Wofford 57, Garder-Webb 47
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Wofford women's basketball team built a 22-point halftime advantage and withstood a second-half rally by visiting Gardner-Webb to earn a 57-47 victory in the season opener for both schools Friday evening inside the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. The Terrier victory was their third straight in a season opener, all under the direction of head coach Edgar I. Farmer Jr. It marks only the second time in school history Wofford has won its opener as the team captured wins from 1991-92 to 1993-94 while playing at the Division II level.
The Terriers utilized a fast-tempo offense to take the early lead and a suffocating defense to limit the Runnin' Bulldogs to 17.9 percent shooting from the field in the opening half. Wofford (1-0) scored the first six points, four by sophomore Summer Nichols, before GWU could get on the board on a Margaret Roundtree layup at the 17:56 mark. Her buckets at the beginning and end of a 9-2 run by the visitors allowed Gardner-Webb to take a 9-8 lead with 16:33 left.
Senior K.C. Correll added a layup of her own at 16:03 to give Wofford the lead for good at 10-9. The field goal also helped spark a 13-0 spurt over the next three-and-a-half minutes and an overall 29-8 streak to close the half. Junior Kelsi Koenig contributed six points and the Terriers received 3-pointers from sophomore Laura Depko, senior Jennifer Weurding, sophomore Liz Miller and freshman Kelly Dwyer in the spurt. Weurding also added three of her game-high five blocks on the defensive end.
Gardner-Webb (0-1) took advantage of sloppy play by Wofford in the second stanza to climb back into the contest. After Nichols maintained the 22-point edge on a layup with 14:12 left to give the Terriers a 46-24 advantage, Gardner-Webb used a run of its own, a 17-2 spurt covering the next seven minutes to cut the lead to 48-41 with 7:16 to play.
Koenig nailed a triple to push the margin back to double digits, 51-41, at 6:57 before the teams traded baskets and Novia Sturdivant would add a trey of her own to again cut the deficit to seven, 53-46, with 5:36 remaining. That would be the last field goal by the Runnin' Bulldogs as Wofford closed the contest on a Koenig layup and a free throw from Miller and Correll for the final score.
Brittany Boyce of Gardner-Webb paced all players with 15 points, while also swiping a game-high seven steals. Brittany Harmon added nine points, while Shameka Smith grabbed seven rebounds for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Nichols led the Terriers with 14 points, one ahead of Koenig's near double-double effort of 13 points and nine boards. Nichols nearly had a double-double of her own with eight caroms.
Weurding also finished with eight rebounds, a career-best six assists and five blocked shots. She now has 177 career blocks, 18 shy of the all-time Southern Conference record of 195 held by Appalachian State's Valorie Whiteside (1984-88).
Wofford connected on 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the foul line, including an 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) conversion rate in the first half.
The Terriers will continue their season-opening three-game homestand with a 6 p.m. Monday tip versus Southern Virginia. Gardner-Webb will open its home slate Monday against Montreat.
College of Charleston 63, South Carolina State 45
Nikki Williams’ career-high 23 points off the bench gave the College of Charleston its first win ? a 63-45 win ? over South Carolina State since 1992, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Lady Bulldogs to open the 2006-07 season.
The win gave the Cougars their third-straight 1-0 start since head coach Nancy Wilson took over the program in 2003. South Carolina State is 0-1.
The Lady Bulldogs, led by Brittany Baity with 15 points, led by as many as four, 12-8, with 13:34 left in the first half, before Williams hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to two. Charleston’s Ashley Scott knotted the game on lay-up, followed by Williams’ jumper for the lead at 10:01.
The Cougars led by as many as 11 in the first half. South Carolina State came within seven, on pair of free throws from Janelle Moore early in the second half. College of Charleston’s Melissa Chambers hit a pair of jumpers at the 19 minute and 18:08 mark to give the Cougars the double-digit lead for good.
Ericka Smith followed Williams with 10 points and 10 rebounds ? her first double-double of her career. Jade Hughes added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Chambers had a career-high 11 rebounds and added six points.
Moore had a career-high 13 points for the Lady Bulldogs.
