Women's Basketball Southern Conference

SoCon Women's Basketball Results from January 13

Davidson 74, Furman 65
GREENVILLE, South Carolina - Despite the return of leading Lady Paladin scorer and rebounder Jen Nadalin following a seven-game hiatus due to mono, Furman lost a 74-65 home game to Davidson Thursday night in Timmons Arena.

The Wildcats connected on a season-best 11 three-pointers in the game, six in the second half and three in the last 4:30 to hand the Lady Paladins' their first home loss of the year.

Furman jumped out to an early lead, and was up 20-11 with 10:32 to go in the first half. A three-pointer by Emily Callahan followed by another Callahan jumper cut the Furman lead to four at the 9:10 mark. Six minutes later Davidson's Jessica Mitchell hit a trey and Janell Crayton connected on two free throws to give the Wildcats their first lead, 30-29, with 3:07 to play. Furman regained the lead and was up 34-32 with under a minute, but Katie Hamilton hit her first three-pointer of the night to give the `Cats a 35-34 advantage at the break.

Less than two minutes into the second half the Lady Paladins regained the lead on a Nadalin layup, and Furman was up by eight, 54-46, with 11:53 left in the game. An 11-3 Davidson run knotted the game at 57. Two minutes later the game was tied again, 60-60, but Davidson's Mitchell connected on a three-pointer at 4:14, Hamilton hit another trey at 3:20, and Mitchell hit her fifth three-pointer of the night at 1:50 to put the Wildcats ahead 69-63. Over the last 1:16 Davidson made five of 10 free throws while Furman missed four jump shots, securing the Wildcat win.

Furman was paced in the loss by Nadalin's 14 points and two steals, while Tommi Paris added 11 points and Laney Harris contributed nine. Katie Roach staked Furman to a 42-36 advantage on the boards, with a team-best eight rebounds. She also dished off four assists.

Four Wildcats scored in double figures, including a team-best 21 points by Katie Hamilton. Jessica Mitchell poured in a season-high 15, while Emily Callahan scored 17 and Tia Washington contributed 10, with a team-best six assists.

With the win Davidson improves to 8-7 overall and 5-3 in the Southern Conference, while Furman falls to 11-4 overall and 6-2 in league action. The Lady Paladins return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. at the College of Charleston, while Davidson hosts Elon Saturday at 7 p.m.

South Carolina 67, College of Charleston 37

Columbia, S.C. - The University of South Carolina women's basketball team defeated College of Charleston, 67-37, in a non-conference, intra-state battle on Thursday night inside the Colonial Center. The Gamecocks won their 23rd straight game over teams from the Southern Conference and improved to 6-10 on the season. The Cougars to fell to 5-7 overall.

On the way to the victory, USC held the Cougars to just 20.6 percent shooting from the floor, a new Colonial Center record for field goal percentage defense. The Gamecocks also recorded 55 rebounds and 11 blocks, both of which are facility records.

Sophomore Melanie Johnson asserted herself on both ends of the floor in the early going. By halftime, the Barnwell native had scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, blocked three shots and collected three steals. She went on to finish with a career-best 19 points and 15 rebounds and matched a career high with five blocks.

Freshman Ilona Burgrova joined Johnson in double-figures with 11 points. It was a team effort offensively as all but one USC player entered the scoring column, including freshman Ebony Jones, who saw her first action of the season after making the transition from team manager to player in December.

USC carried a 32-16 lead into the halftime break. A stingy effort limited College of Charleston to 21 percent shooting from the field. The Gamecocks played to their height-advantage, outscoring the Cougars 24-8 in the paint.

For the game, Carolina out-rebounded Charleston, 55-40, and scored 40 of its 67 points in the paint.

Patrice Bryant led the way for the Cougars with 14 points. She was the only Cougar player to crack double-figures in scoring. She also had 14 rebounds to post her third double-double of the season.

The Gamecocks are 20-4 all-time in non-conference games played at the Colonial Center. USC also extended its win streak over the Cougars to six straight and the Gamecocks have come out victorious in 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two schools.

The Gamecocks are back in action on Sunday, Jan 16., as they play host to Florida. Tip time is set for 2 p.m. at the Colonial Center. The Cougars host Furman Sat. Jan. 15th in a 2:00 PM game at the Kresse Arena.