Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information
Appalachian State 78, Georgia Southern 75
BOONE, NC ? Senior Kiki Conyers (Tallahassee, Fla.) hit a jumper with 27 seconds remaining in the game to give the Mountaineers the lead for good at 76-75, snapping a 14-game losing streak to the Lady Eagles as the Appalachian State University women’s basketball team defeated Georgia Southern, 78-75, Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center.
With 27 second left in the game and the Mountaineers down by one at 75-74, Conyers made a jumper from the left elbow to give the Mountaineers a 76-75 lead. After advancing the ball over half court on their next possession, the Lady Eagles called a timeout. After the timeout, GSU couldn’t inbound the ball and was called for a five second violation, turning the ball over to ASU.
On the next Appalachian possession, Conyers was fouled with 6.3 seconds to go, hitting both her free throws to give the Mountaineers a 78-75 lead. The Lady Eagles couldn’t convert on their next possession, as ASU defeated GSU, 78-75 Saturday.
With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 8-9 overall and 4-4 in Southern Conference play, while the Lady Eagles drop to 7-0 and 4-4 in the league. Prior to Saturday night’s games, Appalachian and Georgia Southern are now in a three-way tie with UNC Greensboro for fourth in the conference.
Senior Jocelyn Wyatt (Lawrenceville, Ga.) led the Mountaineers with a career-high 16 points. The 5-9 guard was perfect from the field, going 5-of-5, including 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
Conyers finished with 10 points, one of five Apps in double figures. Junior Danielle Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.) tallied 15 points and a game-high nine boards, while freshman Greteya Kelley and junior Jaime Bennett added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Kelley added five steals, while Bennett chipped in two blocked shots.
Four Lady Eagles scored in double-figures, led by senior Nicole Newton’s 16 points and five rebounds. Freshman Ashley Melson added 15 points and three steals, while Shawnda Atwood and Lee Dubose chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Mountaineers quickly decreased the Lady Eagles’ five-point, 40-35, lead to two at 40-38 with 18:18 to go in the game. Bennett hit a jumper with 15:04 to go to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the second half at 46-45.
Appalachian State led by as many as 10 at 68-58, with 7:04 remaining, before GSU regained the lead at 73-72 with 1:06 left in the game. Two free throws by Bennett gave ASU the lead back at 74-73 with 48 second to play. On Georgia Southern’s next trip down the floor, Newton grabbed a Melson miss and put it back for two to give her team a one-point lead at 75-74 with 34 second left.
From that point, Conyers hit her game-winning jumper and added two free throws as the Mountaineers went on to victory.
After a tied ballgame at 13 all, the Mountaineers used a 10-0 run to lead by 10 with 10:25 to go in the first half. Trailing by nine at 29-20 with just under six minutes to go in the half, the visitors went on a 7-0 run of their own to pull within two at the four-minute mark.
The Lady Eagles outscored the Mountaineers, 8-1 in the final two minutes of the half to take a 40-35 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.
Story Courtesy Elon sports information
UNC Greensboro 56, Elon 35
ELON, NC ? Irene Otamiri posted team-leading numbers with 11 points and six rebounds as UNC Greensboro pulled away from Elon for a 56-35 Southern Conference women’s basketball triumph Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym.
After fashioning a 26-23 halftime advantage, the Spartans (8-9 overall, 4-4 SoCon) held the Phoenix (7-9, 3-5) to six points for more than the first 18 minutes of the second stanza. The 35 total points marked the fewest allowed by UNC Greensboro since it officially joined the NCAA Division I ranks for the 1991-92 campaign.
Offensively, that 35-point total represents the lowest scoring output by the Phoenix this season. Elon was held to 31.1 percent from the floor, its second-lowest field goal percentage of the campaign.
Otamiri connected on five of her seven shots from field to emerge as the Spartans’ lone scorer in double digits. Teammate Kristen Boone tallied team highs with seven steals and four assists. Boone, who entered the contest ranked second in the NCAA in steals, has piled up 34 of them in her last five games.
UNC Greensboro surrendered 14 points and eight rebounds by Phoenix forward Kitara McMoore, who had turned in double-double performances in her previous six consecutive contests. Entering the game as the Southern Conference’s leader in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, McMoore knocked down five of her nine attempts from the floor.
In the early going, the Spartans forged a 14-9 lead on a jumper by Boone with 11:31 to play in the opening period. The Phoenix responded by reeling off nine-straight points to claim an 18-14 edge on a pair of free throws by McMoore with 5:26 to go before the intermission.
KaLeah Latham canned the second of her two attempts from the charity stripe to break the streak, pulling UNC Greensboro within 18-15 with 5:09 left in the first half. Otamiri tied the score at 18-18 via a three-point bucket at the 4:40 mark of the opening period. Starting with those two baskets, the Spartans scored 40 of the afternoon’s next 51 points.
UNC Greensboro edged Elon in rebounding (38-30), assists (14-8), turnovers (12-22), steals (12-6), points in the paint (22-12), points off turnovers (29-9), second chance points (18-8) and bench points (24-11).
