Story Courtesy Chattanooga sports information
Chattanooga 104, Wofford 58
CHATTANOOGA, TN ? Brooke Hand scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Lady Mocs to a 104-58 win over Wofford in the Southern Conference opener for both teams Saturday night at the McKenzie Arena.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game for Wofford tonight,” Lady Mocs Head Coach Wes Moore said. “They played North Carolina Thursday night and only had one day off before coming here to play.”
Hand, starting for the first time in her career, was 9-for-13 from the field with four 3-pointers for the game-high output.
“She can fill it up,” Lady Mocs Head Coach Wes Moore said. “She provides us a big boost with her offense. We shot the ball extremely well tonight.”
Senior Katasha Brown was near-perfect from the floor making 7-of-8 with three treys for a season-high 21 points. Sophomore forward Alex Anderson registered 11 points for her third straight double-digit feat and has had at least one block in each game this year.
Hand’s second 3-pointer at the 14:39 mark took a friendly bounce and started an 8-0 run that ended at 13:40 giving Chattanooga its first double-digit lead of the game at 19-8. The Lady Mocs never trailed in the game and outrebounded Wofford 42-24. UTC scored 29 points off 24 Terrier turnovers and outscored Wofford 10-3 on second chance points.
Senior Nicole Mattison pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds and chipped in nine points, seven assists and four steals.
The Lady Mocs stretched its first half lead to 22 at the break and continued to roll racking up 56 second half points. The Lady Mocs were near-perfect from the charity stripe hitting all seven in the opening half and 21-of-23 in the second for a 93.3 percent mark.
The Terriers (4-3, 0-1) were led in scoring by Kelsi Koenig with 16 points and Nakia Mister tossed in 10. Both led the team with five rebounds and Jenny Weurding chipped in six points and three blocked shots. Wofford will take the next week off before heading to the west coast for a pair of games. The Terriers will take on Pacific on Dec. 18 followed by a matchup with Sacramento State on Dec. 20.
The Lady Mocs (5-3, 1-0) will hit the road for a five-game stretch, returning home Jan. 9. First up for Chattanooga is the first of its two final non-conference games this season at UNC-Asheville followed by a league matchup at Elon.
“The Bulldogs are 5-1, I think,” Moore said. “Their only loss is to North Carolina. They have an on-campus facility that is very quaint, so they can turn up the heat and the noise. Then we go to Elon and they played us tough up there last year.”
Team
? First time since 11/27/2001 that UTC scored 100+ points (105-42 win at Samford)
? Largest margin of victory over Wofford ? 46 points (104-58). Previous best was 42 at UTC 12/20/04
? First time since 12/6/03 vs. Ole Miss that two players scored 20+ points in a game (Brown, 21; Hand, 27)
? Fifth game this season shooting 50 percent or better
? First game with 40+ rebounds this season
? Shot 93.3 percent free throws (28-of-30). First time since 2/21/03 (at Appalachian State).
? First time UTC attempted 30 or more since 3/20/04 (v. Rutgers)
? Laura Hall did not start because she was a few minutes late for shoot around
? LaShandra McCoy did not play because her grandmother had a stroke and she missed practice to be with her.
Brooke Hand
? 27 points: career-high
? Entered the top 10 for 3-pointers made with 72 (15 this season)
Katasha Brown
? 21 points: season-high
? Took sole possession of second place with her third 3-pointer. 162 career made.
? Needs six points to move into 12th all-time scoring.
? Needs nine 3-pointers to move into first all-time.
Alex Anderson
? Third consecutive double-digit output (18 v. UAB; 16 v. Auburn; 11 v. Wofford)
? Has at least one block in every game this season. 16 season; 51 career.
Story Courtesy Davidson sports information
Davidson 79, Greensboro College 38
DAVIDSON, NC - Freshman Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) netted a season-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting and the Davidson Wildcats women's basketball team picked up its second win of the season by cruising past visiting Greensboro College, 79-38, on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats improved to 2-5 on the year and 2-1 at Belk Arena, while the Pride dropped to 4-3.
Its the second largest win of the season for Davidson, who defeated Oglethorpe, 95-39, at home back on Nov. 29. The 38 points allowed by Davidson was the lowest amount since last year's 65-36 win over Georgia Southern on Jan. 29 at Belk Arena.
