paint
- Eagles held the Lancers to 25% from the field in the second quarter
- Eagles held Longwood to 12% from deep for the game
- Winthrop was 53% from the field in the first quarter
- Winthrop outshot the Lancers 44% to 12% from deep and 90% to 75% from the free throw line
- Four Eagles played more than 30 minutes
- Three Eagles collected more than five rebounds
RARE FEATS
- Winthrop was 0-8 from three-point range vs. Charleston Southern
- The last time this happened was in the opening game of the season at Georgia Tech on Nov. 4, 2024 (0-10 from deep in an 85-39 loss)
- This is the 2nd time this season Winthrop has failed to make at least one three-point shot
- Before the game at Georgia Tech this season, the last time Winthrop failed to make a three-point basket was vs. Texas A&M in Berkeley, Calif. on Nov. 24, 2023 (an 84-32 loss)
- The last time Winthrop failed to make a triple but won a game was at home vs. Radford on Feb. 15, 2014 (went 0-7 from deep and won 57-40)
- This feat happened twice during the 2013-14 season (went 0-6 from deep in a 70-49 win over Longwood at home on Jan. 18, 2014)
- This has happened only four times since the 2002-03 season
RECORDS FALL VS. PAINE (NOV. 10)
- Winthrop set numerous records with a 111-32 defeat of Paine College in the home opener
- Leonor Paisana had a career-high in assists
- Mya Pierfax and Persais Williams set career-highs in every statistical category
- Amourie Porter had a career-high in assists
- Ar'Mani Reid had a career-high in points
- Ciara Harris had a career-high in points and three-pointers made
- Tied a school record for fewest points allowed in the first half since becoming a Division I member in 1986-87 (7)
- Winthrop last accomplished this feat vs. St. Andrew's at home in a 60-29 win on Nov. 23, 2022
- Winthrop scored 100 points in a game for the first time since a 117-43 win over Gallaudet on Nov. 15, 2014
- This was the most points scored the Eagles have scored in 10 years
SEASON HONORS/AWARDS
- Marissa Gasaway, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason First Team)
- Started and played in all 30 games last season, led the Big South in rebounds with 318 and was tenth in the Big South in free throw percentage at .730
- She was named to the Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention at the end of the regular-season
- Gasaway led the team in free throws made with 81 and rebounds with 318
- Jada Ryce, Senior-Guard (Big South Conference Preseason Second Team)
- Played and started in all 30 games last season
- Finished in fourth in the Big South in steals with 53, fifth in free throw percentage at .775, eighth in assists with 71 and minutes with 954
- Named Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention and Big South All-Academic Team at the conclusion of the regular-season
- Surpassed 500 career points vs. Charleston Southern at home on Jan. 24, 2024
- Led the team in minutes played with 915, field goals made with 115; total points with 333 and steals with 53
- Amourie Porter, Sophomore-Guard/Forward-Big South Player of the Week-Nov. 11-17
- Porter turned in averages of 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 45.0 percent from the field in games at Queens and Wake Forest
- She led the Eagles to a 69-52 win over the Royals with a season-high 19 points and seven rebounds, including an impressive career-high 12-of-14 performance at the free-throw line
- The sophomore followed up with nine points, five rebounds, and two assists against Wake Forest
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Porter leads the team in points with 363
- Gasaway leads the team in rebounds with 176
- Harris leads the team in three-pointers with 36
- Blessing Okoh leads the team in blocks with nine
- Ronaltha Marc leads the team in steals with 42
- Olivia Wagner leads the team in assists with 66
- Winthrop is third in the conference in steals per game with 8.64
- Winthrop is fourth in the conference in field goal percentage with .396
- Porter is ranked fourth in the conference in points per game with 13.0
- Gasaway and Porter are ranked 6th and 9th in the conference in rebounds per game, respectively
- Marc is eighth in the conference in steals per game with 1.5
- Wagner is ninth in the conference in assists per game with 2.5
A LOOK BACK AT 2023-24
- Last season, the Eagles finished 14-16 overall and 8-8 in Big South Conference games
- Eagles finished last season having the most wins since they won 17 in 2014-15
- Eagles finished last season with their most Big South wins since they won eight in 2019-20
- Eagles ended the year having their highest conference finish (6th) since 2014-15, when they finished third
- In her third full season as the permanent head coach in 2023-24, Semeka Randall-Lay saw the Eagles register a sweep of Longwood for the second straight year and snapped long skids in the series with UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb
- Most notably the Eagles had overtime victories over UNC Asheville on the road and Radford at home and sweeping Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville for the first time in nearly a decade
