Winthrop Women Turn Up Defensive Pressure In Second Half For A 75-55 Win Over Asheville
ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop turned up the defensive pressure in the second half as the Eagles held UNC Asheville to seven field goals and 20 percent shooting to claim a 75-55 Big South Conference win Thursday night at the Winthrop Coliseum.
Winthrop (8-6, 4-1 BSC) led 32-30 at intermission, but outscored Asheville (3-11, 2-3) 16-3 in the first 7 minutes and 10 seconds of the second half to take control of the game. The Eagles led by as many as 25 points at 73-48 with just under four minutes left after Schaquilla Nunn scored on a follow shot. With the win, Winthrop head coach Kevin Cook reached career victory No. 100. He is now 53-27 in two-plus seasons at the Eagles’ helm and 100-82 overall.
Erica Williams had her fourth straight 20-plus point performance as she led all scorers with 22 points while Nunn recorded her sixth double-double of the season and 33rd of her career with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Asheville was led by Shonese Jones with 13 points while Tianna Knuckles scored 10 and Bronaza Fitzgerald added 10.
“This win was a credit to the team,” said Cook. “We worked on our defense since that last game (a loss to Gardner-Webb on Monday). At our shoot-around today there wasn’t a lot of shooting. When we lock in on our defense it helps our offense.”
Leading by two points at the half, Cook said he asked his team who wanted it more. “I just looked into their eyes and I could see they wanted it more, and no words had to be spoken,” he said.
The win extends Winthrop’s winning streak over Asheville to six in a row and 11 of the last 12 meetings as the Eagles now lead the all-time series 38-28.
Williams got Winthrop off to a strong offensive start as she scored 10 points in the opening 6:35 of the game, but the Eagles could not shake the Bulldogs who trailed 15-14 at the time. A layup by Nunn with just under 11 minutes left in the half, gave Winthrop a 21-17 lead, but Winthrop then went on a 6 minutes, 10-second scoring drought which allowed Asheville to claim a 23-21 lead on a free throw by Fitzgerald with 5:40 remaining. Williams finally broke the ice by scoring on a drive to the bucket to tie the game.
Winthrop took its largest lead of the first half at 30-23 when Samiya Wright’s 3-pointer ended a 9-0 run at the 2:21 mark. Asheville clawed back by outscoring Winthrop 7-2 in the final two minutes on a 3-pointer by Jones, a layup by Leah Wormack and a pair of free throws by Jones to end the half.
Nunn scored five points to open the second half and the Eagles turned up the defensive heat on the way to opening on a 48-33 lead following a baseline jumper by Williams at the 12:40 mark. The lead increased to 20 points at 58-38 following a pair of free throws by Aliyah Kilpatrick with under 10 minutes remaining and the Eagles cruised to the victory.
Winthrop shot 46 percent from the floor (28-61) while holding Asheville to 28.1 percent (18-64) for the game, including 7 of 35 in the second half. The Eagles had a decided advantage in the paint by outscoring the Bulldogs 32-20 inside, and owned the boards with a 51-35 advantage.
Winthrop will now begin a three-game road swing that begins on Saturday at 2 p.m. when the Eagles travel to High Point for a key early Big South showdown. The game will be broadcast over 104.1 The Bridge and can be seen on the Big South Network.
