Story Courtesy UNC Greensboro sports information
UNC Greensboro 84, Wofford 64
GREENSBORO, NC ? Gini Grimsley scored a career-high 22 points to lead UNC Greensboro to a dominating 84-64 victory over Wofford in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Tuesday night at Fleming Gym.
Grimsley, a freshman out of Fairmont, NC, led UNCG (9-9, 5-4 SoCon) to its third win in a row by converting 8-of-9 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, in only 19 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Kristen Boone scored 18 points and handed out a game-high seven assists. Sophomore guard Kemena Brooks added 12 points from the bench, while junior forward Kaleah Latham tossed in 11 points had a team-leading seven rebounds.
Nakia Mister, Summer Nichols and Kate Dempsey each had 10 points to lead Wofford (5-13, 1-8 SoCon). Mary Jo Yee added nine points for the Terriers, who have now lost three straight games.
The Spartans shot 55.9 percent (19-of-34) from the floor in the second half after leading 36-25 at halftime. UNCG was up by 10 points, 44-34, at the 15:04 mark when the club put together 17-5 run that pushed the Spartans lead up to 61-39 by the 10:17 mark of the second half.
Wofford never got any closer than 19 points the rest of the way, while the Spartans increased their lead to 84-59 on the second of two free throws by Latham with 1:09 left to play. Boone, the native of Upper Marlboro, MD, scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half, while Brooks, her high school teammate and Accokeek, MD native, scored 10 of her 12 points after the intermission.
UNCG broke a 5-5 tie early in the first half with an 8-2 run to take a 13-7 lead at the 11:20 mark. Sophomore forward Jasmine Dixon began the run with a free throw and freshman guard Ashley Ling capped it with one of her own from the charity stripe. Wofford would answer with an 8-2 run of its own to square things at 15-15 at the 7:44 mark.
After Yee drained a 3-pointer to give the Terriers a 21-19 advantage, the Spartans closed the half on a 17-6 spurt that sent them into halftime leading for the fifth straight game, 36-25. Grimsley scored seven straight points in the final 1:17 of the half and junior guard Jasmine Byrd buried a mid-range jumper as the buzzer sounded to lead the Spartans.
The combination of UNCG?s 25-14 rebounding advantage and Grimsley’s 12 points gave the Spartans a cushion heading to the second half of play.
For the game, UNCG held a 42-31 advantage off the glass and shot 50.0 percent from the field. Byrd, who scored nine points on the evening, became just the fourth player in school history to have 100 career 3-pointers.
The win gave UNCG head coach Lynne Agee her 100th career victory in the SoCon, becoming just the third women’s basketball coach to do so. Chattanooga’s Wes Moore and Georgia Southern’s Rusty Cram are the two others.
Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information
Appalachian State 84, Davidson 69
BOONE, NC - Thanks to a perfect shooting night from Eboni Kirby, Appalachian State University women’s basketball routed Davidson, 84-69, on Tuesday evening at the Holmes Center.
Kirby, a senior from Tallahassee, Fla., made all 11 shots she attempted (7-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line) to tie a career-high 21 points in the victory.
Three other Mountaineers scored in double-digits as sophomore Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) recorded 14 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in the win. Senior Jocelyn Wyatt (Lawrenceville, Ga.) added 12 points and five boards, while junior Danielle Edwards chipped in 10 points and three steals. Wyatt has now scored in double-digits in the last five games.
Sophomore Jessica Mitchell paced the Wildcats with a team-high 18 points, one of five players in double-digits for the visitors. Junior Brynn Kelly and sophomore Honna Housley added 11 points apiece, while senior Janell Crayton and sophomore Tia Washington chipped in 10 points each.
The Mountaineers finished the night shooting 54 percent from the field (28-of-52) and 81 percent from the charity stripe (25-of-31).
With the win, Appalachian improves to 9-9 overall and 5-4 in the Southern Conference, moving into a tie for third place in the league with College of Charleston and UNC Greensboro. Davidson drops to 10-8 on the season and 6-3 in the SoCon with the loss, remaining in second place.
Appalachian trailed 4-2 after a minute of play but went on an 18-4 run over the next 9:13 to take a 20-8 lead and never looked back en route to the easy victory. The Apps led by as many as 29 in the second half.
The contest was delayed for more than 20 minutes with less than two minutes to go as medical personnel attended to Davidson’s Honna Housley. Housley, a sophomore from Riceville, Tenn., was transported to Watauga Medical Center. Her condition is unknown at this time.