Story Courtesy Wofford sports information
Davidson 81, Wofford 72 (OT)
SPARTANBURG, SC - After coming back from 10 down with three minutes to play in regulation and force an extra period, the Wofford women's basketball fell short Saturday afternoon to visiting Davidson, 81-72, in its first overtime game of the season. The Wildcats outscored the Terriers, 15-6, in the extra five minutes to claim the triumph.
Davidson held a 10-point edge, 64-54, with three minutes to play in regulation before Wofford mounted its comeback. Included in the run were a pair of 3-pointers by junior Mary Jo Yee, including the game-tying trey with :55 seconds left. Kelly Gassie, the game's leading scorer with 17 points put the visitors back in front with :37 seconds left before sophomore Kelsi Koenig scored the final bucket of regulation with :25 seconds to play. A jumper by senior Nakia Mister with :02 seconds showing on the clock rimmed out.
The Wildcats scored 60 percent (9-of-15) of their points from the foul line in the extra session. They hit 9-of-12 from the charity stripe and converted 3-of-5 field goals.
After holding a slim 32-30 advantage at halftime, Davidson (10-7, 6-2 SoCon) raced out to a five straight points to start the second half. The second 3-pointer by Honna Housley gave the Wildcats a 44-37 lead with 14:02 to play in regulation. The visitors maintained their cushion until a pair of Summer Nichols free throws brought the Terriers within two, 50-48, with 8:11 left.
A 14-6 Davidson spurt ensued and allowed it to build its lead to 10 before the Wofford comeback started.
Gassie led all players with 17 points, including an 8-of-10 effort from the foul line. She was one of five Wildcat players in double figures. She was joined by starters Brynn Kelly (14), Tia Washington (12), Danielle Hemerka (12) and Jessica Mitchell (11). Mitchell and Hemerka collected a team-best six rebounds.
The visitors also connected on 28-of-37 (75.7 percent) free throws to a 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) effort by the Terriers.
Wofford (5-12, 1-7 SoCon) was led by 13 points from Mister and K.C. Correll. Both players also grabbed eight caroms, while Correll dished out a game-high five assists.
Koenig finished with a career-high 11 rebounds and matched Mister with five offensive boards.
Story Courtesy Chattanooga sports information
Chattanooga 89, College of Charleston 41
CHATTANOOGA, TN - The Lady Mocs remained perfect in Southern Conference action with an 89-41 win over the College of Charleston Saturday night at the McKenzie Arena.
Senior guard Katasha Brown led all scorers with 15 points and tied her season high with seven rebounds to lead the Lady Mocs to their 13th consecutive win, tied for third longest in school history. Chattanooga is 14-3 overall and 8-0 in SoCon play. The Cougars fall to 7-9 overall and
Brooke Hand, Alex Anderson and Tiffani Roberson each chipped in 14 points for the Lady Mocs. Hand drained four from beyond the 3-point arc and Anderson was 5-of-7 from the field with nine rebounds. Roberson pulled down six boards and went 6-for-11 on the night.
With a slim 6-5 lead at the 17:12 mark, Roberson put in a lay up to spark a 22-4 run capped off by Erin Ogan’s second 3-pointer of the night to give UTC a 28-9 lead at the 8:20 mark. A 16-2 run would give Chattanooga its largest lead of the half 44-15 with three minutes to play. The Lady Mocs led by that same margin, 53-24, at intermission.
In the second half, the pressure didn’t let up. Chattanooga built its lead to a game-high 53 points with most of the starters sitting on the bench with a 20-0 run. Anderson put in two of her four free throws at 9:26 to give UTC a 69-34 lead and Ashley Huff put in a layup 5:25 later and the Lady Mocs were up on top 87-34 with 4:01 to play in the game.
The Lady Mocs grabbed a season-high 50 rebounds and held the Cougars to just 38. Chattanooga had a season-low eight turnovers with just three in the second half and scored 27 points off 24 College of Charleston turns. From the bench, UTC outscored the Cougars 41-19 and hit more in the paint, 34-16.
The 48-point win was UTC’s largest against a conference opponent and was the third worst loss suffered by the Cougars since moving to Division I. Marketta Talley led Charleston with eight points. Anne Hunter had six points and four rebounds while Ashley Jenkins had a team-high eight boards.
Chattanooga’s Nicole Mattison grabbed four steals and dished out three assists while freshman LaShandra McCoy had a career-high six assists.
The Cougars return home to host Western Carolina Monday night at 7 p.m. The Lady Mocs are on the road again Monday night at Georgia Southern. Last season, the Eagles handed the Lady Mocs their first SoCon loss in nearly two seasons with a 61-53 win at the Hanner Field House.
Story Courtesy Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 79, Furman 73 (OT)
CULLOWHEE, NC - Led by a pair of freshmen, Western Carolina outscored Furman 16-10 in overtime to knock off the Lady Paladins, 79-73, Saturday night in the Ramsey Center.
Lauren Powell, who is the highest-ranking freshman in scoring average in the Southern Conference, scored all of her career-high 22 points in the second half to lead WCU on the night. Her front court classmate, Teshymia Tillman, tallied career bests with 20 points and nine rebounds, while senior Teyawna Hardy added 13 points off the bench to help Western to the win.