#1 Chattanooga 77, #5 Western Carolina 73
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC - Tiffani Roberson scored 26 points to lead four other Lady Mocs in double-figure scoring as Chattanooga held on after a furious Catamount rally in the second half to take the 77-73 win over Western Carolina in the first semifinal game of the 2006 Southern Conference women’s basketball tournament at the North Charleston Coliseum.
Chattanooga, which holds the nation’s longest winning streak at 25 games, improves to 26-3 and advances to play the winner of the Davidson/UNC Greensboro semifinal in the championship game set for 6 p.m. Sunday, March 5. Western Carolina ends its season at 9-20.
The Lady Mocs hit back-to-back three-pointers to open the first half and exploded to a 10-2 lead after the first two minutes, scoring on their first six straight possessions. Trailing 15-4 with 17:29 left the Lady Catamounts went on a 14-6 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Monique Dawson, who had five points during the stretch, to cut the deficit to 21-18 with 11:51 to go in the half. Brooke Hand nailed a three-pointer at 11:36 to open a 13-3 run for the Lady Mocs that gave them the 34-21 advantage with 6:29 on the clock. Both teams traded baskets the rest of the half with Chattanooga extending its lead to 12 at one point before settling on the 10-point 42-32 lead at intermission. Western Carolina shot 39.4 percent in the first half compared to 35.9 for Chattanooga. Roberson, who had 11 rebounds to go with her 20 points, posted her ninth career-double during the first 20 minutes of the contest. Chattanooga was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the half.
The Lady Catamounts were not done, opening the second half with a 22-9 run, erasing the 10-point halftime deficit, to take the three-point 54-51 lead with 11:47 left in the game. Chattanooga, trailing 56-53 with 10:27 left, scored eight straight to take a 61-56 lead at 8:38 the mark. Western Carolina stormed back and tied the contest at 71-71 with just over two minutes in regulation off a three-pointer by Dawson, who had a team-leading 17 points. After Western Carolina retook the lead 73-71, Laura Hall connected on one of her two three-pointers of the night to give Chattanooga the lead for good with just under a minute to go in the contest. Western Carolina could not convert its final two possessions into points and the Lady Mocs went three-for-four from the free-throw line the last minute to increase their lead to the final margin of four, 77-73.
After struggling in the beginning of the second half the Lady Mocs finished the final 20 minutes shooting 40.7 percent to finish the game with a 37.9 percentage from the field. Western Carolina shot 38.9 from the field. Chattanooga edged WCU 49-47 in rebounds. The Lady Catamounts went 12-for-20 from the free throw line, while the Lady Mocs went 21-26.
Following Roberson’s 26 points and 15 rebounds was Brown with her 12 points, with six of the 12 coming from beyond the arc, giving the SoCon Player of the Year 213 for her career and a share of the all-time record in the league.
With 11 points and 11 rebounds Mattison posted her third career double-double and first of the season. Mattison, who also notched nine assists, fell one dime short of a triple-double in the contest.
Behind Dawson’s 17 points was Amelia Miller with her 14. Chevon Keith and Kendra Eaton paced the team in rebounding with seven apiece.
Western Carolina second-year head coach Kellie Harper also suffered her first career SoCon tourney loss in the game after tallying victories in her first five tournament games and one tournament crown.
#2 UNC Greensboro 68, #3 Davidson 58
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC ? Jasmine Byrd scored 15 points, while Kristen Boone added 13 to lead UNC Greensboro to the 69-58 win over Davidson in the second semifinal match of the 2006 Southern Conference women’s basketball tournament held at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The Spartans, 18-11 overall, advance to face Chattanooga, a 77-73 winner over Western Carolina in the first semifinal match, in the championship game set for 6 p.m. on Sunday. It is the first trip back to the championship game for UNC Greensboro since the 2002 season and its fifth overall in UNCG’s nine seasons in the league. That year the Spartans fell to the Mocs, 77-69. Davidson, who is now 1-5 all-time in the semifinals, ends the season with a 17-12 record.
The 17 wins procured by the Wildcats are the second-most in school history.
Davidson scored first with a basket by Honna Housley at 18:59 to take its only lead of the first half as UNC Greensboro’s Irene Otamiri posted back-to-back baskets to give the Spartans the 4-2 lead with 17:54 to go in the half. The margin stayed within four for the next six and a half minutes before UNC Greensboro increased the margin to five off four straight points by Jasmine Byrd and led 15-10. The Spartans took their largest lead of the half the next possession, going up by seven, 17-10, off two free throws by Meghan Chamberlain at 8:39. The margin would not last as a Mercedes Robinson layup at 7:51 cut the margin back to five. Davidson came back to within one, 24-23, with 2:05 left before intermission, before UNC Greensboro took a small 8-4 run over the last two minutes into the locker room and led by five, 32-27.
UNC Greensboro shot 52.2 percent for the half, compared to 37.5 for Davidson. Rebounds were fairly even with the Spartans holding the slight 16-15 edge. Although turnovers were even as well at 10-9 in favor of Davidson, UNC Greensboro was able to convert them into 10 points, compared to just four for Davidson.
UNC Greensboro extended its lead by eight, 42-34 in the second half before a 14-6 run by Davidson knotted the contest at 48-48 off a three-pointer by Janell Crayton with 8:46 to go. UNC Greensboro responded with a 15-4 run that gave the Spartans their largest lead of the game at 63-52 with 2:55 left. During that stretch the Wildcats were one-for-seven from the field, with the other two points coming from two free throws by Danielle Hemerka. Davidson would be unable to stage a comeback as the Spartans kept the Wildcat deficit by at least seven for the remaining five minutes of the contest and won 69-58.
Following Byrd’s 15 and Boone’s 13 points was Otamiri with nine. Boone paced the team in rebounds with seven. Kelly Gassie led Davidson with 16 points, while Hemerka followed with 10. Leading the rebound effort for the Wildcats was Kelly Brynn with seven. UNC Greensboro finished with 46.9 percent shooting from the floor, while Davidson had 36.4. The Spartans out-rebounded the Wildcats 40-29 with Davidson turning over the ball one more time, 16-15. UNC Greensboro dominated inside, holding 30-16 advantage in the paint. Both teams were dismal from the perimeter as Davidson was just four-for-20 and UNC Greensboro was one-for-nine.