Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information
Appalachian State 85, UNC Greensboro 84
BOONE, NC - Kiki Conyers' free throw with 1.7 seconds remaining gave Appalachian State University women's basketball an 85-84 victory over UNC Greensboro on Saturday at the Holmes Center.
Conyers sank the first of two charity shots before intentionally missing the second to stave off a furious UNCG comeback in the final minutes. Appalachian (11-12, 7-7 Southern Conference) led by 10 at 79-69 with 2:02 left to play, but a 15-5 Spartan run, capped by a pair of Kemena Brooks free throws tied the contest at 84-84 with 14 seconds remaining.
With time running out, Conyers drove down the right side of the lane to draw the foul and set up the game-winning free throw.
The Appalachian seniors led the way on ?Senior Day,’ paced by Conyers’ 17 points and three boards. Classmate Eboni Kirby (Tallahassee, Fla.) was one rebound short of a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. Jocelyn Wyatt (Lawrenceville, Ga.) added six points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals, while Natalie Thomas (Guelph, Ontario) chipped in two rebounds.
Junior Danielle Edwards (Winston-Salem, N.C.) tied a career high with 17 points, contributing five boards and three steals, while sophomore Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) and freshman Greteya Kelley added 12 and 14 points, respectively, and four steals each.
Kemena Brooks led the corps of four Spartans in double-digits with 25 points. She was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Kristen Boone added 17 points and four of the team’s eight steals, while Meghan Chamberlain and Irene Otamiri chipped in 16 and 10 points, respectively.
The Mountaineers recorded 18 steals on the day and have now compiled double-digit steals in 20 of their 23 games this season.
Appalachian came out of halftime down 32-30, but quickly took the lead at 38-36 off an old fashion three-point play by Edwards with just under 18 minutes to go. The Mountaineers extended their lead to as many as 12 at 60-48 with 10:36 to play, before the Spartans outscored the home team, 36-24 in the final 10 minutes to tie the game at 84 with 14 second to go.
Conyers’ free throw clinched the game as Appalachian went on to defeat UNC Greensboro, 85-84.
Appalachian took an immediate 5-0 lead to start the game, extending its lead to 11 at 16-5 with 12 minutes to go in the first half. UNC Greensboro clawed back to take its first lead of 26-24 with just over three minutes to play. The visitors kept their lead as they headed into halftime up 32-30.
Story Courtesy College of Charleston sports information
Elon 50, College of Charleston 39
CHARLESTON, SC - The College of Charleston shot just 23.1 percent in the second half and was held to 16 points as the Elon Phoenix took advantage and posted 31 points off 45.0 percent shooting to win 50-39 in women’s basketball action this afternoon in front of 437 fans at the John Kresse Arena.
The loss was the first for the Cougars this season when leading at the half. Charleston had a 23-19 edge at intermission. CofC falls to 10-12 overall and 7-7 in the SoCon, while Elon sweeps the season series and goes to 11-12 and 6-8 in the league.
Both teams shot poorly in the first half with Elon coming away with 32.0 percent and Charleston ending with 33.0 from the field. The Cougars had their biggest lead of the game at 6:48 with a 16-7 margin before Elon went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game up with 3:56 to go before intermission. However, Charleston would close the half with a 7-3 run to lead 23-19.
The second half went back and forth for the first nine minutes with the Cougars holding a 31-30 lead with 11:07 left. That was the last score for the Cougars for about six minutes as Elon took a 13-0 run to take the 12-point 43-31 lead that was finally ended with a layup by Jade Hughes with 5:04 to go. Charleston would get no closer than nine the rest of the game and fell with the final 11-point 50-39 margin.
Hughes and Erica Irick led the Cougars with 10 points apiece, while Melissa Chambers paced the team with five rebounds. Robyn Shipley led the Phoenix with 12 points. Her three three-pointers this afternoon put her tied for third in the Elon single-season record book for three-pointers made. She has 62 this year. Shashonna Moore led the team in rebounds with a career-high 10.
For the game the Cougars shot a season-low 28.6 percent from the field and were just two-for-six from the Charity stripe. Elon finished the game with a 37.8 field goal percentage. The Cougars, who only had four turnovers in the first half, ended the game with 14, compared to 20 for the Phoenix. Elon out-rebounded Charleston 43-30.
Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
Davidson 67, Georgia Southern 52
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Davidson shot 41.7 percent in the first half compared to 23.3 percent for Georgia Southern and the Wildcats’ halftime lead of 15 points proved to be the final margin in a 67-52 win over the Lady Eagles Saturday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The win, coupled with a UNC Greensboro loss, puts Davidson alone in second place in the Southern Conference standings. DC improves to 13-10 overall and 9-5 in the league. Georgia Southern falls to 9-14 and 6-8.
The Wildcats started fast, opening up a 7-0 lead in the first two and a half minutes before sophomore Chequilla Jessie (Sanford, Fla.) finally snapped the drought.
A three-pointer by GSU senior Lee DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) cut the deficit to 12-9, but Davidson answered with an 8-0 run, capped off with a steal by senior Janell Crayton (Atlanta, Ga.) and a subsequent lay-up by freshman Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.). Four different players scored buckets during the run.
Freshman Nya Daley (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) responded with an old-fashioned three-point play and a jumper from sophomore Shawnda Atwood (Pensacola, Fla.) made the score 20-14. However, another big run by Davidson, this time a 9-0 rally, gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the contest, 29-14 with 6:16 remaining.
DuBose hit another triple, but sophomore Danielle Hemerka (Blackwood, N.J.) answered with a three of her own and Gassie added a jumper for a 34-17 advantage.
After senior Leslie Spoon (Benton, La.) hit a jumper with 2:16 left in the period, neither team scored the rest of the way and Davidson went into the half up 34-19.
The Wildcats owned the scoring column and won the turnover battle 12-6 with seven steals in the first 20 minutes. Both teams hit three trifectas and pulled down 23 rebounds.
The opening moments of the second half belonged to senior Nicole Newton (Dublin, Ga.) and the Lady Eagles. Newton single-handedly cut the margin down to 10 with a three-point play and another bucket. A few moments later, her lay-up brought the Lady Eagles to within nine, 36-27.
The Wildcats’ next six points came on three-point plays, first from junior Tia Washington (Charlotte, N.C.), then Crayton. Those six unanswered points kicked the lead back up to 15 points and Davidson led by no fewer than 10 the rest of the contest.
Crayton finished with a game-high 16 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Washington added 13 while Gassie and junior Jessica Mitchell (Wilkesboro, N.C.) scored 12 and 11, respectively.
DuBose tallied a team-best 13 points and Newton grabbed 13 boards.
Story Courtesy Furman sports information
Furman 69, Wofford 53
GREENVILLE, SC - Senior forward Melynda Gant scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and Furman won its second straight contest defeating Wofford 69-53 at Timmons Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Furman (9-15, 5-9 Southern Conference) jumped on Wofford (7-16, 3-11 SoCon) early, building a 26 point first half lead. Gant came off the bench to shoot seven-for-12 from the field, including four-of-seven from beyond the arc, to top her previous career best of 17 against American University on December 6.
Furman tied a school record with 11 made three-pointers on 24 attempts. The Lady Paladins shot 57.1% (8-14) from beyond the arc in the first half on their way to a 43-22 halftime lead. Furman also set a school record with 11 blocked shots.
"Today was another great win for our girls," said acting head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "We shot the ball well in the first half and built a big lead. The second half, we really focused on defense and staying on top of our game."
Leading 6-5 with just under 17 minutes remaining in the first half, Furman went on a 31-6 run over the next 12 minutes to take a 37-11 lead on two Melissa Liebschwager free throws at the 5:18 mark. Gant was three-of-four from three-point range in the first half, on her way to 13 points at the intermission.
Furman held on to its lead in the second half, with the margin increasing to as much as 23 points, and never getting closer than a 16 point lead for the Lady Paladins.
Three other Lady Paladins reached double-figures in points as Sarah Baker scored 13 points, and Chrissy Phelps and Liebschwager netted 11 and 10 points, respectively. Jessica Lange and Katie Johnson were tops on defense, each blocking four shots. Katie Agin chipped in with a career-best two blocks.