- Randall-Lay also coached the program's 600th all-time win at South Carolina State, was named to the 2024 American Basketball Hall of Fame, captured her 100th career coaching victory vs. Longwood at home, and saw Marissa Gasaway and Jada Ryce take home All-Conference honors
- Randall-Lay's squad returns eight players from last season, including five who played in all 30 games in the 2023-24 campaign
- The Eagles also welcome three new additions to the coaching staff: Dominique Duck (director of basketball operations), Myron Poindexter (graduate assistant coach), and Jordan Warlick (video coordinator)
- The team has one freshman, three sophomores (with one transfer), three juniors (with all of them being transfers and two of them coming from conference rival Radford), seven seniors (with one of them being a transfer from conference rival Presbyterian) and two graduate transfer students
- Marissa Gasaway, a senior forward from Louisville, Ky., started and played in all 30 games, led the Big South in rebounds with 318 and was tenth in the Big South in free throw percentage at .730. Gasaway was named the Big South Women's Basketball Player of the Week for games played Nov. 27-Dec. 3. She was named to the Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention at the end of the regular-season. Gasaway led the team in free throws made with 81 and rebounds with 318
- Jada Ryce, a senior guard from McDonough, Ga., played and started in all 30 games. Ryce finished fourth in the Big South in steals with 53, fifth in free throw percentage at .775, eighth in assists with 71 and minutes with 954. Against Carolina University at home on Dec. 10, 2023, she came within one of tying the school record for steals in a single game set by Cassandra Barnes vs. Sacred Heart on Feb. 12, 1981. Ryce surpassed 500 career points vs. Charleston Southern at home on Jan. 24. Ryce was named Big South All-Conference Honorable Mention and Big South All-Academic Team at the conclusion of the regular-season. She led the team in minutes played with 915, field goals made with 115; total points with 333 and steals with 53
- Ronaltha Marc, a senior guard/forward from Miami, Fla., played in all 30 games. She also started in every game but one and had 14 games in double figures in total points
- Leonor Paisana, a senior point guard from Lisbon, Portugal, played and started in all 30 games. She finished sixth in the Big South in assists with 79, tenth in three-point field goals per game at 1.2 and steals with 42. She entered the Top 10 in school history in three-pointers made vs. Charleston Southern at home on Jan. 24. Paisana scored her 500th career point at USC Upstate on Feb. 24 and led the team in three-point field goals made with 37 and assists with 79
- Blessing Okoh, a senior forward from Houston, Texas, played in all 30 games and started in 28 of them. She finished third in the Big South in blocked shots with 24. This also led the team
- The other four returnees include sophomore guard Ar'Mani Reid from Jacksonville, N.C; senior center Prunelle Mungo from Philadelphia, Pa.; and sophomore guard Adelaide McLeod from Savoy, Ill.
- McLeod did not play last season while Reid played in 22 games. Mungo played in 24 games and had one game in double figures in points (10 vs. Erskine on Nov. 14, 2023)
- In addition to the four returners, Randall-Lay and her staff have brought in eight newcomers in Olivia Wagner; Ciara Harris; Mya Pierfax; Amourie Porter; Persais Williams; Nuria Cunill; Konnor Gambrell and Bria Beverly
WINTHROP AT A GLANCE
- Winthrop has been predicted to finish fourth in the 2024-25 season
- This is Winthrop's highest pre-season conference finish since 2015-16, when the Eagles were slated to finish second
- Ryce was named to the 2024-25 Big South Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference First Team while Gasaway was named to the Second Team
- Winthrop is currently 626-921 all-time as a program, their 55th season
- Winthrop is 359-331 all-time at home
- Winthrop is 220-382 all-time in Big South games
- Randall-Lay starts her fifth season as head coach of the Eagles (spent the 2020-21 season in an interim role)
- Randall-Lay is the 17th head coach in program history
- Randall-Lay is coaching in her 430th career game, all at the NCAA DI level
GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS TODAY
General Admission tickets will be sold for all women's basketball games in the 2024-25 season. Season general admission tickets are currently on sale for $45. Single-game tickets are $10. Get your season pass today by visiting
WinthropEagles.com or call the ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
WATCH THE EAGLES ON ESPN+
All of the home games during the 2024-25 season will air live on ESPN+. You can also catch all road games in Big South Conference play on ESPN+. To watch Big South games on ESPN+ you must have a subscription to ESPN+. For more information on how to subscribe,
click here.
LOOKING AHEAD
Winthrop plays in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Big South Conference Tournament on Thursday, Mar. 6 in Johnson City, Tenn. against an opponent and a time TBD.
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