GREENVILLE, SC - The dynamic duo of speed and seniority came to Timmons Arena in the form of the Clemson women's basketball team Wednesday night and handed Furman an 82-55 loss on the Lady Paladins' home court.
"We had four freshman and a sophomore in the game near the end tonight and I think it showed," said Furman coach Sam Dixon. "We are a work in progress with the age of our team and they have four seasoned seniors in their starting lineup."
The first shot of the game, a jumper by Furman freshman Katie Johnson, was blocked by Amanda Frist and it was excellent foreshadowing for the remainder of the game. The Tigers went on to block nine more shots in the first half alone, and 16 in the game, while Furman continued to push the ball into the post with little reward.
In addition, Furman suffered through a first-half field goal drought that lasted from the 12:27 mark, when Melynda Gant sank a jumper off an offensive rebound, until 7:16, when freshman Maggie McKemie grabbed the rebound off a Chrissy Phelps jumper and laid it in to make the score 24-12. A Carrie Whitehurst three-pointer just 16 seconds later put the Clemson lead at 15, and seven minutes later the Tigers took a 38-22 advantage into the halftime break.
Furman got possession to start the second half, but an immediate steal by Clemson's Tasha Taylor was parlayed into a Clemson layup and the Tiger lead was stretched to 18. Clemson's lead reached 30 on an Adrianne Bradshaw jumper at 13:05. Though the Lady Paladins took good care of the ball, making just six second half turnovers, they were able to cut into the Tiger lead only slightly, eventually losing by 27 to fall to 2-2 on the year.
"That was by far the best we have played all year," said first year Clemson coach Cristy McKinney after the Tigers moved to 2-5 on the season. "Our help defense was much better and a lot of those blocked shots came on rotation. We played hard for all 40 minutes."
Phelps was the only Lady Paladin in double digits Wednesday night, scoring 10 on 4 for-13 shooting from the field and a 1-for-2 night at the line. Tommi Paris contributed nine points while Jessica Lange totaled six. The Lady Paladins were outrebounded by Clemson 50-36.
Four Tigers scored in double figures in the win, including Phillips, who tallied a team-best 17 points and six assists. McKinney praised her senior guard after the game. "She has played well the last two games. She is quick and athletic and is a big help to us when she is playing well."
Story Courtesy Wofford sports information
Wofford 64, Gardner-Webb 57
BOILING SPRINGS, NC - A season-high 19 points from sophomore guard Mary Jo Yee sparked the Wofford women's basketball team to a 64-57 victory at Gardner-Webb Wednesday evening in the Paul Porter Arena.
Yee converted four 3-pointers out of her six field goals and was 3-of-4 from the foul line in finishing just two points shy of her career-best effort.
With the score deadlocked at 53-53 and under five minutes remaining, Yee nailed her final trey of the contest at the 4:37 mark to give the Terriers the lead for good at 56-53 off an assist from freshman Liz Miller. She then connected on a pair of free throws with :08 left to close the scoring.
Her first three 3-pointers of the game were on consecutive attempts in the first half and helped Wofford (4-1) push its lead to nine, 26-17, with 8:20 to go. The largest Terrier lead of the half was 10 when a pair of layups by sophomore Kelsi Koenig sandwiched a Brittany Harmon bucket at the 11:14 mark. Wofford held a six-point edge, 37-31, at the intermission.
Candyse Kelly and Katie Sanderson brought the Bulldogs back with six-straight points to tie the game at the start of the second half. It was not until a pair of free throws by freshman Summer Nichols at the 13:01 mark that the Terriers would score in the second stanza and take the lead, 39-37. Nichols would hit two field goals in a 9-2 run to give the visitors a 48-39 cushion with 9:19 to play.
Gardner-Webb (0-5) would not be denied, however, as it mounted another comeback and regained control of the score at 50-49 on a pair of free throws from Shameka Smith with 6:56 remaining. Yee and Koenig then hit a jumper each to give Wofford a 53-50 lead with 5:40 left before Novia Sturdivant 3-pointer equalized the contest for the final time with 5:06 to go.
Koenig finished with 12 points and continued her streak as the only Terrier to score in double figures in every game this season. She nearly recorded her second career double-double, and second of the season, with a team-high nine rebounds including seven on the defensive glass. Junior K.C. Correll led all players with four steals.
Junior center Jenny Weurding swatted three Bulldog shots to raise her career tally to 133 and move her into sole possession of second place in the Wofford record books behind Lucy Hines (1997-2001) who tallied 169. Weurding also moves into a fourth-place tie on the all-time Southern Conference chart with Meghan Bryant (2000-04) of Davidson.
Smith paced all players with a career-best 23 rebounds, while chipping in 12 points. On the strength of three 3-pointers, teammate Brooke Wilkinson led Gardner-Webb with 13 points.
The Terriers hit a season-best 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the foul line, while the Bulldogs converted just 4-of-10 (40.0 percent) from the charity stripe.
With the victory, Wofford continues its best start in four years, since the 2001-02 campaign, with their 4-1 record. In the 2001-02 season, the Terriers began the year 5-0. Wofford also improves its series record versus Gardner-Webb to 12-2 all-time, while the Terriers sit atop the Southern Conference standings.