Story Courtesy Georgia Southern athletics
Georgia Southern 57, Southern 53
MOBILE, AL - Down 16-2 in the first half, the Georgia Southern women’s basketball team eventually took the lead at halftime and went on to win 57-53 over Southern University Friday at the Coca-Cola Classic hosted by South Alabama.
Senior Nicole Newton (Dublin, Ga.) paced Georgia Southern (3-7) with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Lee DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) was also in double-figures with 13.
For the second straight game, Georgia Southern struggled offensively at the start, going almost six minutes without a point to open the contest before senior Leslie Spoon (Benton, La.) broke the drought at the 14:06 mark. At that point, it was 11-2 Southern (3-6) and the Jaguars eventually led by 14 before GSU started the rally.
Newton scored all 10 of her first-half points in the final nine minutes. She scored four straight starting at the 8:46 mark and then again later in the half, tying the score at 24-24 on a layup with 4:10 left in the period.
During the rally, GSU held Southern to just one field goal for almost six minutes, a three-point play by Adrian Blake.
“We’ve been such a poor defensive team by our standards, today was the first time our defense turned us around,” said Georgia Southern head coach Rusty Cram. “We ran our matchup zone to near perfection and the kids got after it, they rotated and trusted each other and got aggressive. We started getting missed shots and turnovers and they turned into buckets on the other end. Our confidence grew and it was because of our defense for the first time this year.”
Twice the Jaguars went on top after being tied, only to be answered by Georgia Southern, first by Spoon, then on a three-pointer by DuBose.
Newton finally gave the Lady Eagles the lead on a bucket with 45 seconds remaining in the half.
GSU maintained its lead until the 14:06 mark of the second half when Latoiya Hill put Southern back on top and Blake added a triple for a four-point lead.
The Lady Eagles proceeded to score the next seven points with four different players contributing in the run.
Southern’s Fredrieka Lewis and Hill teamed up to tie the score once again with 8:04 left, but a trifecta from DuBose and two foul shots from sophomore Chequilla Jessie (Sanford, Fla.) gave the Lady Eagles the lead for the last time.
Twice in the final minute, Southern made it a one-possession game, cutting it to two with six seconds left, but DuBose iced the win with two free throws.
Southern shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the first half, but only 26.7 percent in the second, including 1-for-7 from three-point range.
“We picked the five biggest stars that we had on the ballclub (to start the game),” added Cram. “We didn’t have a point guard on the floor ? Shawnda Atwood, a swing player, was running the point for us. It was a learning experience today, making a point to some of our young kids that they need to come ready to play each game. It was a lesson learned today that I hope carries over to the next few ball games.”
Story Courtesy Davidson sports information
Davidson 63, Georgia State 56
ATLANTA, GA ? Fellow juniors Brynn Kelly (Spokane, Wash.) and Tia Washington (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Davidson women's basketball team to the Hyatt Regency Invitational title with a hard fought 63-56 victory over host Georgia State in the championship game on Friday, Dec. 30. Davidson moved its win streak to three games and improved to 5-6 with the non-conference win. Georgia State fell to 5-4 on the year. In the consolation game, East Carolina held off Mississippi Valley State 69-60.
Kelly earned tournament MVP honors with her outstanding performance in the two games, scoring 24 points and hauling in 10 rebounds in Davidson's two wins. She had a career-high 17 points in the Wildcats first-round win over East Carolina. Washington joined her on the all-tournament team with her all-out hustle on both ends of the court. She scored 10 points in the win over East Carolina and then chipped in with six points, six assists, and five rebounds in the championship game. The junior point guard extended her streak of dishing out at least one or more assists in a game to 18 straight.
The Wildcats started the game off on a 9-2 run with 17:13 to go in the half as senior Janell Crayton (Atlanta, Ga.) carried her solid performance over from the night before by hitting a three-pointer, pulling down two of her first half total of three rebounds and dishing out an assist, while pocketing two steals.
Later, Georgia State came back and tied things up at 11-all on Vatai Smith's first bucket of the contest and 11:56 left in the half.
Davidson then turned up the defensive intensity over the next five minutes, holding the Panthers scoreless, while forcing seven of Georgia State's 10 turnovers in the first half. Meanwhile, the Wildcats offense regained the lead on a jumper by junior Jessica Mitchell (Wilkesboro, N.C.) and back-to-back short jumpers by sophomore Danielle Hemerka (Blackwood, N.J.) to give Davidson a 17-11 advantage with 8:36 left in the first half.
Monica Thomas broke the scoreless streak with a jumper from the free throw line and then later gave the Panthers their first lead at 22-21 with 2:36 when she hit a 15-footer at the right elbow.
Davidson would close out the half on a 7-2 run and go into halftime up 28-24 behind Hemerka's eight points and Mitchell's seven. Mitchell finished with 14 points in the game on 5-of-10 shooting.
Georgia State used a 9-5 run at the start of the second half to tie things up at 33-all with 15:05 on the clock. Then after the Wildcats missed a layup on the next possession, the Panthers came back down the court and took a 35-33 lead on a layup by Brittany Hollins, her first basket of the game.
After both teams traded the lead over the next few minutes, Davidson, tied with Georgia State at 39, regained the lead for good with an 8-1 run to jump ahead 47-40 after Hemerka sank two free throws with 6:43 to go in the game.
Georgia State closed to within three, 50-47, on a layup by Alisea Rucker with 4:57 to play. Davidson then put the contest out of reach for the Panthers by going on a 12-4 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 62-51 with less than 50 seconds to go in the game.
Crayton finished out the scoring for the Wildcats with a free throw, one of 18 Davidson hit in the second half, and the Wildcats secured the 63-56 win.