College of Charleston will travel to Clemson on Nov. 13. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
Auburn 71, Western Carolina 56
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina junior Monique Dawson scored a team-high 16 points and swiped a career-best five steals Friday night, but it was not enough as the taller Auburn Tigers outscored the Lady Catamounts, 44-to-26, in the paint and survived a tenacious trapping defense to hold on for the 71-56 win in front of 1,979 fans in the Ramsey Center in the season openers for both schools.
Dawson, who also recorded six boards and three assists, was the lone Lady Catamount to reach double figures on the night with her classmate, Chevon Keith, just missing the double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. A third junior, Ashley Pellom, also added nine points while sophomore forward Kendra Eaton tallied seven.
Already at a disadvantage against AU, who boasts an average team height of 6-1, Western’s lineup was further hampered a mere 33 seconds into the contest. Junior post Jessika Johnson, the tallest of WCU’s eligible interior players, went down with a sprained ankle on their first offensive possession.
After the injury, WCU fell behind 4-0 before it countered with a 6-0 run to take its first lead in the two-game series with the Tigers on free throws by Keith and senior Erin May. Down one, 20-19 at the 9:34 mark, Western went cold from the field over the next five minutes as Auburn embarked on a 14-2 run to take its largest lead of the first half, 34-21. WCU managed drop the deficit below double-figures before intermission, trailing by nine, 38-29, at the half.
Out of the locker room, Western was able to slice the lead to seven after a steal and fast-break, lay-up by Dawson. But the Tigers quickly ballooned the lead back to double-digits where they held it the majority of the second half, content to trade buckets with the upset-minded Lady Catamounts. Trailing by 14 ? Auburn’s largest lead until the waning seconds ? with 6:24 to play in the second half WCU twice managed to cut the deficit to eight, but could not drop below that barrier, falling in the end by 15..
Auburn (1-0) put four players in double-figures led by a game-high 17 from sophomore Sherell Hobbs and 13 from her frontcourt teammate, Tamela McCorvey. The 6-7 sophomore post KeKe Carrier finished with 11, as did sophomore Trevesha Jackson.
Western Carolina returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 14 as it travels to Winston-Salem to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at 7:00 pm. Coverage from the Catamount Sports Network will begin at 6:45 pm and can be heard on www.CatamountSports.com.
Chattanooga 80, Austin Peay 56
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Chattanooga’s Alex Anderson scored a career-high 23 points and led the Lady Mocs to a 80-56 win over Austin Peay in the season opener for both teams Friday night at the McKenzie Arena.
The Lady Mocs shot 47 percent on the night and were 7-of-25 from the 3-point line, making just two in the second half. Anderson, who led all scorers, surpassed Tina Chairs for the all-time blocked shots record at UTC notching her 99th at the 1:53 mark of the first half.
Chattanooga opened up with six points before Austin Peay got on the board and led 13-2 at the 13:41 mark, never trailing in the game. The Lady Mocs were 14-of-33 in the first half led by Anderson’s 12 point performance. Brooke Hand scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half including a pair of 3-pointers.
Trailing 27-12, Austin Peay went on a 9-0 run over a three minute period to pull to get the margin to 27-21 with 4:21 to play in the first half. Saundra Hale tallied five points in the drive that was capped off by a layup from Amber Bacon.
Freshman Tagan Hatchett, making her first collegiate start, pushed the lead back up to nine with a 3-pointer and the Lady Mocs ran their lead up to 16 on an 11-1 run and went into the half with a 38-22 lead.
In the second half, UTC freshman Shanara Hollinquest, 5-of-10 on the night, scored 12 of her 13 points in the stanza. She pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and had one block. Kristen Spann scored a career-high 10 points for Chattanooga making 4-of-6 attempts including two 3-pointers.
The Lady Govs (0-1) were led by Bacon’s 20 points and Hale’s 19. Hale had five assists for Austin Peay while Brana Link, Kellea Reeves and Keri Resse each pulled down five boards.
Chattanooga outrebounded APSU 44-36 and dished out 18 assists. The Lady Mocs improve to 1-0 on the season and will head to Knoxville to take on the fifth-ranked Lady Vols Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.