On the women’s side of the bracket, UNC Asheville will be taking on HPU after defeating Gardner-Webb 75-74. The Bulldogs were led to victory by the leading scorer of the game McKinley Brooks-Sumpter. Brooks-Sumpter had 23 points on nine for 19 shooting and six assists. Abigail Wilson of the Bulldogs led the team with 10 rebounds. Ashley Hawkins kept her Runnin’ Bulldogs in the game by leading the team in all three of these categories. Hawkins had 33 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Tensions were high throughout the game, with a physical and verbal altercation occurring after the game starting on the court and continuing in the tunnel.
UNC Asheville will have to clean up its game, after having 16 turnovers in this contest. HPU will have to take care of the ball as well because the Bulldogs forced Gardner-Webb to 14 turnovers. The Bulldogs look to upset the Panthers, which they haven't been able to do this season. Lauren Bevis of HPU, who was just announced Big South Player of the Year, has had her way with the Bulldogs having 16 points in both contests. UNC Asheville will have to find a way to keep her off the scoreboard and lessen their turnovers if they want to defeat HPU. Tune in for an exciting matchup that could lead to an upset if HPU doesn’t prove themselves as No. 1.
On the men’s side HPU will be taking on Radford after a victory against USC Upstate 67-60. Justin Archer led Radford with 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Jalen Breazeale led the Spartans in points and assists with 19 and 6. Justin Bailey had seven rebounds for the Spartans. Overall, Radford controlled the boards, grabbing 51 rebounds, while Upstate only got 33. Keeping Upstate off the boards was key for Radford, especially with Upstate shooting 42.6% in comparison to Radford’s 32.8%.
The Highlanders look to upset the Panthers after losing twice to them this season. In the first game Kezza Giffa dominated with 24 points against Radford and Kimani Hamilton went off for 34 points in the second game. If the Highlanders want to have a chance, they need to try to keep HPU off the boards, especially after their last contest against the Panthers led to 50 rebounds for HPU. HPU will have to limit turnovers and rely on putting good shots up to push past the Highlanders.
The women’s game is Thursday March 7 at 11:30 a.m. and the men’s game is Friday March 8 at noon. Both underdogs are looking to make the ultimate upset, but that will be very challenging considering the seasons HPU’s teams are having and the home court advantage. As always anything can happen, and you all should make sure you're there to support your teams!