Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Women's Basketball Capsules for February 18

Patton's Career Night Paces Lady Mocs Past Wofford

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Freshman Tiffany Patton scored a career-high 17 points to lead five Lady Mocs in double figures as Chattanooga turned back a determined Wofford squad 78-67 Monday night at UTC's McKenzie Arena.

UTC turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to win its 19th game of the season and move to 13-4 in the Southern Conference. Wofford falls to 15-11 and 9-8.

Wofford's Jenny Nett (game-high 26 points) paced the Terriers' offense as the visitors took a five-point lead on three occasions, the last time at 12:31 in the first half (22-17). UTC reeled off nine straight points (five by Damita Bullock) to take a 26-22 lead. Wofford did manage a 28-28 tie, but UTC grabbed the lead right back and did not trail again.

Chattanooga's offense was on track, shooting 56.3 percent in the first half, but Wofford was a bit better at 60 percent. The Lady Mocs did much better in the final 20 minutes, holding Wofford to 32.4 percent shooting.

"It was definitely a tale of two halves," said UTC coach Wes Moore. "We were a little frustrated defensively because we were unable to keep the ball out of Nett's hand. In the second half our post players made them shoot a tougher shot."

UTC's top three scorers came off the bench with Miranda Warfield and Heather McDivitt both contributing 13. It was McDivitt's third straight double-digit game for the first time in her career. Bullock added 10 points and Nneka Irons 10.

Natalie Walsh added 16 points for Wofford and Cathey Franks 11, but no other Terriers managed more than four.

The Lady Mocs were outscored from the field 64-60, but UTC made 23 trips to the free throw line and canned 18. Wofford was 3-for-5 at the stripe. McDivitt was 6-for-7 at the stripe and Patton was 5-for-7.

UTC dominated the backboards 45-40 as Shamya Sermons and Bullock both yanked eight. Patton pulled six caroms, as did Jennifer Wilson. UTC's bench scored 47 points to just 10 for Wofford, and the Lady Mocs got 18 points off 15 Wofford turnovers.

The Lady Mocs play their final regular-season home game Saturday when Appalachian State visits the Roundhouse on Senior Night. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. and it is the first part of a doubleheader as the men's team takes on Western Carolina.


Ashley Hallsted Scores 19 To Lift Davidson To 69-57 Win Over Georgia Southern

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The Davidson Wildcats got 33 points from their starting backcourt to down the visiting Georgia Southern Lady Eagles, 69-57, in Southern Conference women's basketball action Monday night
from Belk Arena before a crowd of 309 fans.

Davidson (9-17, 5-12 SoCon) was led in scoring by sophomore guard Ashley Hallsted (San Mateo, Calif.) with 19 points while senior guard Janna Magette (Hoover, Ala.) and sophomore center Meghan Bryant (Huntersville, N.C.) each added 14. Magette added a game-high seven assists while Bryant had 10 rebounds. Georgia Southern was led by Sarah McCary with 12 points while Alie Rousseau added 11 points.

Georgia Southern jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, but the Wildcats stormed back with an 11-1 run that was capped by six straight Magette points.

Davidson would briefly lose the lead again, but took the lead for good at the 8:15 mark on a jump shot by freshman guard Joy Newsome (Charlotte, N.C.). The first half lead got to be as many as five points, 25-20, on a basket by junior forward Bethany Schott (Aurora, Colo.). The Wildcats, despite being outrebounded 30-15, took a 31-28 lead into halftime.

The Wildcats quickly added to their lead, opening the second half with an 11-4 run and never looked back. A pair of McCary free throws with 9:22 to play cut the Davidson lead to seven points, 50-43, however the strong Davidson defense kept the Lady Eagles out of the scoring column for the next 3:31 to seal the victory.

Davidson would extend the lead to as many as 15 points in the final five minutes of action and cruised to a 69-57 victory in the final home game of the season.

The 14-point, 10-rebound performance by Bryant was her ninth double-double of the season and her third straight. Magette now has 1,360 career points, just 10 points shy of Carolyn Kirsch's second-place Davidson total of 1,370.

Davidson will play its final regular .season game Saturday, February 23, at East Tennessee State at 1 p.m., while Georgia Southern hosts Wofford Saturday evening at 5 p.m.