Heath’s Career Day Wasn’t Enough to Beat Bobcats

Despite a career best performance from freshman Danielle Heath, the UNCP women’s basketball team came up short of a victory as the Braves fell to the Georgia College Bobcats 59-58 on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court on Feb. 9.

Heath has seen both her play and confidence go up with the increase of minutes she has been able to get over the last few games with the team dealing with injuries. She led the team in scoring with her season as well as career high 20 points. She was 8-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.

“It just makes me feel a whole lot better about myself. Especially coming in and knowing that I can actually score and not just be a body out on the floor,” said Heath.

Standing at 5ft. 8in., the first-year guard wasn’t the tallest player on the court or even the tallest player on her team, but she played with aggressiveness and inside presence of a forward twice her size.

“I just think she keeps getting more and more confident and I told her when she gets… stronger and a little more assertive, we’ll have created a monster,” said head coach John Haskins.

The last time the Braves and the Bobcats faced off it was a down to the wire game that finished with drama as junior Tee Graham hit a three pointer at the buzzer to capture a 56-55 victory for the Black and Gold.

This time around was no different as it was yet another low scoring, tightly contested affair that featured strong defense from the Braves, especially in the first half when they held Georgia College to under 30 percent shooting from the field.

Neither teams shot well in the first half, however, the visitors started making their shots in the second half, especially from the perimeter. They were 6-of-9 from behind the arc after halftime for a nearly 67 percentage from the field, which ultimately ended up being the deciding factor in the game.

“The difference in the game was three-point shooting. They made some tough ones and we gave them some good looks at threes,” said Haskins.

Despite their continued struggles to find consistent offense, the Braves still had an opportunity to secure yet another buzzer beater win in the waning seconds of the contest, but sophomore Melanie Horne’s last second three-point attempt bounced off the rim and sealed the team’s third straight loss.

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