Hemerka led the Wildcats with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Freshman Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) came off the bench for a season-high 28 minutes, pulling down a season-high seven rebounds and hitting a new personal best 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
Marcquitta Head a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Panthers, while Monica Thomas chipped in with 16 points.
Story Courtesy Elon sports information
Elon 64, UNC Pembroke 54
ELON, NC - Kitara McMoore and Robyn Shipley combined for 32 of Elon’s 64 points as the Phoenix ended a three-game skid with a 64-54 women’s basketball victory over the visiting UNC Pembroke Lady Braves from Alumni Gym on Friday afternoon.
The Phoenix (4-6) fell behind by as many as 10 points in the first half when UNCP (6-3) opened up a 20-10 advantage on a Lindsay Bartholf three with 12:13 to play in the period. Elon roared back, scoring the game’s next 17 points to grab a 27-20 lead when Shashonna Moore hit a layup with 6:09 left. Elon carried a 32-28 lead into the break.
After UNCP trimmed the margin to three at 36-33 on a Tasha Stotler layup, Elon scored seven consecutive points to build a 43-33 advantage. That spurt was capped by one of four Shipley threes on the afternoon. The Phoenix lead grew to as many as 15 points when Myra Donkin hit two free throws with 2:48 remaining.
McMoore connected on seven field goals and four free throws to net 18 points for the third time this season. She also collected 10 rebounds to earn her third double-double this season and sixth of her career. The sophomore forward passed for a career-high tying six assists as well. Shipley added 14 points while Nikko King hauled in a career-best 10 rebounds for the Phoenix.
UNCP was paced by 15 points off the bench from Victoria Willis who drained five threes. Natalie Ray ended the afternoon with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Lady Braves.
Elon connected on 40.7 percent of its shots from the field and has been kept below 40 percent only twice this year. UNCP hit only 28.6 percent of its attempts on the day. The Phoenix also held advantages in rebounds (41-39), assists (12-11) and blocks (3-1). Both squads turned the ball over 10 times and UNCP held a slim edge in steals (5-4).
Story Courtesy Furman sports information
Maryland 92, Furman 58
COLLEGE PARK, MD - The Furman women's basketball team fell to 5-6 on the year with a 92-58 loss to sixth-ranked Maryland Friday in the championship game of the Terrapin Classic.
Junior Terp guard Shay Doron put on an offensive show, scoring 18 in the first period and 26 on the night. Maryland connected on 56.3% of its first half shots and held a commanding 44-20 lead at the half. Senior guard Melynda Gant was Furman's leading scorer with five at the break.
The Lady Paladins mixed up their defense and stopped pressing early in the first period, but nothing could prevent Maryland from penetrating the lane, which lead to a 42-14 scoring advantage in the paint for the game. In addition, the Terps outrebounded the Lady Paladins 46-24 and completed the trifecta with 61.5% shooting from three point range.
"Maryland is a very, very good defensive team," said coach Sam Dixon after the loss. "They did a great job early of making us go side to side, thereby slowing down our offense. They are also a great team when it comes to running off turnovers and missed shots."
Furman scored 38 second period points, including nine on three-point shots, but the Terps put 48 on the board to earn the 34 point victory. Chrissy Phelps topped Lady Paladin scoring with 10 on the night, while Gant added eight to the effort. Senior point guard Tommi Paris scored six with five assists and was named to the Terrapin Classic All-Tournament team with 26 points in two games. The Terps' Shay Doron was tournament MVP, while Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman also represented the Terps.
Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information
Appalachian State 76, Iowa State 54
AMES, IO - Senior Eboni Kirby (Tallahassee, Fla.) recorded her first double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs, as the Appalachian State University women’s basketball team defeated Nicholls State, 76-54, Friday at the Hilton Coliseum in its final game of the Cyclone Classic hosted by Iowa State University.
With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 6-5 on the season, while the Lady Colonels drop to 1-10. Appalachian commanded the boards, out-rebounding its opponent, 48-26, with 18 coming on the offensive end. The Mountaineers converted their 18 offensive boards into 18 second chance points.
ASU shot 58.8 percent in the first half, finishing 46.2 from the field. The Apps held Nicholls State to just 33.3 percent shooting and 21.4 from beyond the three-point arc.
Appalachian was dominant down low, outscoring Nicholls State, 44-10 in the paint, while
two Mountaineers recorded double-digit rebounds for the first time this season with junior Danielle Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.) adding 10 boards to Kirby’s 15. Edwards added eight points.
Kirby finished shooting 80 percent from the field on 8-of-10 shooting and 2-of-2 from beyond the three point arc. The forward was also perfect from the charity stripe finishing 3-of-3.
Freshman Greteya Kelley (Suwanee, Ga.) finished with 16 points, four assists and four steals for the Mountaineers, while sophomore Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) added 12 points, a career-high eight assists and four steals.
All 14 Mountaineers that were suited up saw playing time Friday, as freshmen Allie Mauser (Newton, N.C.), Brittany Mixon (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) and April Smith (Fayetteville, N.C.) made their Appalachian debuts.
After a slow start, the Mountaineers quickly turned a five-all tie into a 13-5 lead with 15:04 to go in the first half, led by two three-pointers by senior Jocelyn Wyatt (Lawrenceville, Ga.). After that, the Colonels never got closer than seven points in the first half as Appalachian took a 54-32 lead into halftime.
The Apps came out of halftime as they had gone in, reaching their largest lead of 32 points at 74-42 at the 9:13 mark. The Mountaineers scored just two more points after that with their last field goal coming off a jumper by Kirby at the 7:46 mark. Nicholls State couldn’t take advantage, scoring just eight points in the final eight minutes, as ASU went on to defeat Nicholls State, 76-54.