Davidson 88, Emory 40
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Davidson returned home for the first time since its season-opening win over UNC Asheville, continuing its solid start to the 2006-07 season by hitting the 80-point plateau for the third time this year and matching a single-game school record in steals with 26 in an 88-40 win over Division III Emory on Saturday afternoon at Belk Arena in women's basketball action. The 88 points were a season-high as the Wildcats finished their second straight game shooting over 50 percent, hitting at a 51.3 percent clip (40-78) to improve its overall record to 6-2. The 40 field goals made were just one off the school record Davidson set last year against Oglethorpe. After winning their first three games, Emory dropped its second straight to fall to 3-2 overall.
The Wildcats' six wins through the first eight games matches the start of the 1996-97 team, who started 7-2 and finished 15-11.
Davidson had it working again on both ends of the floor. The 'Cats finished shooting over 50 percent in each half and have now shot better than 50 percent in five straight halves. They dished out a season-high 23 assists and moved their consecutive assist streak of dishing out 10 or more in a game to 26. Every Wildcat dished out at least one for the game.
For the second straight contest, all 12 players etched their names into the scorer's book as sophomore Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) hit for a game- and team-high 15 points. She matched her career-best with seven field goals made and set a new career mark in steals, pocketing six. Senior point guard Tia Washington (Charlotte, N.C.) was a prefect 5-of-5 from the floor for 10 points, and freshman Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) was one-point off her season-best, dropping in 11 points to go along with seven boards and three steals.
Most of Davidson's scoring on the afternoon came in the paint with the Wildcats dropping in 66 of their 88 points on layups or short jumpers in the lane. The Wildcats' bench also had its best game of the season, combining to score 60 points, 38 of them in the second half.
Davidson came out a little sluggish to start the contest, making only two of their first eight shots and trailed Emory 5-4 through the first four minutes of play. But after a media time out at the 13:42 mark, the Wildcats got back in the swing of things, scoring 16 of the next 22 points and turned a one-point deficit into an 11-point advantage at 22-11 with 6:24 remaining in the half. Gassie, sophomore Mercedes Robinson (Mansfield, Texas) and freshman Alexandra Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) each dropped in two points during the run. The 'Cats would go on to score 18 more points and headed into halftime up 40-22.
The Wildcats then turned up the defensive pressure, pocketing 16 of their game-high 26 steals in the second stanza, while holding Emory to 33.3 percent shooting from the field in pushing its lead out to as much as 48 points for the final score of 88-40. Besides Gassie's career-best six steals, Robinson also swiped a career-high, finishing with five in helping Davidson to a season-high in the steals category.
In addition to pocketing a season-best in steals, for the fourth time this year the Wildcat defense held their opponent to under 35 percent shooting and forced more than 20 turnovers.
Jenny Kraus was the lone Eagle to hit for double digits, scoring 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting with two three-pointers and a free throw. Erica Kaplan was one rebound off her season average, hauling in five rebounds to pace Emory.
The Wildcats will have a short turn around as they open Southern Conference play on Monday, Dec. 4 against preseason favorite, UNC Greensboro Spartans, at 7 p.m. on the floor of Belk Arena. Davidson will be looking for some payback after getting knocked out of the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament last year by the Spartans. Davidson trails in the all-time series, 25-7.
Eastern Kentucky 83, Western Carolina 66
Chattanooga, Tenn. ? Eastern Kentucky opened the second half with a 21-to-4 run to erase a one-point halftime deficit, and then held Western Carolina to 22-percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes to hand the Lady Catamounts an 83-66 setback in the Courtyard Classic at the McKenzie Arena.
Western put four players in double-figures led by 14 from sophomore Lauren Powell, 12 of which came in the opening half. Junior Monique Dawson finished with 12 points, 10 from the free throw line, while her classmate Chevon Keith just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine boards, including six on the offensive end. Senior Lynsie Lamitie rounded out WCU’s double-digit scorers with a career-high 10 points and seven rebounds.
Also for the Lady Cats, freshman Heather Swayne tallied her first career points, posting a career-high seven, with junior guard Ashley Pellom just missing tying her career-best with nine assists.
WCU led by as many seven points at the midway point of the first half and managed a one-point, 37-36 lead at the break. However, the Lady Colonels drained back-to-back 3-pointers out of the locker room to ignite their run while Western struggled from the field, making just two if its first 18 shots from the field.
All-told, Western connected on just nine of 41 shots in the second half, 22-percent, while EKU managed to shoot 58-percent from the field for a combined 53-percent for the game en route to the win.
Eastern Kentucky took advantage of Western being short two post players scoring 42 points in the paint. Both WCU senior Erin May and sophomore Kendra Eaton were suffering the after effects of concussions suffered at UNC Asheville on Wednesday night. Eaton managed four minutes off the bench, but was unable to sustain time on the court.
