Appalchian State 86, Alabama A&M 64
November 18, 2006 - HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ? Freshman GiGi Thomas (Tallahassee, Fla.) scored a career-high 29 points as Appalachian State University women’s basketball opened its road season with an 86-64 victory over Alabama A&M, Saturday evening at T.M. Elmore Gym.
The Mountaineers improve to 2-1 on the season with the victory, while the Bulldogs drop to 2-1. Appalachian’s 86 points are its most since scoring 88 in a win over the College of Charleston on February 21, 2004.
Appalachian’s 55 rebounds is six more than the team grabbed in a game all of last season. The Mountaineers brought their average back up with 18 steals. ASU finished the game with 20 assists and shot 51 percent from the field.
Thomas shot 80 percent from the field with 29 points. She added seven rebounds, four steals and six assists. Junior Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) came one point shy of her career-high with 21 points. The 5-9 guard added five rebounds and four steals.
Senior Carleena Costner (Gastonia, N.C.) joined the two in double-digits with a career-high 13 points. She chipped in five assists. Senior Shante Williams (Spartanburg, S.C.) led the Apps on the boards with 10, a career-high.
Felicia Drummond led Alabama A&M with 18 points. Christian Malone added 16 points, while Tamika Green tallied 10.
Thomas recorded her first steal of the game on AAMU’s first possession in the opening minute. The steal led to a quick 5-0 Mountaineer lead with just over 19 minutes to go. ASU cruised on to a 37-30 halftime lead. Tossie led the team with 12 points in the opening period, while Williams had seven boards.
The Mountaineers poured in 49 points in the second half, reaching their largest lead of 22 points with 34 second to go in the game. Thomas had 23 points in the period, while April Smith (Fayetteville, N.C.) grabbed a career-high six boards.
Appalachian remains on the road as the Mountaineers cross the Tennessee border to take on former SoCon-rival ETSU, Tuesday, November 21 at 7 p.m.
West Virginia 78, Wofford 30
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Wofford never got on track offensively and dropped a 78-30 decision to West Virginia in non-conference women’s basketball action Saturday night inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. The loss is the Terriers first of the season after they won their first three games.
Wofford hung tough early as Kate Dempsey scored the team’s first four points and the Terriers trailed 7-6 with just over five minutes gone. The Mountaineers then opened the game up with a 12-4 run over the next eight minutes to take a 19-10 lead into the third media timeout at 7:55. Five straight points by Olayinka Sanni keyed the spurt.
West Virginia continued to push the ball inside and used 10 free throws, on 13 attempts, to post a 32-17 halftime lead. Kelsi Koenig and Dempsey each tallied six points in the half to pace the Terriers. Wofford was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe during the opening stanza.
Ball control was not in the Terriers’ favor early as the Mountaineers forced 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes while committing just eight themselves. All 14 of Wofford’s (3-1) first-half rebounds were on the defensive glass as Sanni grabbed seven total boards.
Three-pointers were the offensive catalyst for West Virginia (2-2) in the second half as Laquita Owens and Sparkle Davis each hit a pair to give the host Mountaineers a 50-24 edge nearly halfway through the period.
Owens added another with just over seven minutes remaining, while Sanni continued to score in the paint for West Virginia, which saw its lead increase to 32, 59-27. Davis also added one late in the half in addition to tacking on three free throws after she was fouled taking a trey with four-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Koenig, Dempsey and senior Susanna Paul paced the Terriers with six points apiece. Jennifer Weurding grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Sophomore Liz Miller registered her first career blocked shot in the game, while all 13 players saw action for the third-straight outing.
The Owens-Davis pairing had 16 points each, while Sanni chipped in 12 and a game-high eight caroms. Chakhia Cole added 14 points and seven rebounds, while converting on 8-of-11 free throws.
Wofford will continue its three-game road swing before Thanksgiving with a 5:30 p.m. Monday contest at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C.
Troy 77, Georgia Southern 62
TAMPA, Fla. ? Georgia Southern’s 32-31 first-half lead was overturned as Troy’s second-half shooting helped propel a came back, garnering a 77-62 victory, Saturday, at the Image Depot Shootout at South Florida’s Sun Dome.
Georgia Southern falls to 1-2 in the early campaign, while the Trojans improve to 2-1 in the non-conference competition. It was the first time the Trojans have won a game trailing at the half in 33 contests.
The Lady Eagles quickly set the tone with an early three pointer off the hands of starting freshman Carolyn Whitney. Troy’s Valensia Hairston responded with a three-pointer of her own to tie up the match, the first of nine total ties in the first half.
Junior guard Tiffany Brown netted 10 points in the first half, tied with Troy forward Danielle Realph. Brown’s four assists and three rebounds helped secure the one-point lead to go into the half. Sophomore Ashley Melson added a pair of treys in the first stanza, while knocking down a pair of free throws good four eight points.
Coming out of the locker room, the Lady Eagles had only 10 points in the first 12:22 of the second half, compared to Troy's 27. Trojan’s Realph had 18 second-half points shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc.
With a lead as large as 17 points with 7:17 remaining, the Lady Eagles attempted a comeback and closed the margin down to seven points with 2:05 remaining, 67-60. But with the clock against them, and the Trojans shooting 41.3 percent from the field in the second half, compared to the Lady Eagles 34.3 percent shooting, Georgia Southern couldn’t close the gap.
Realph tallied 28 total points, leading all scorers. Teammate Kylie Morrissy added four field goals of her own and went 6-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Brown finished with a team-high 12 points, shooting 4-of-7 and making both shots from the foul line. Freshmen Jessica Geiger and J’Lisia Ogburn played well at the forward position. Geiger scored four points and pulled down six rebounds, while her classmate made her first collegiate start of the young season, scoring five points and pulling down seven boards. Melson finished the game with eight rebounds and 10 points.
Head coach Rusty Cram and the Lady Eagles next prepare for a match against tournament host South Florida, Sunday, Nov. 19. The tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
Toldeo 67, Western Carolina 61
Cincinnati, Ohio - Toledo used a 21-5 second half spurt to pull ahead by double-digits and then held on down the stretch from the free throw line to down the Lady Catamounts, 67-61, Saturday afternoon in the consolation game of the National City Xavier Invitational.
Western (1-3) put three players in double-figures, led by 14 points from junior Chevon Keith who added a team-high eight rebounds. Junior Jessika Johnson, still playing on a tender ankle from the sprain she suffered in the season opener, scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Monique Dawson returned to double figures with 10 in the loss.
Toledo (1-2) was paced by 17 points from Danielle Bishop, who ranks 15th in Rockets' history in scoring. She was joined in double-figures by 14 from post Diana Reindl, who like Johnson was 6-of-7 from the field.
Western Carolina returns to action this Friday, Nov. 24 as it plays Weber State in the opening game of the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational in Fort Collins, Colo., in a tournament hosted by Colorado State.