UNC Greensboro 71, Chattanooga 68
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Alex Anderson tied her career-high but it wasn't enough as the Lady Mocs fell 71-68 to UNC Greensboro Tuesday night at the McKenzie Arena.
Anderson tallied her seventh double-double of the season with 28 points and 14 rebounds. She went 11-19 on the night and was 6-for-9 from the charity stripe.
Chattanooga seemed to have control of the game early going up 20-12 on a layup from Kristen Spann at the 9:41 mark. That would be the last field goal UTC would make in the first half.
Jasmine Byrd's layup at 9:10 sparked a 22-2 run by the Spartans giving them a 34-22 lead with 1:52 to play in the half. The Lady Mocs’ only two points in the run were on free throws from Ashley Huff. UTC would get six more, trailing UNCG 36-28 at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Mocs kept the lead in the single digits and went on a 12-3 run late in the game to grab a one-point lead at 57-56 on a 3-pointer from Spann who had a pair of treys late in the game to finish with 11 points.
A series of layups and free throws, however in the final four minutes of play built the Spartan lead back up to nine points. A three-point play by Anderson and a long-range bomb from Brooke Hand pulled UTC back to within three at 66-63 with 46 seconds left in the game.
Spann nailed her second 3-pointer 20 seconds later to pull Chattanooga to within two, but that’s as close as it would get. UNCG’s Kristen Boone made the first of two free throws. On the missed second free throw, Irene Otamiri snagged the offensive rebound and fed KaLeah Latham for a layup to give the Spartans a 71-66 lead with 17 seconds remaining.
Huff’s layup with five seconds to play put the Lady Mocs to within three for the final score 71-68. The loss snapped a 33-game Southern Conference regular season win streak by the Lady Mocs and was UTC’s first home loss in the regular season to a conference team since Western Carolina felled the Lady Mocs 72-69 on Feb. 6, 2003.
Four Greensboro players scored in double-digits led by Latham’s 17 points. Boone and Byrd each scored 15 points and Brittany Frazier scored 10 points on the night. Otamiri had a team-high 12 rebounds and four assists.
The Lady Mocs (9-5, 2-1 SoCon) will hit the road for a two-game road trip with the first stop in Boone, N.C., Saturday for a 2 p.m. matchup with Appalachian State. On Monday, UTC will take on league-leading Davidson at noon on the Wildcats’ home court. The Spartans (8-5, 1-2 SoCon) will return to Greensboro, N.C., for a three-game home stand beginning with a 2 p.m. matchup against Furman on Saturday.
Georgia Southern 74, Wofford 58
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Junior guard Tiffany Brown hit 10-of-15 from the field good for a season-high 26 points as the Lady Eagles topped Southern Conference opponent Wofford 74-58, Tuesday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
With the win, the Lady Eagles improve to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference play, garnering its second consecutive win and first of the New Year.
Wofford falls to 6-7 overall and 0-3 in conference games, dropping its fourth consecutive game.
Brown (Waxhaw, N.C.) also added a game-high five assists and a team-high four steals. Juniors Shawnda Atwood (Pensacola, Fla.) and Chequilla Jessie (Sanford, Fla.) each had solid performances on the night. In her second consecutive start, Atwood buried 6-of-7 field goals good for 14 points while adding a team-high tying six rebounds. Jessie also pulled down a team-high tying six boards while going 4-of-8 from the field for a season-high 12 points.
“Outside of the Georgia game, that’s the best we’ve played inside-outside all year,” said 11th year head coach Rusty Cram. “I thought we complimented each other very well.”
Wofford’s K.C. Correll paced the Terriers with 10 points while Summer Nichols pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
The Terriers got the first points on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws for a 2-0 lead. Over the next 3:54, Wofford and GSU traded baskets, both with the Terriers taking a 16-13 advantage with 14:45 remaining in the first half.
Two minutes later, the Lady Eagles’ started an 11-1 scoring run, nine of which came off the hands of Brown, who up to that point had made all six shot attempts, and the Lady Eagles held a 24-17 advantage by the 12:05 mark.
After a media timeout, Wofford changed the momentum and managed to tie up the match 33-33, capped by Jennifer Weurding’s layup at 3:34.
Wofford’s Laura Depko hit the go-ahead jumper to give the Terriers a 37-35 advantage with 1:40 remaining in the half, their first lead since the clock read 13:50.
Jessica Geiger’s (Stone Mountain, Ga.) jumper with 57 seconds remaining tied up the game, and both teams went into the locker room with a 37-37 deadlock.
Tiffany Brown’s 15 points led all scorers at the break. Georgia Southern scored 18 points off of Wofford’s 13 turnovers, while the Terriers converted 15 points off of 12 GSU errors.
The Lady Eagles took command of the second half, sparking a 13-0 scoring run capped by Jessie’s layup with 15:43 on the clock.
