2018-19 UNC Asheville Women’s Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (0-1, 0-0 Big South)
No. 12 Tennessee (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 14 / 7 p.m.
Live Stream: SEC Network+
Radio: Can be heard on local radio (100.3 FM) or online HERE – Mike Gore (PBP)
Live Stats: utsports.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlWBB #ThePursuit
After opening the 2018-19 season last weekend at Charlotte, the UNC Asheville women’s basketball team travels to No. 12 Tennessee on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside Thompson-Boling Arena and will be streamed on SEC Network+.
BULLDOG BITES
About UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville travels to Knoxville with a 0-1 overall record.
The Bulldogs dropped their first game of the year at Charlotte last weekend, 70-53. However, there were several bright spots in the 2018-19 season opener.
Senior guard Sonora Dengokl was phenomenal in her first game back. Prior to her game on Saturday, the last time she wore a UNC Asheville jersey was on Friday, March 17, 2017 when the Bulldogs played in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the eventual national champions South Carolina. Against the 49ers on Saturday, Dengokl dropped a game-high 18 points. She went an impressive 7-for-12 from the field in 26 minutes of action. She also went 4-for-7 from the free-throw line, grabbed three rebounds and forced two steals.
Sophomore Nadiria Evans posted a strong performance off the bench, as the guard from Gainesville, Fla. scored nine points on 4-for-7 shooting. She amounted 21 minutes and grabbed three boards in the first road trip of the season.
Ali Trani also had a strong performance in the season opener, as the senior scored seven points and grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds. Three of her seven rebounds came on the offensive glass.
The Bulldogs held the advantage in the paint versus Charlotte, as they out-scored the 49ers by six points (38-32).
Scouting Tennessee
Tennessee enters Wednesday’s match with a 1-0 mark for the 2018-19 season, as the Lady Vols downed Big South Conference member Presbyterian, 97-49.
In their first game of the season, the Lady Vols forced 39 turnovers and also tallied 22 steals against the Blue Hose. All five of Tennessee’s starters posted double digits, which was highlighted by a 20-point night from Evina Westbrook. Overall, Tennessee had six players in double figures.
The Lady Vols were impressive on both sides of the ball, as they made 36 total baskets, connected on 20 free throws, posted 15 assists, corralled 48 rebounds and blocked nine shots in the head-to-head contest at home.
Rennia Davis and Westbrook were two of the 50 overall players named to the 2019 Women’s Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List. Both were named to the SEC All-Freshman Team last season. Davis averaged 12 points per game last year and was second on the Lady Vols in rebounds per contest (7.6). Westbrook posted 8.4 points per game, as she started all 33 games last year for UT.
All-Time History Versus the Lady Vols
Wednesday’s game will be the first-ever head-to-head matchup between both squads.
The Lady Volunteers are 5-2 overall against Big South Conference opponents with both of their losses coming against Winthrop.
UNC Asheville has played seven total SEC schools in its all-time history (Georgia, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Alabama, South Carolina and Vanderbilt). Of those seven SEC teams, Asheville has played 18 total games against those schools.
BARKING ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
NATIONAL CHAMPS: The UNC Asheville men’s tennis doubles duo of Oli Nolan and Henry Patten secured a national championship on Sunday, Nov. 11, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over nationally 42nd-ranked Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn of Texas Tech in the championship match of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. In addition to the national championship win, Patten was also voted by the ITA Officials at the event to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. The championship match win for Nolan and Patten was part of a tremendous fall of 2018 for the pairing. Nolan and Patten went undefeated playing together during the fall and won three titles including the national championship.
MORE THAN MAKING THE GRADE: For the 2017-18 athletic year, the UNC Asheville student-athletes showed their commitment to the classroom by finishing the academic year with a combined grade-point average of 3.142. Impressively, 72 percent (161 of 223) UNC Asheville student-athletes during the 2017-18 athletic year received Athletic Director Honor Roll recognition with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
TWO-TIME SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: For the second time in his career, UNC Asheville senior Blanton Gillespie was selected as a Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Gillespie was chosen as the 2018 Big South Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26. The honor is just the latest for Gillespie, who was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
BIG SOUTH WOMAN OF THE YEAR: UNC Asheville graduate Kayli Nichols was selected as the 2017-18 Big South Conference’s Woman of the Year. With degrees in German and Political Science and a minor in Spanish, Nichols graduated from UNC Asheville with a GPA of 3.974. During her senior campaign, she was named the Big South Outdoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Big South Indoor Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
BIG SOUTH MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: On the same day that he started his new full-time position in the Corporate Analyst Development Program at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Columbus, Ohio on July 11, 2018, former UNC Asheville men’s basketball standout Kevin Vannatta was chosen as the 2017-18 Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to winning the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the conference, Vannatta was also chosen as the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s basketball and as the Big South Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native was also selected to the 2017-18 Academic All-America® NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). An Accounting major at UNC Asheville, Vannatta graduated with a 3.94 grade-point average.
How To Follow The Game Live
The game at Tennessee will be streamed on SEC Network+. The streaming link can be found by clicking HERE. The game can also be heard locally on the radio on REWIND 100.3 or online by clicking HERE. Live stats will also be available, and the link can be found by clicking HERE.
What’s Next?
The Bulldogs will open their 2018-19 home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 17, as they square off with rival Western Carolina. The head-to-head contest is set to begin at 1 p.m. inside Kimmel Arena.
