ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Campbell women's basketball team started the Big South slate with a 73-56 victory at UNC Asheville on Saturday afternoon at Kimmel Arena. Senior guard Tonisha Baker (High Point, N.C.) paced the squad with 15 points, while junior guard Monique Spry (Wilson, N.C.) chipped in 11 as the Lady Camels improved to 5-2 and 1-0 in the league.
Adding eight points each at UNC Asheville (1-6, 0-1) were junior forward Ashley James (Round Rock, Texas) and freshman guard RaeChaun Edwards (Spring Grove, Va.). Campbell saw 11 players register a point as it played a team game, highlighted by 26 bench points.
The Lady Camels out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 37-29, with Baker and James each grabbing six. Freshman guard Zena Lovette (High Point, N.C.) recorded a season-high seven boards, while sophomore forward Juli Osborne (Kingsport, Tenn.) had a career-high four.
As a team, Campbell shot .467 pct. for the game and .375 pct. from beyond the arc as it hit the 70-point plateau for the second time this season. The Lady Camels posted 20 assists led by Baker with four and Spry with three.
Forcing a season-best four turnovers was Spry as the Bulldogs turned the ball over on 22 occasions. Campbell tallied 25 points off turnovers, including 15 points on the fast break.
Scoring a game-high for UNCA was Shonese Jones with 21 points, while Jeannie Bucker pulled down 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs shot .422 pct. from the feild and nailed six three-point field goals.
The Lady Camels and Bulldogs felt each other out in the first couple of minutes as the score was tied at 4. Spry sparked an 11-0 run with eight points, including two threes in just over a minute of play. Adding another three was Baker to put the Lady Camels up 15-4 with 14:17 remaining.
Following Lovette knocking down two shots for five points, the bench became involved as senior forward Jazmine Cooper (Fayetteville, N.C.), Osborne and Edwards aided the Lady Camels to build a 24-14 advantage at 8:53 of the first.
The lead was pushed to a high of 17 points on a bucket and made free throw by Spry before the Bulldogs answered on a 7-0 run of their own as Buckner drained a three to cut the lead to nine, 37-28. A jumper by Baker just before half provided the Lady Camels with a 39-28 advantage.
Campbell came out in the second half on a 14-4 run, highlighted by two three-point field goals by Edwards to push the score to 53-32, the largest margin of the contest. Every time the Lady Camels grabbed a lead of 20 or more, the Bulldogs responded as a three from Grace Blalock cut the lead to 15 at 56-41 with 8:47 left.
Towards the end of the game, head coach Wanda Watkins went to the bench and allowed for junior Heather Beadle (Austin, Texas), sophomore Casey Elliott (Wilson, N.C.) and freshmen Jessica Pone (High Point, N.C.) and Jewell Yarborough (Creedmoor, N.C.) to log some quality conference minutes.
The Lady Camels host their third-annual Education Day on Monday, welcoming Columbia (S.C.) College to Gore Arena/John W. Pope, Jr., Convocation Center at 11:45 a.m. Campbell has averaged a crowd of 2,955 on the two previous Education Days and are again welcoming area fifth-grade students for a morning of fun and instruction before the basketball game.