Story Courtesy Davidson sports information
Davidson 67, Western Carolina 63
DAVIDSON, NC - Davidson senior Janell Crayton (Atlanta, Ga.) recorded a career-high 26 points and the Wildcats extended their winning streak to five consecutive with a 67-63 victory over Western Carolina in women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Belk Arena. Davidson improved to 7-6 overall and 3-1 in league play, while the Catamounts fall to 1-11 on the 2005-06 slate and 1-2 in conference play.
Crayton finished a career-best 11-of-17 from the field to go along with eight boards, three assists, and two steals. She also matched her season-high in blocks with two. Junior Jessica Mitchelll (Wilkesboro, N.C.) and freshman Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) also hit for double-figures with 15 points apiece. Mitchell chipped in with five assists, while Gassie hauled in four boards and dished out two assists. Junior Tia Washington (Charlotte, N.C.) moved her consecutive streak of at least one assist in a game to 20 with a game-high five assists.
With Davidson clinging to a one-point advantage at 60-59 and 52 seconds left in the game, Crayton showed her senior leadership by taking a pass from Washington on an inbounds play with two seconds left on the shot clock and forced the ball up and in on a foul by West Carolina's Lauren Powell. The senior hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and give the Wildcats a 63-59 lead.
Crayton and her teammates then hit 4-for-6 from the line in the last 26 seconds to secure Davidson's third conference win at 67-63.
In the first half with both teams tied at 18 and just over four minutes remaining, Davidson went on a 9-3 run started and ended by a Mitchell bucket to grab its largest lead of the period, 27-21. The Catamounts quickly responded with six unanswered points to tie the game (27-27) for the eighth time of the afternoon. A pair of Mandy Halbersleben (Maineville, Ohio) free throws with 26 seconds broke the tie and sent the Wildcats into the break up 29-27.
Despite both clubs shooting just 35 percent in the first half, Davidson’s Janell Crayton led all-scorers with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The first 20 minutes of the contest featured eight ties and four lead changes.
Davidson's defense was in top form again, forcing 20 turnovers for the seventh time this year and picked up 10 steals. The Wildcats also held the Catamounts to 38.8 percent shooting for the game.
The Catamounts' April Parker had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. She was a prefect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and Western Carolina was able to hang around by netting 21-for-25 at the line. Powell paced Western Carolina with 18 points and Monique Dawson gave the Catamounts three scorers in double-digits as she earned 14 points.
Story Courtesy College of Charleston sports information
College of Charleston 59, Wofford 50
CHARLESTON, SC - The College of Charleston women’s basketball team, after only scoring six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, unloaded for 26 points the rest of the game to rally from an eight-point deficit and take the 59-50 win over the Wofford Terriers in front of 523 fans at the John Kresse Arena.
The Cougars snap a five-game losing streak to go to 4-7 overall and 2-2 in the Southern Conference. Wofford drops its eighth straight to fall to 4-9 and 0-4 in the league.
The Cougars and Terriers fought back and forth the first nine-and-a-half minutes, but with the game tied at 12-12, Charleston went on an 11-1 run over the next 3:54 to take its largest lead of the game at 10. Wofford fought back with a small 9-3 run to end the half with down by four 26-22.
Wofford started the second half with a 22-6 run over the first 10 minutes and took an eight-point 40-32 lead with 9:44 left. Charleston responded with an 8-1 run the next two-and-half-minutes to cut the margin to one and took the lead for good at 49-48 with a three-pointer by Erica Irick, three of her game-leading 18 points, at the 3:03 mark. A 10-2 run by the Cougars the final three minutes sealed the 59-50 win.
Charleston finished the game shooting 41.4 percent. Wofford shot 29.3 percent for the game after shooting 25.0 percent in the second half. The Cougars held the 44-38 advantage in rebounds and two more turnovers, 26-24.
Following Irick’s 18 points, was Marketta Talley with 11 points and Erika Smith with 10. Smith had three blocks to pace the team. Kelsi Koenig paced the Terriers with 15 points. Cougar Nikki Williams paced the team with nine rebounds, while Terrier K.C. Correll had eight boards to lead the visitors.
Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
Georgia Southern 64, Elon 58
STATESBORO, GA - Sophomore Tiffany Brown came up with two crucial steals in the final 32 seconds with the game in the balance to give Georgia Southern a 64-58 win over Elon in Southern Conference women’s basketball action from Hanner Fieldhouse.
Up by one, Brown (Waxhaw, N.C.) hit two free throws with 47 seconds left. On Elon’s ensuing possession, Brown picked off a pass and took it the length of the floor to go up by five with 30 seconds on the clock.
The Phoenix (5-7, 1-3 SoCon) answered with a three-pointer seven seconds later by sophomore Robyn Shipley (Cincinnati, Ohio) to cut the margin down to two. GSU senior Lee DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) went to the line for two shots and converted both, setting the stage for Brown, who came up with another steal and layup to clinch the win.
Brown and senior Nicole Newton (Dublin, Ga.) each scored 14 points to lead the Lady Eagles (5-8, 2-2 SoCon).
Elon sophomore Kitara McMoore (Virginia Beach, Va.) tallied her third straight double-double with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 9-for-16 from the floor.
The two teams traded runs to begin the game, with the Phoenix scoring the first six points before GSU came back with five. Elon answered with six more points before a quick 4-0 run for Georgia Southern.
Elon led for most of the first half, but never by more than seven points. McMoore put the Phoenix up 22-15 with 5:39 left in the period but six unanswered points cut the deficit to one and after the teams traded buckets, sophomore Christa Waterman (Sugar Hill, Ga.) gave Georgia Southern its first lead of the contest at the 1:38 mark.