Like Western, the Lady Colonels (3-4) put four in double figures led by 23 points from post Amber Kirkpatrick. Guards Crystal Jones and Ashley Cazee added 18 and 13, respectively, while forward Andrea Jenkins tallied the game’s lone double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Western Carolina returns to action on Sunday afternoon when it faces the Saint Joseph’s Hawks at 1:00 pm in the Courtyard Classic.
Furman 60, Coastal Carolina 55
Greenville, S.C. -- Chrissy Phelps tied career-highs with 20 points and six steals as Furman rallied from an 11-point deficit to defeat Coastal Carolina 60-55 on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
The win marked the second-straight home game that saw Furman rally from a double-digit halftime deficit to take the victory. On November 21, Furman trailed Jacksonville State by as many as 18 points in the second half before winning the contest by a 72-67 score.
Furman also owns a third come from behind victory this season for Furman as the Lady Paladins rallied from an eight-point second half deficit to defeat Duquesne 53-51 on Nov. 24.
Phelps, a junior from Damascus, Md., recorded her season-high scoring total by shooting 5-for-11 from the field and making 10-of-12 free throws. The total tied her career-high of 20 points which she has reached on two other occasions.
Courtney Opie joined Phelps in double-figures in scoring with 13 points on 3-of-8 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Furman trailed by 11 points with 17:45 remaining in the second half, when a Vanessa Laug jumper put the Chanticleers up 38-27. Furman cut the lead to four points at 39-35 on Katie Johnson’s jump shot in the paint, but Coastal Carolina responded with an Alisha Dill three-pointer and a Calisha Yates layup to push the lead back to nine points with just over 12 minutes left. Furman tied the game and took the lead on two Opie free throws to make the score 50-49 with less than five minutes remaining.
Coastal Carolina tied the score at 55 on a Dill jumper with just over one minute remaining, but Chrissy Phelps made 5-of-6 free throws in the last minute, and made a crucial steal with 13 seconds left as Dill looked to tie the score with a three-point shot.
Dill led Coastal Carolina with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor. She also added three bloxks, three assists and two steals.
Furman, which struggled from the free throw line in a five point loss to Clemson on Wednesday night, made 23-of-31 attempts from the line (.724), including 18-of-22 in the second half. The Lady Paladins also committed just five turnovers in the second half, and swiped eight second half steals, giving them 17 for the game.
Furman shot just 36.7 percent from the field, compared to 40.4 percent for the Chanticleers, but the Lady Paladins made 23 free throws to just eight makes for Coastal Carolina from the charity stripe.
With the win, Furman improves to 4-3 on the season, while Coastal Carolina falls to 3-2 overall. The Lady Paladins return to action on Tuesday as Furman travels to face American at 7:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
UNC Wilmington 56, College of Charleston 41
WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Senior guard Lori Drake posted her second straight ?double-double’ with 15 points and a career high 16 rebounds, while sophomore forward Sahsha Taylor added 12 points as the UNCW women’s basketball team won its fourth straight game, defeating College of Charleston, 56-41, Saturday afternoon.
The Seahawks improve to 4-3 on the season, while the Cougars dip to 2-5.
UNCW used tenacious defense in the victory, holding the Cougars to 27.8 percent from the field and forcing the College of Charleston into 19 turnovers.
Guard Jade Hughes led College of Charleston with 14 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc, while teammate Erika Smith ended the night with 13 points, with seven coming from the charity stripe.
With the Seahawks trailing 6-8 in the first half, UNCW went on a 13-2 run over the next 11 minutes to build a 19-10 advantage and never relinquished its lead. The Seahawks took a 21-10 edge into the locker room as Greta Luksyte scored her only bucket of the game on a jump shot off the glass as time expired.
In the first half, UNCW held College of Charleston to a dismal 18.2 shooting percentage from the field, holding the Cougars without a basket for nearly 11 minutes, while the Seahawks shot 31.8 percent. Shade Smith came off the bench to record a team-high six points, while Drake grabbed 10 boards.
After a jumper in the lane from Stephanie Fernald gave the Seahawks a 44-32 lead, College of Charleston went on a 9-3 run, capped off by a layup from Smith, over the next 2:40 to cut the score to six at 47-41. UNCW responded with two free throws from Taylor with 1:58 on the clock and held on for the win.
The Seahawks recorded only one field goal over the final five minutes of play, but drained 10 of 11 shots from the free throw line in the victory.
UNCW returns to action Wednesday night, squaring off against in-state rival East Carolina at 7 p.m. in the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. College of Charleston faces Georgia Southern in Statesboro on Dec. 16.
