Story Courtesy Elon sports information
Elon 61, Furman 56
ELON, NC - Tierra Bumbrey netted a game-high and season-high 15 points as Elon rallied past Furman for a 61-56 Southern Conference women's basketball victory Monday night at Alumni Gym.
Bumbrey knocked down six of her 10 shots from the floor - including three of her four attempts from beyond the three-point arc - as the Phoenix (8-9 overall, 4-5 SoCon) defeated the Lady Paladins (7-12, 3-6) for the first time ever in five Southern Conference meetings over the last three years. Elon had last beaten Furman in a 45-43 decision on Jan. 27, 1973.
The Phoenix fired 44.4 percent from three-point land, connecting on a season-high-tying eight of 18 attempts. Elon last sank eight three-pointers in its 75-70 season-opening home triumph over North Carolina A&T on Nov. 18.
The Lady Paladins erupted for an early 16-3 lead on a jumper by Katie Johnson with 12:19 to play in the first half. The Phoenix later used a 16-6 run to cut a 25-11 deficit to 31-27 on a bucket inside by Nikko King with 4:45 to go in the half.
Back-to-back-to-back Furman jumpers - the first by Melissa Liebschwager and the next two by Chrissy Phelps - swelled the Lady Paladins' advantage to 37-27 with 1:34 remaining in the opening stanza. Bumbrey canned a three-point bomb with 32 ticks left before the break, eventually deciding the 37-30 halftime edge for Furman.
Jessica Lange sank a jumper 14 seconds into the second stanza to stretch the Furman edge to 39-30. Elon went on to score 25 of the next 36 points to go up 55-50 on a three-point basket by Robyn Shipley at the 7:16 mark, never trailing again.
Shipley finished with 12 points and a career-high five assists. Teammate Kitara McMoore posted 10 points and six rebounds while King tallied nine points as well as a contest-best and career-high 11 boards, narrowly missing her first career double-double performance.
Tommi Paris (14 points), Phelps (10 points), Liebschwager (10 points), Megan Scott (seven rebounds) and Lange (four blocked shots) led the Lady Paladins, whose bench outscored the Phoenix bench 17-8. Furman surrendered only 11 turnovers while Elon committed 14.
The Phoenix edged the Lady Paladins 26-18 in the paint, 12-10 off turnovers, 8-7 in second chance points and 7-0 in fast break points. Elon won the battle of the boards by a 39-28 margin while shooting 43.9 percent (25-for-57) from the field.
The Phoenix fired 38.7 percent (12-for-31) from the floor in the first half and an even 50.0 percent (13-for-26) in the second. The Lady Paladins shot just 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from the field in the second stanza after hitting 53.3 percent (16-for-30) in the first.
Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
Chattanooga 65, Georgia Southern 48
STATESBORO, GA - Chattanooga’s Katasha Brown and Tiffani Roberson combined for 32 points in the first half to lead the Lady Mocs to a 65-48 victory over the Georgia Southern women’s basketball team Monday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
With the win, Chattanooga improves to 15-3 overall and 9-0 in the Southern Conference, and posts its 14th consecutive victory. Georgia Southern falls to 7-11, 4-5.
Brown and Roberson had 32 of the team’s 41 first-half points, compared to 25 for GSU. The duo was quiet in the second period, totaling just two, a jumper by Brown midway through the half.
Brown finished with 20 and Roberson tallied 14.
Sophomore Shawnda Atwood (Pensacola, Fla.) posted a career-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior Nicole Newton (Dublin, Ga.) scored 10 of her 11 points in the second half.
“Shawnda came out ready to play,” said Georgia Southern head coach Rusty Cram. “We were trying to keep in the game as long as we could. With her quickness, we could play her inside or outside. She played hard tonight.”
A jumper by Brown gave UTC an early 8-4 lead, but the Lady Eagles came back with five straight to lead by one. From there, the GSU shooters went cold, going just over six minutes without a point, while the Lady Mocs reeled off 10 straight, with eight coming from Brown. Brown’s three-pointer at the 8:10 mark put Chattanooga up 18-9.
Senior Lee DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) answered with a triple of her own, but UTC scored 10 out of the next 12 points for a commanding 28-14 advantage, and led by as many as 20 (39-19) late in the first half before going into the break up 41-25.
Georgia Southern stayed in the game, using an 8-2 run to cut a 14-point deficit down to eight, 45-37, with 12:48 to go in the contest. But Newton picked up her fourth foul a minute later and after a layup by Alex Anderson on the Lady Mocs’ next possession, UTC never trailed by less than 10 the rest of the way.
Story Courtesy College of Charleston sports information
College of Charleston 69, Western Carolina 59
CHARLESTON, SC - Four Cougar scored in double-figures, including a 15-point effort by Erica Irick as the College of Charleston women’s basketball team defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts 69-59 in Southern Conference action in front of 223 fans at the John Kresse Arena.
The win was the first for the Cougars over the Catamounts in eight tries and improves their record to 8-9 overall and 5-4 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina drops to 3-15 and 3-6 in the league.
Charleston went up by 10 early, leading 16-6 with 14:00 minutes left in the first half before WCU cut the margin to five with a 6-1 spurt over the next 2-and-a-half minutes to trail 17-12. Charleston responded with four straight to go up 21-12 and that was a close as the Catamounts would get and went into intermission down 39-28. The Cougars shot a season-high 55.2 percent in the first half, while the Catamounts shot 36.7.
The Cougars led by as much as 17 in the second half and were trailing by 15 at 66-51 with 3:40 left in the game before the Catamounts staged a small comeback, going on an 8-0 run to cut the margin to seven at 66-59 with 1:48 left. That would be the last field goal for WCU as the Cougars converted on three free-throws to seal the 69-59 victory.
Charleston shot 35.7 percent in the second half and held WCU to 24.4 to finish the game with a 45.6 field goal percentage. Western Carolina ended with 29.6 for the game. The Catamounts edged the Cougars in rebounds, 46-44 and two fewer turnovers, 20-18.
Following Irick’s 15 points was Melissa Chambers with 12. Jade Hughes and Marketta Talley both had 10 points apiece for the Cougars. Chambers also had eight rebounds to pace the team. Leading the Catamounts was Monique Dawson with her 15 points on the night. Teshumia Tillman had a team-high nine boards.