Freshman Kelly Gassie had a new season-high in points with 18 and pocketed three steals.
Gassie paced three players in double-figures with her 18-point effort and the freshman hit her first two career three-pointers. Senior Janell Crayton (Atlanta, Ga.) dropped in 12 points, her fifth game of 10 points or more and third in a row. Rounding out the Davidson roster in double-figures was junior Jessica Mitchell (Wilkesboro, N.C.) with 11 points, nine of them behind the arc (3-for-6). Mitchell chipped in with a season-high five assists and a career-high six steals.
With the Wildcats leading by one, 9-8, with 15:33 to go in the first half, Davidson rattled off eight straight points to take a 17-8 lead at the 12:15 mark. Gassie and junior Honna Housley (Riceville, Tenn.) nailed back-to-back threes in the run.
Davidson, leading 17-12 with 11:37 left in the first stanza, then turned up its defensive effort, not allowing a Greensboro College field goal over the next seven minutes of play till Sirlena Moore made two free throws at the
4:35 mark. Davidson scored 15 points during that time span and would go into halftime up 41-16.
Greenboro College never got closer than 55-27 in the second half and the Wildcats picked up the 79-38 win.
The Wildcats dished out 19 assists, one off its season-high as four players had three or more. Davidson also forced 32 turnovers and cashed in by scoring 35 of its 79 points off those Pride turnovers.
In the rebounding department, 21 of the Wildcats 46 boards were on the offensive end, a season-high as three players brought down eight or more on the afternoon.
The Pride's Staci Humphrey, who came in averaging 25 ppg, did her best to keep Greensboro College in the game by hitting for 18 points and pulling down six rebounds. Moore also got into double-digits in points with 10 for the Pride.
The Wildcats now hit the road for a four-game stretch, starting with its first Southern Conference game at Furman, Dec. 17, at 3 p.m.
Story Courtesy Furman sports information
UNC Asheville 66, Furman 62
ASHEVILLE, NC - A four point half time advantage was not enough to overcome 14 second half turnovers and 30% shooting from the floor when the Furman women's basketball team lost 66-62 to Asheville Saturday at the Justice Center.
The Lady Paladins forced 15 first half UNCA turnovers and hit 46.9% (15-of-32) of their shots to take a 37-33 lead into halftime. In addition, senior Lauren Few was three-for-three from beyond the arc and the Lady Paladins held the Bulldogs to just two first period offensive rebounds.
UNCA showed more poise against the press in the second half and turned the table on the Lady Paladins, forcing Furman into 27 turnovers in the game. After falling behind early in the half, the Lady Paladins tied the game at 62 on a Sarah Baker three pointer with 4:30 to play, but UNCA regained the advantage on a Katie Baldwin layup with 3:19 to go, and got two insurance points on a Kristal Hood layup with 35 seconds on the clock.
Few paced the Furman offense with 16 points on the day, while Tommi Paris added 11. Jessica Lange topped Lady Paladin rebounding, with seven, while Sarah Baker and Chrissy Phelps each claimed six.
The Bulldogs were led by Ashton Barton's 20 point performance, while Kristal Hood added 10 points and claimed a team-high seven assists.
With the loss the Lady Paladins fall to 3-4 on the year. Furman breaks for exams before hosting Davidson in a 3 p.m. game on Dec. 17.
Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
Georgia Southern 85, Centenary 79
SHREVEPORT, LA - Georgia Southern senior Leslie Spoon scored a career-high 14 points and was one of four in double figures leading the Lady Eagles to an 85-79 win over Centenary Saturday afternoon at the Gold Dome.
Spoon, a native of Benton, La., grew up minutes from Shreveport and played in front of numerous family and friends. She was making her first career start.
“What a great night (for Spoon),” said head coach Rusty Cram. “She scored first bucket of the game and the last points of the game, so she was the bookend. I’m really happy for her, that’s something she’ll remember for the rest of her life. To me, that’s what college athletics are all about.”
Sophomore Chequilla Jessie (Sanford, Fla.) led the team with 16 points and tied senior Nicole Newton (Dublin, Ga.) in team-high honors in rebounds with eight. Jessie, in her first game of the season, went 6-for-8 from the floor and achieved her point total in just 12 minutes of play.
“Chequilla was a major impact right off the bat,” said Cram. “She’s definitely going to help us down the road.”
