Asheville, N.C. – Winthrop concluded the regular-season with a dominant second half at UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon.
Winthrop (15-14, 9-7 Big South) | UNC Asheville (3-26, 1-15 Big South)
Mar. 1, 2025 | Kimmel Arena
Winthrop 71, UNC Asheville 66
How it Happened
First Quarter | Asheville started the day with an 11-5 lead at the 5:43 mark. Winthrop could only muster two field goals during the opening stretch. At the time of the under-5 media timeout with 3:50 remaining, the Eagles had four players who had scored. Winthrop then went more than four minutes without a point made.
Ronaltha Marc then ended the Eagles offensive drought with a layup with 40 seconds to go. UNC Asheville would lead 11-9 at the end of the frame.
Second Quarter | The Bulldogs scored the first five points of the quarter to take a 16-9 lead two minutes in. The two teams responded by splitting the next 12 points, leaving UNC Asheville still up by seven at 22-15 at the 2:08 mark. Marc made it a four-point game at 22-18 on a pull-up jumper just before the half.
Third Quarter | The Eagles scored five of the first seven points to begin the second half, cutting the margin to one at 24-23 at the 7:01 mark. UNC Asheville quickly scored the next four points to go up by five one minute later. But the rest of the quarter was all Winthrop, with the Eagles going on a 17-6 run to close out the frame.
Olivia Wagner capped off the rally with a three-pointer at the buzzer to take a 40-34 lead entering the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter | Winthrop picked up right where they left off, this time going on an 11-4 run to take a 51-38 lead at the 7:06 mark. This was the largest lead of the game for the Eagles. Winthrop then cruised the rest of the way, largely maintaining a double-digit lead from there on out.
Statistical Standouts (Team)
- Winthrop moves to 627-921 all-time as a program
- Winthrop moves to 221-382 all-time in Big South games
- Three Eagles played more than 30 minutes, with Wagner playing nearly the entire contest (39)
- Amourie Porter was 10-10 from the free throw line
- Three Eagles grabbed more than five rebounds
- Winthrop made 61% of their shots in the fourth quarter
- Winthrop made 87% of their free throws (14-16) in the fourth quarter and was 70% (21-30) for the game, six more percentage points than the Bulldogs in that area
- This is the most conference wins for the Eagles since the 2014-15 team won 13
- Eagle head coach Semeka Randall-Lay has moved into a tie for seventh on the all-time coaching wins list in school history (Karen Brown also has 49)
- Randall-Lay needs one more win for 50 wins as the Winthrop head coach
- A win next week would also move Randall-Lay into a tie for sixth on the school history coaching wins list (Mary Roland Griffin also has 50)
Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Amourie Porter (35 min., 10-10 FT, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 18 points)
Olivia Wagner (35 min., 6-6 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 19 points)
Up Next
Winthrop plays in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Big South Conference Tournament on Thursday, Mar. 6 in Johnson City, Tenn. as the No. 5 seed against the No. 4 seed Charleston Southern Buccaneers. The two teams split their regular-season meetings this year. Charleston Southern won 78-50 on their court on Jan. 15 but Winthrop got revenge in Rock Hill on Feb. 5 by a score of 54-47, snapping a five-game skid in the series.
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