The Terriers finally broke the five-minute drought when Liz Miller’s trey closed the margin to an eight-point, 48-40 GSU advantage with 14:59 remaining.
But despite Wofford’s three trifectas over the next seven minutes, the Lady Eagles held on to the lead and extended the lead to 21 points, netting 13 unanswered points with 3:12 remaining. The 13-0 run was capped by Brown’s layup and the Lady Eagles held a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game.
The Terriers had difficulty shooting in the second stanza, hitting only 4-of-29 (.138) attempts meanwhile the Lady Eagles shot 13-of-31 (.419). GSU dominated the key, holding a 36-16 advantage in points in the paint. The Lady Eagles took advantage of Wofford’s 26 turnovers, producing 29 points, while the Terriers converted 17 points off of GSU’s 20 mistakes.
The Lady Eagles hit the road for the first time since beginning their five-game homestand back in December. Georgia Southern will take on Elon, Saturday, January 6 at 7 p.m. They continue their stay in North Carolina to battle UNC Greensboro, Monday, January 8 for a 7 p.m. game.
Appalachian State 72, Furman 62
Greenville, S.C. - Appalachian State placed four players in double-figures, and the Mountaineers used an early 21-0 run to defeat Furman 72-62 on Tuesday night at Timmons Arena.
After Furman jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a Maggie McKemie free throw at the 17:42 mark, Appalachian State scored 21 straight points as Furman was held scoreless for more than nine minutes. During the run, Furman missed
12 consecutive shots, and committed five turnovers.
GiGi Thomas led Appalachian State with a game-high 20 points. Jaime Bennett recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Whitney Tossie added 13 points and six assists.
Chrissy Phelps and Melissa Liebschwager each scored 11 points for the Lady Paladins. For Liebschwager, it marked her fourth time in double-figure scoring in the last five games, since she broke into the starting lineup against Columbia College. Jessica Lange pulled down 10 rebounds and added a blocked shot for Furman.
Appalachian State held a 26-4 advantage in fast break points, and outscored Furman 48-20 in the paint. The Lady Paladins got 30 points off the bench.
With the win, Appalachian State improves to 8-6 overall, 2-1 in the Southern Conference. Furman falls to 5-9 on the season, 0-3 in conference action. The Lady Paladins return to action on Saturday as Furman travels to face UNC Greensboro at 2:00 p.m. at Fleming Gymnasium.
Elon 54, Western Carolina 49
ELON, N.C. Amber Wall posted 17 points and 10 rebounds her third career double-double performance as Elon dispatched Western Carolina 54-49 in Southern Conference women?s basketball action Tuesday night at Alumni Gym.
The contest snapped a three-game losing streak for the Phoenix (6-7 overall, 1-2 Southern Conference) as well as a three-game winning streak for the Lady Catamounts (8-6, 2-1). Western Carolina had won four of its last five contests with a setback at No. 2 North Carolina marking its only loss during that stretch.
Elon improved to 14-9 all-time versus the Lady Catamounts, including 5-2 in SoCon play. The Phoenix also improved to 6-0 when leading at halftime this season.
Wall tallied a career-high five steals all in the first half while teammate Tierra Bumbrey pulled into sixth place among Elon?s all-time career leaders in assists. With her third of her game-high six assists, Bumbrey
(259 assists since 2004) passed Nissie Thompson (255 in 1990-93).
The first period of play included the game?s lone tie and only two lead changes. Western Carolina reeled off six consecutive points to transform a 2-2 deadlock into an 8-2 edge on trey by Monique Dawson with 17:19 remaining in the opening stanza.
Via a 20-6 run, the Phoenix took charge at 22-14 on a three-point bomb by Nicole Allison with 7:36 left in the first period. After settling for a 32-26 halftime advantage, Elon maintained a lead of two to eight points the rest of the way.
Western Carolina was led by Dawson (10 points, four assists), Brooke Johnson (10 points) and Chevon Keith (10 rebounds). The Lady Catamounts won the battle of the boards by a 46-40 margin.
Elon equaled a season high by sinking seven three-point field goals. The Phoenix also tied a season low by surrendering just 14 turnovers to 20 by Western Carolina.
The Lady Catamounts edged the Phoenix 26-22 in the paint and 14-7 in second chance points. Elon outscored Western Carolina 21-11 off turnovers and 30-18 off the bench.
The Phoenix fired 35.6 percent (21 of 59) from the field, 43.8 percent (7 of 16) from three-point land and 41.7 percent (5 of 12) from the free throw line. The Lady Catamounts shot 33.9 percent (20 of 59) from the floor, 18.8 percent (3 of 16) from behind the arc and 54.5 percent (6 of 11) from the charity stripe.
Western Carolina will host Davidson at 4 p.m. Saturday at Ramsey Center. Elon hosts Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Saturday at Alumni Gym.