Furman 57, Francis Marion 33
Greenville, S.C. -- Lee Stephens scored 14 points in her first collegiate game as the Furman women’s basketball team defeated Francis Marion 57-33 in the regular season opener for both teams at Timmons Arena on Wednesday night.
Stephens, a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, was 5-for-6 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, to reach double-figures in her first contest for the Lady Paladins. She also recorded a team-high four steals and added three assists.
The Lady Paladins forced 24 Francis Marion turnovers, including 16 steals.
Furman scored 31 points off the bench, and held a 49-41 advantage in rebounding.
Chrissy Phelps also reach double-figures for Furman, as she netted 11 points, including two treys, and 3-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.
Kali Holtfreter led the team with five assists, while Jessica Lange pulled down eight rebounds for the Lady Paladins.
Shavone Mack led Francis Marion with seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds. She also added four blocked shots, while Brittany Young contributed five assists.
Francis Marion jumped out to an early three point lead on a Kirby Marsh three-pointer two minutes into the game, but Furman took the lead on Stephens’ first trey of the night, and held the advantage the rest of the evening. A 15-0 Furman run gave Furman a 17-5 lead on a Lange jumpshot with 11:36 remaining. A Brittany Young three-point play with seven seconds left in the first half saw Francis Marion cut the Furman lead to 25-19 at the intermission.
The teams battled back and forth over the first seven minutes of the second half, with Furman leading 29-23 with 13:40 left in the half.
Furman then went on a 20-4 run over the next eight minutes on the strength of three-pointers from Stephens and Holtfreter and 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line from Holtfreter and Phelps.
With the win, Furman improves to 1-0 on the season, while Francis Marion falls to 0-1 on the year. Furman returns to action on Sunday as the Lady Paladins travel to face Louisville at Freedom Hall at 7 p.m.
Wofford 86, Charleston Southern 60
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Wofford women's basketball remained unbeaten and improved its record to 3-0 with an 86-60 victory Wednesday night over visiting Charleston Southern inside the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. The 3-0 Terrier mark equals the start by the 2001-02 squad for the best three-game opening record in the program's Division I era. Only the 1989-90 and 1992-93 Wofford teams also began their seasons with a 3-0 record, while the Terriers were playing at the Division II level.
Highlighting the Wofford individual efforts was the first career double-double by sophomore Summer Nichols with 15 points and 13 rebounds, including nine boards on the offensive glass.
The Terriers jumped out to a quick lead, taking an 8-0 advantage in the first three minutes. Charleston Southern (0-2) responded with seven-straight points to cut the deficit to one, but Wofford never lost the lead. After the Lady Buccaneers brought the score to 8-7 on a Rachel Potts jumper, the Terriers used an 11-4 spurt to open the lead to eight, at 19-11, following a bucket by senior Susanna Paul.
Senior K.C. Correll gave Wofford (3-0) its first double-digit advantage, 29-19, on a 3-pointer with 6:48 left to play in the opening stanza. She would tack on four more points in the half, while Paul's basket with :26 remaining provided a 40-26 halftime edge for the Terriers.
Pam Tolbert brought the Lady Buccaneers within 11, 50-39, at the 15:58 mark of the second session, but Charleston Southern could not chip away any further the remainder of the contest. Wofford used back-to-back triples from senior Mary Jo Yee and sophomore Liz Miller to increase its lead to 25, 74-49, on a 24-10 run with just under eight minutes left.
Senior Jennifer Weurding contributed a 3-pointer of her own at 4:30 as the Terriers increased their advantage to a game-high 32 points. Following her made trey, head coach Edgar I. Farmer Jr. emptied his bench as all 13 Wofford players saw action for the second-straight game.
Nichols' 15 points paced a quartet of Terriers in double figures, as junior Kelsi Koenig chipped in 14, Correll added 13 and Paul fell one point shy of her career-best outing with 10 points.
Weurding finished with nine points, eight rebounds and four blocks to raise her career blocked shot total to 183, 12 shy of tying Appalachian State's Valorie Whiteside (1984-88) for the all-time Southern Conference mark.
Wofford out-rebounded Charleston Southern, 58-43, and held a 19-to-8 edge on assists. Tolbert paced the Lady Bucs with 15 points, while Keena Wicker contributed 11. Shaunte Small grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
Miller tied her own Division I single-game school record with seven steals which she set in Monday's win over Southern Virginia.
After opening the campaign with three-straight at home, the Terriers will travel to Morgantown, W.Va., for a 6:30 p.m. Saturday meeting with Big East foe West Virginia for their first road game. The Mountaineers enter their home opener with a 1-2 mark.
Charleston Southern continues on the road and it will play at Savannah State Friday.
Jacksonville State 84, Georgia Southern 77
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. ? Tiffany Brown’s 13 second-half points weren’t enough in a second-half comeback as the Gamecocks regained the lead and garnered the victory, 84-77, Wednesday evening at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Ashley Boykin’s 27 points led all scorers as she went 6-of-9 from behind the three point arc.
The Lady Eagles got on the scoreboard first when Christa Waterman pulled down a rebound in the key, then turned around and hit a short jumper in the paint. But the Gamecocks fought back with a jumper off LaTonya McKinney and a trey by Ashley Boykin to put the Gamecocks up 5-2.
A steal with 14:10 on the clock by Tiffany Brown led to an ensuing fast break. Brown sprinted the distance and hit the layup, putting the Eagles up 10-9. Brown finished the evening with a team-high 20 points.
The Gamecocks were hot from the field, shooting 6-of-13 from behind the arc in the first stanza. Jacksonville State went into the locker room with a 39-35 halftime lead.
The Lady Eagles came out strong in the second half and with 12:09 on the clock, Brown ran the length of the court on a fast break, went up for the layup and was fouled. The ball dropped and she sank the resulting free throw, putting the Lady eagles up 52-49, their first lead since the first half.
Boyken went up for a three with 7:56 left on the clock. She buried it, was fouled on the way down and made the free throw to tie up the match at 61-all.
A steal by Shawnda Atwood at 5:42 led to a layup on the fly, putting the Lady Eagles up 67-63.
Boykin nailed a trey at 4:05 put the Gamecocks up 70-69, then came back on the next possession and extended the lead to 72-69 when Courtney Slaughter hit a jumper.
Atwood’s rebound with 2:00 remaining sent Brown sprinting down the court. Brown received the long pass, beat the defender and nailed the layup, narrowing the score to 76-71.
Finding themselves down 80-74 with just under a minute remaining, Carolyn Whitney pulled up behind the arc and buried the three, closing the lead to only three points. It was the last time the Lady Eagles would score. Carolyn Whitney scored a season-high 13 points on the evening.
Trying to play the clock with a late foul, LaTonya McKinney was sent to the line, and she buried both free throws, putting the Gamecocks up 82-77 with 27 seconds remaining and sealing the victory for the home team.
Though the Lady Eagles shot 17-of-39 (43.6 percent) from the field in the second stanza, the Gamecocks 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) shooting in the second half proved to be too much.
Head coach Rusty Cram and the Lady Eagles next travel to Tampa, Fla., Nov. 18-19 for the Image Depot Shootout. They match up with Troy on Saturday at 12 p.m.