It lasted 34 seconds as sophomore Tierra Bumbrey (Stafford, Va.) hit a layup and sophomore Nicole Allison (Durham, N.C.) ended the first-half scoring with a three-pointer.
McMoore had 12 of her scoring total in the first half to go along with six boards.
The second half saw much of the same as Elon led for the first 12-plus minutes, but not by more than seven points. The largest lead came after a triple by Shipley, just over three minutes into the final period.
The Phoenix led by five, 47-42, with 11:04 to play but gave up six unanswered points, four from sophomore Chequilla Jessie (Sanford, Fla.) and GSU was on top for just the second time all game.
Once again Elon answered, this time on a trifecta by Bumbrey, and stayed ahead for the next four minutes.
The tide turned on an old-fashioned three-point play by GSU sophomore Concella Henry (Manning, S.C.) at the 2:15 mark, erasing a two-point deficit to put the Lady Eagles up for good, 56-55.
Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information
Chattanooga 69, Appalachian State 38
BOONE, NC - Chattanooga’s Katasha Brown tied a career-high with 26 points in just 28 minutes as Appalachian State University’s women’s basketball dropped a 69-38 decision to the Lady Mocs on Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center.
Appalachian (6-7, 2-2 Southern Conference) rebounded from an early 7-0 deficit to take a 14-12 lead midway through the first period, but Chattanooga (10-3, 4-0 SoCon) outscored ASU 18-6 en route to a 30-20 halftime lead and never looked back.
Freshman Greteya Kelley was the only Mountaineer in double-figures with 13 points. Danielle Edwards and Eboni Kirby each grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the Apps in the loss.
Brown finished the night 9-of-11 for the Lady Mocs, hitting 6-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc. Her six three-pointers made gave the senior Chattanooga’s career record with 175. Tiffani Roberson was the only other Lady Moc to score in double-figures as she finished with 12 points. Alex Anderson added a game-high seven rebounds.
For the third-straight game, the Mountaineers out rebounded their opponent, grabbing 34 boards compared to the Lady Mocs’ 29 Saturday.
With the Mountaineers down just 10 points, 30-20, at halftime, Chattanooga quickly extended its lead to 14 off baskets by Anderson and Roberson. After Jocelyn Wyatt hit a three-pointer for Appalachian, Chattanooga responded with six more unanswered points to extend its lead to 40-23 with 16:44 left in the game.
The Lady Mocs outscored the Mountaineers 29-14 from that point and went on to pick up their ninth-straight win with a 69-38 victory.
After a quick 7-0 lead by the visitors to start the game, ASU went on a 10-2 run to take a 10-9 lead with 9:33 to go in the half. Brown answered on the next possession with her first three of the game to give Chattanooga the lead back at 12-10.
Senior Kiki Conyers hit a jumper to tie the game at 12 before Kirby made a layup to give Appalachian a 14-12 lead with 7:29 remaining in the half.
Down two, Chattanooga scored 13 unanswered points to lead 25-14 with 3:52 left in the first period of play. The Mountaineers got as close as seven in the final three minutes before the two teams went into halftime with the Lady Mocs leading 30-20.
Story Courtesy Furman sports information
UNC Greensboro 69, Furman 66
GREENVILLE, SC - Furman's Lady Paladin basketball team outscored the visiting Spartans of UNC Greensboro 44-29 in the second period, but were unable to overcome a lackluster first half and dropped a 69-66 Southern Conference decision Saturday at Timmons Arena.
A three-for-13 (.231) effort from three point range and a 30-13 drubbing on the boards combined for a woeful first half for the Lady Paladin basketball team. Only six field goals were made inside the three point line and only one free shot fell, while UNC Greensboro sank five treys, nine two-pointers, and seven free shots.
"We fell in love with the three pointer in the first half and that got us in a big hole," said coach Sam Dixon after suffering his first Southern Conference loss of the season. "The second half was better - we adjusted our attack and became much more aggressive which led to more frree throws and a smaller discrepancy on the boards."
Sure enough, after allowing UNCG 12 first half offensive rebounds while claiming only three, the Lady Paladins managed seven offensive boards in the second period and allowed 10. This, along with more dribble penetration, keyed a 15-4 Lady Paladin run that cut the UNCG lead to seven with 15:17 to play.
Finally, with 2:40 on the clock, senior guard Lauren Few sank a three pointer that put Furman within two, 64-62. A blocked shot by Jessica Lange on the defensive end of the floor led to a Melynda Gant layup, which tied the game at 64 with 1:22 left to play. A Gant free throw off the KaLeah Latham foul gave the Lady Paladins a 65-64 advantage, but Kristen Boone connected on two free throws with 1:17 to go to regain the lead for the Spartans.
The third and final tie of the game came when Gant sank the back end of a two shot foul at the 1:06 mark, but Jasmine Dixon made a pair of free shots with 54 seconds left to put UNCG up again by two. Furman missed two shots on the offensive end of the floor before the Spartans' Meghan Chamberlain grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Sarah Baker. Chamberlain sank only the second shot but it was enough to give Greensboro a three point advantage and its first win of the Southern Conference season.
The Lady Paldins were led on the day by Few's 16 points, while Paris added 13, Gant contributed 11, and Lange tossed in 10. Lange and Megan Scott led the Lady Paladins with six rebounds each, while Few topped playmaking with six assists.
The Spartans were led by Jasmine Byrd's 13 points, while Irene Otamiri totaled 12 and Latham contributed 10. Chamberlain grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds while Latham added nine to the UNCG total of 50.
With the win, the Spartans improve to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in Southern Conference play, while Furman falls to 7-7 overall and 3-1 in league action.