Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Women's Basketball Capsules for December 9

UNCG WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOLDS OFF CAMPBELL, 61-57
BUIES CREEK, NC -- UNCG sophomore Amanda Eaton led three players in double figures with a career-high 18 points as the Spartans held off Campbell, 61-57, in women's college basketball action from Carter Gymnasium Monday night.

Leading 34-31 at halftime, Eaton buried a trio of 3-point field goals during a 13-2 run to open the second-half. Eaton scored 13 of her 18 in the second stanza as UNCG seemingly took control, 47-33.

UNCG (3-1) had a 12-point lead, 55-43, with 3:43 left in the game, but the Lady Camels (1-3) knocked down four 3-point field goals in the final three minutes. Kristal Troy drilled a 3-pointer with just 17-seconds remaining to cut the gap to just two points, 59-57.

Nicole Murray was fouled, but the senior stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down a pair of crucial free-throws to ice the game.

Jacinda Lambert scored 12 points, while Lindsey Reed added a career-high 11. Jennifer Hart scored eight points and grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. Hart spearheaded a rebounding effort that saw UNCG grab 22 offensive rebounds.

The Spartans opened the game with a quick six-point lead, 8-2. UNCG extended the lead to as many as seven, 12-5, but the Lady Camels slowly chipped away at the lead.

Campbell climbed within two points on three seperate occasions, before taking the lead, 23-22, on Chantel Martin's 3-pointer at 6:40. Jennifer Lodge buried a jumper from the right wing, giving Campbell a three point lead, 27-24.

The Spartans closed the half with a 10-4 spurt, thanks in large part to Lambert. The junior forward, who missed her first four shots from the field, caught fire just before halftime, scoring eight points in the final four minutes to help UNCG take a three-point lead into the locker room.

The Spartans return to action Saturday, December 14, when Elon College makes its way to Fleming Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

WCU Women's Basketball Wins at Savannah State, 71-56
Tiffany Hamm, Miranda Long and Kala Greene Lead Cats to Victory

Savannah, Ga. - Junior Tiffany Hamm scored 14 points, while Miranda Long and Kala Greene added 13 and 0 points, respectively, off the bench, to lead Western Carolina to a 71-56 road victory over Savannah State Monday night at Tiger Arena. The Catamounts improve to 6-1 on the season, which is the best record by a Southern Conference team to date, while the Tigers fall to 1-7.

Western scored first on a Jennifer Gardner basket and built a seven-point advantage midway through the first half. However, Savannah State went on a 10-2 run over the next two and a half minutes to take a 25-24 lead with 7:21 left. Hamm drained a 3-pointer with 1:37 left before the break to give the Cats a 36-33 lead. Savannah State's Tiffany Stephens hit a layup with three seconds left to make the score 36-35 at the break.

The game remained close through the first five minutes of the second half, with the Tigers owning a 41-39 lead at the 15:08 mark. At that point, Western reeled off six straight points on a layup by Long and two baskets by Greene to take the lead for good. Savannah State got as close as five (51-46) with 11:01 left, but consecutive 3-pointers by Melissa Ervin and Hamm started a 9-0 run by the Cats to make the score 63-46 and put the game out of reach for the homestanding Tigers.

Hamm added six rebounds and four assists to go along with her team-high 14 points. Long, who was 5-of-7 from the field, had four rebounds and two steals, while Greene added six boards and a blocked shot. Ervin and Gardner also had impressive performances. Ervin was 3-of-4 from the field, all from 3-point range, in scoring nine points, while Gardner had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Janetta Heggins and Ki-Ki Glass paced the WCU defense with three steals each.

Savannah State was led by Stephens, who scored a game-high 17 points, and Kewanda Walker, who registered a double-double (11 points and 10 rebounds). The Tigers' Crystal Martin dished out eight of her team's 12 assists on the night.

Western held Savannah State to just 29.6 percent shooting in the second half (8-27), while the Cats shot am impressive 48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the final 20 minutes.

The Catamounts will be off until playing at Wake Forest on Dec. 18 at 11:30 am. Western is 11-7 all-time versus the Demon Deacons, including a 72-64 victory over Wake Forest last season.