NCCU WBB earns first road victory at UNC Asheville

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Freshman Jada Tiggett recorded her first collegiate double-double and the NCCU women’s basketball team made three of its last four free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to slip past host UNC Asheville, 65-63, on Monday afternoon.

Tiggett poured in 14 points while pulling down a season-high ten rebounds to complete the double-double. She also paced the Eagles with four blocks.

Freshman Kyla Bryant matched her classmate with 14 points, including two big 3-pointers to put NCCU ahead late and then two clutch free throws with 27 seconds left that gave NCCU a needed three-point edge.

Senior Tippy Robertson chipped in a few key points late as well for the Eagles, banking in a jumper as the shot clock was expiring in the final 90 seconds while also hitting one of two free throws with 7.4 seconds left on the clock.

Robertson finished with seven points and a season-high nine rebounds. Senior Kimeira Burks contributed 11 points while junior Ray’ven Robinson filled up the box score with eight points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals.

The Bulldogs scored the game’s first five points and led throughout the first quarter. Asheville led by as many as 10 points, but the Eagles pulled within two possessions (20-14) after 10 minutes of play with balanced scoring in the final few minutes.

NCCU then started the second quarter on a 15-6 run that led to Tiggett giving the Eagles their first leads of the day on a left-handed layup (26-24) and a 3-pointer (29-26). Tiggett added another layup on a nice pass by Robinson in the final minute to help NCCU maintain a three-point edge, 33-30, at halftime.

Tiggett and Burks led all players at the midway point with nine and eight points, respectively.

The two teams played within four points of each other throughout the third quarter ending with Bryant scoring the final basket of the period to put NCCU back ahead 48-47. Each team took the lead a couple of times early in the fourth quarter before Bryant splashed back-to-back 3-pointers from the right wing to put the Eagles back in front for good down the stretch.

UNC Asheville (4-7) had a couple of opportunities to take the lead in the final minute. Still, after the Bulldogs missed two consecutive free throws with 37.6 ticks on the clock, Tiggett came up with her fourth block in the final moments on another go-ahead chance to aid in preserving the two-point triumph.

NCCU finished with a season-high eight rejections with junior Najah Cunningham chipping in six points, six rebounds, and two blocks for the victors. Senior Kimia Carter netted five points in her return to the lineup after missing seven games.

Junior Lalmani Simmons scored a game-high 17 points to lead four double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs.

The Eagles, who are amid a season-long, nine-game road swing, had their best shooting performance in a road game this season and end a five-game losing streak. NCCU shot 42.9 percent from the field, including an even more precise 50 percent from 3-point distance.

NC Central (4-7) will play its last game before the holiday break when the Eagles visit UNC Wilmington on Thursday for another matinee at 2 p.m.