With the score tied 7-7 in the first five minutes, Georgia Southern (2-4) went on a 15-0 run to take a commanding 22-7 lead. Sophomore Shawnda Atwood (Pensacola, Fla.) started the run with an old-fashioned three-point play and Spoon finished it off with a jumper. Six different players scored for the Lady Eagles during the run.
But as soon as GSU opened up their lead, Centenary (1-6) came back with a 12-0 rally of its own, thanks to senior Van’esha Brabson who scored 10 of those points by herself, hitting back-to-back three-pointers.
Atwood ended the scoring drought with a free throw, but a trey by sophomore Laura Way closed the gap to one (23-22) with 7:15 on the clock.
Georgia Southern maintained its advantage for another two minutes until freshman Cierra Bush knotted the score at 28-28 and a free throw by Way put the Ladies on top for the first time since the 18:19 mark, leading 29-28.
GSU responded on its next trip down the floor as Spoon hit another shot sparking a 10-1 run and a layup by Jessie just before the buzzer put the Lady Eagles up 42-37 at the break.
Brabson led all scorers with 16 at the half, hitting 3-of-6 from three-point range. Atwood scored 13 while Spoon eclipsed her career high in the first half alone with 11.
The GSU defense came out strong to open the second half, holding Centenary to no points through the first 3:18 and opened up a double-digit lead (50-39) at the 15:49 mark.
The margin stayed in single digits for most of the second period. The Lady Eagles took their biggest advantage, 76-64, on a trifecta by freshman Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.).
From there, the Ladies went to work, eventually coming to within three, 78-75, with 2:24 remaining on two free throws from senior Laura Kizyte, and again with 1:49 left on two more points from the charity stripe by Bush.
But Newton answered with a layup and Centenary wouldn’t score again until two seconds left in the game.
Georgia Southern takes 10 days off before heading to Alabama, playing Troy on Dec. 20 and Alabama on Dec. 22.
Story Courtesy UNC Greensboro sports information
UNC Greensboro 78, Campbell 55
GREENSBORO, NC ? The UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team scored its most lopsided victory in the last two seasons, 78-55, over visiting in-state rival Campbell on Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gym.
UNCG (3-3) won its second in a row as the Spartans used a balanced scoring attack with seven players scoring at least eight points. Junior KaLeah Latham tallied a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds, while senior Caroline Blair tossed in a season-high 12 points. Meanwhile, sophomore Kemana Brooks added nine points off the bench, while Irene Otamiri, Jasmine Byrd, Gini Grimsley and Meghan Chamberlain each contributed eight points apiece.
Campbell (3-4), which had its three-game winning streak snapped, was led by Adrienne Rieley’s game-high 14 points. Maggie Rich scored 10 points and Letitia Dickson scored all nine of her points in the opening half.
UNCG forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 21 points and shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the field in the first half to take a commanding 45-27 halftime lead. Latham scored 11 points in the opening stanza to pace the Spartans.
UNCG took a 16-8 lead on a jumper by Otamiri at 12:35 and went up 19-10 at 9:05 after a turn-around hook shot by Chamberlain. Latham canned a jumper in the lane to make it 33-20 with 4:10 showing on the clock, before going into the intermission having amassed a season-high 45 first half points.
Byrd began the second half with her second trey of the game to open the lead up to 48-27. Three minutes later, Blair converted a conventional three-point play at the 16:04 mark to put UNCG up 56-31. The lead would swell to 30 points, 70-40 at the 6:01 mark on a jumper by Brooks, before UNCG closed things out by a score of 78-55.
UNCG improves to 11-0 over the past two seasons when the Spartans score more than 70 points in a game. The Spartans’ 16 steals gives them at least 10 steals in all six games this season. The club finished sixth in the nation last year with 12.6 per game.
UNCG will visit Wake Forest on Wednesday for a 7 pm tip-off in Winston-Salem, NC. Meanwhile, Campbell visits Hawaii on Friday.
GAME NOTES
KaLeah Latham made her first start of the season and 18th of her career... UNCG improves to 3-1 at Fleming Gym... Jasmine Byrd’s 76 career 3-pointers is tied for ninth all-time at UNCG... The Spartans improve their all-time record to 10-1 over the Lady Camels... UNCG is 57-17 over the past five years when the club scores over 60 points.