BOONE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville women’s basketball team dropped a 70-60 decision on the road at Appalachian State Sunday afternoon. The loss evens Asheville’s record at 1-1 on the young season.
Individually, the Bulldogs were led on Sunday by Kai Carter, who scored a team-high 19 points while also topping Asheville in rebounding with eight. Amaryah Corpening (16 points) and fellow senior Nadiria Evans (10 points) also finished Sunday’s game in double figures, while the team shot 44.4 percent from three-point range.
The first two quarters Sunday were tightly contested, with the lead changing eight different times in the first 20 minutes. Appalachian State’s offense struggled out of the gates shooting around 22 percent from the field in the opening quarter. Corpening helped the Bulldogs take full advantage of that slow start by knocking down a trio of three-pointers and 11 points overall in the stanza. With the sharp shooting from Corpening, the Bulldogs led after one, 18-12.
Appalachian State rebounded from the sluggish start starting the second quarter on a 9-0 run to regain the advantage. However, Asheville answered, and the two teams jostled for the lead for the remainder of the half. Carter helped the Bulldogs keep pace as she scored 11 of the team’s 15 points in the second quarter, including three made three-pointers. Thanks to Carter and the other Bulldogs’ efforts, they held a 33-31 lead at halftime.
Much like the second quarter, the Mountaineers started the third with a run. This time it was a 9-1 run to put the pressure back on the Bulldogs. Asheville was able to get the deficit back down to one possession, 50-47, heading into the final quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Appalachian State kept its lead at five or seven points through the opening minutes. However, a layup from freshman Amanda Blake with 5:18 to go pulled the Bulldogs within three at 58-55. Following that basket from Blake, the Mountaineer defense held Asheville to one made field goal over the game’s final five minutes. Thanks to this, Appalachian State could rebuild its advantage and eventually won the contest by double figures, 70-60.
Asheville will return home next Sunday when it hosts Wofford in another non-conference matchup. Tip-off for that contest, is set for 2 p.m. from Kimmel Arena.