ASU 85, UNO 70
NEW ORLEANS ? Five Mountaineers scored in double-digits as the Appalachian State University women’s basketball team bounced back from an emotional loss Friday to take third in the Four Points by Sheraton UNO Lady Privateer Invitational with an 85-70 victory over host University of New Orleans, Saturday at the Human Performance Center.
The Mountaineers improve to 4-4 on the season, while the Privateers drop to 5-4 overall, placing fourth in their own tournament with two-straight losses. Appalachian improves to 2-1 on the road with the victory.
Appalachian committed just 17 turnovers on the day, forcing 20 by the home team. Appalachian shot 53 percent from the field and 77 percent from the charity stripe. ASU also out-rebounded its opponent with 34 boards, 11 on the offensive end.
Junior Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) led ASU with 21 points, despite playing just 24 minutes due to foul trouble. The 5-9 guard earned all-tournament honors, averaging 19 points in the two games. Tossie added four steals and four assists. Senior Jaime Bennett (Woodstock, Ga.) came one point short of her career-high with 17 and added eight rebounds.
Sophomore Whitney Ketner (Spartanburg, S.C.) recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-1 guard/forward bettered her career-best rebound performance, which she set last night, by two. Freshman GiGi Thomas (Tallahassee, Fla.) and junior Maria Grimes (Birmingham, Ala.) stepped up for the Mountaineers with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
New Orleans was led by Le’Della English with 28 points. Le’Della earned all-tournament honors for the Lady Privateers. Candice McGee led the team on the boards with eight rebounds and added 12 points. Jada Fraizer joined her teammates in double-digits with 10 points.
Tossie scored 11 points in the opening half, while English poured in 18 points in the first period. ASU shot 45 percent from the field, but did not make a three-pointer in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Mountaineers and Lady Privateers went into halftime tied at 34 points apiece. The score remained close as the score became locked once again at 42 with 16:28 to go in the game. From that point, ASU used an 11-2 run to take a 53-44 lead with 14:16 to play.
After several threatening runs by UNO, ASU extended the score to 85-64, reaching its largest lead of the night of 21 points with two minutes remaining in the game. The Lady Privateers ended the game with six-straight points, but it wasn’t enough as the Mountaineers pulled out a 15-point, 85-70 victory.
The Mountaineers return to action as they head to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on Winston-Salem State, Tuesday, December 5, for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
St. Joseph’s 65, Chattanooga 61
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Chattanooga mounted a 12-2 run late in the second half to get back to within one point, but couldn’t get past St. Joseph’s as the Lady Mocs fell 65-61 to the Hawks Saturday afternoon at the Courtyard Classic at the McKenzie Arena.
Down 58-47 with 6:13 to play, Jenaya Wade-Fray and Laura Hall drained back-to-back 3-pointers. Hall’s free throw at 5:01 pulled UTC to within four at 58-54. Hollinquest missed her second of two free throw attempts, but UTC grabbed the rebound and the freshman forward quickly put the ball back up to get the Lady Mocs as close as they would get in the second half at 60-59.
With 38 seconds to play, the Hawks went back up by three on a layup from Whitney French who was fouled. The Lady Mocs had a chance to get the ball back, but couldn’t grab the rebound on the missed free throw.
Junior Alex Anderson blocked her second shot of the game, but St. Joe’s managed to grab the rebound and draw a foul. Anderson grabbed the rebound on another missed free throw by the Hawks with 5.8 seconds remaining. After a timeout by UTC, the Lady Mocs turned the ball over on an inbounds pass and St. Joe’s claimed the win.
Hollinquest led four Lady Mocs in double-digits with 13 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Anderson had 12 points and six rebounds. Wade-Fray knocked down three from beyond the arc and had 11 points while Laura Hall chipped in 10 points, going 4-for-5 from the free throw line.
Chattanooga (3-4) led 38-31 at the halftime break, but St. Joseph’s came out strong in the second immediately with a 9-0 run to take a 40-38 lead. The Lady Mocs climbed back up to take a 44-40 lead at 15:09, but the Hawks came back with a 15-0 run and led 55-44 with 7:38 to play.
The Lady Mocs outrebounded St. Joseph’s (3-3) 39-30 with 13 offensive boards that translated into 18 second chance points. The Hawks’ Ayahna Cornish led all scorers with 25 points and six rebounds and Ffrench scored 18 for the Hawks and dished out five assists. Cornish was 9-for-15 from the floor and nearly perfect at the free throw line making 7-of-8.
The Lady Mocs will look to end a three-game losing skid Sunday afternoon against Eastern Kentucky in the final game of the Courtyard Classic. St. Joseph’s will take on Western Carolina.