UNC Greensboro 78, Davidson 55
GREENSBORO, NC - The UNC Greensboro Spartans used their best defensive outing of the season to route, league leader Davidson, 78-55 in women’s basketball action at Fleming Gymnasium. UNCG held Davidson to 30.3 shooting, their lowest shooting percentage of the season.
UNCG (14-7, 7-3) was led by Jasmine Byrd who was 9-of-15 from the floor for 24 points. KaLeah Latham had her second consecutive double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, tying her career-high with her 18 points. Kristen Boone also dished out a game-high nine assists.
“This was our best game on both ends of the floor” head coach Lynne Agee said. “We were just solid from end line to end line and our transition was outstanding, due to our terrific rebounding efforts on both ends. I was very pleased with the way this group responded and the effort that we put forth tonight.”
Davidson was led by Tia Washington who had a team-high eight points and Katie Hamiliton who had eight rebounds.
Davidson (17-4, 8-2) began the second half with a sense of urgency knocking down the first four buckets of the half before Byrd and Chamberlain got UNCG on the board to extend the lead to 43-24. Davidson used several quick fouls by UNCG to get to the line, converting on all four attempts at the charity stripe to cut the lead to 43-26. The Spartans continued to be balanced on the offensive side of the ball getting everyone involved, to push the lead to 52-30 at the 12:22 mark.
Davidson didn”t give up but couldn’t cut the UNCG lead to less than 17 points in the second half as the Spartans went on to their third consecutive conference win. UNCG shot 50.8 percent for the game on 31-of-61 shooting from the floor and had 20 assists on the afternoon.
Both teams started the game in defensive mode by coming up empty on their first possessions. It was Latham that got the Spartans on the board first with a quick bucket in the paint. Byrd put the Spartans up 4-0 with a layup but Davidson was able to cut the lead to two-points with a short jumper.
The Wildcats found their rhythm and scored two unanswered buckets to take a 6-4 lead but UNCG wouldn’t be discouraged and found Irene Otamiri on the inside to keep the game tied at six all at the 15:29 mark of the half. UNCG used their defense to collect four rebounds which led to two buckets on the other end, giving UNCG an 11-6 lead with just under 14 minutes remaining in the half.
The Spartans continued to roll on the defensive end, stopping Davidson’s inside players and pulling down the defensive boards. Sparked by Byrd UNCG went on a 14-0 run to take a 20-6 lead midway through the half. Davidson couldn’t get anything to fall, missing nine consecutive shots before a bucket by Washington stopped the four minute Wildcat drought.
A bucket by Washington on the inside got Davidson into double digits with 10 points but a jumper by Byrd and a layup by Brittany Frazier extended the Spartan lead to 24-10. The Spartans used a 14-9 run over the last seven minutes of the game to take a 39-19 lead into the break.
UNCG out-rebounded Davidson 25-20 and held a 24-9 points in the paint advantage, while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor on 18-of-33 shooting in the first half..
The Spartans conclude their two-game homestand when they take on Southern Conference rival, Chattanooga Jan. 29. The game is the first game of a doubleheader with the men’s team. Tip is set for 5 pm.
Chattanooga 58, Elon 50
ELON, N.C. Alex Anderson amassed 17 points and 16 rebounds her 12th double-double performance of the season as Chattanooga erased a 10-point, second-half deficit to overcome Elon for a 58-50 Southern Conference women?s basketball triumph Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym.
Jenaya Wade-Fray netted 12 points and Brooke Hand added eight markers, four assists and a career-high 10 boards for the Lady Mocs (15-6 overall, 8-2 SoCon). Hand canned a pair of treys to push her career total to 201 three-point field goals, just 15 shy of the league career record of 216 set by former Chattanooga teammate Katasha Brown last season.
Anderson also tallied four steals as the Lady Mocs improved to 9-0 all-time versus the Phoenix with the second-slimmest victory of the series.
Chattanooga slipped past Elon 50-46 on Dec. 17, 2004 at Alumni Gym.
Chattanooga?s Shanara Hollinquest (two points and three rebounds in nine
minutes) played in her first game since recovering from a foot injury.
Leading 31-23 at the break, the Phoenix (9-12, 3-7) dropped to 9-1 when leading at halftime this season. Elon also fell to 8-3 at Alumni Gym and 6-4 in games decided by 10 points or less this year.
Rachel Hester led the Phoenix with 18 points, hitting five of her 10 shots from the floor five of eight attempts from behind the arc. Nikko King (11 rebounds, three steals), Tierra Bumbrey (six assists, four steals) and Amber Wall (10 rebounds) all turned in key performances for Elon.
King deflected a Chattanooga shot to pull into a tie for eighth place on Elon?s all-time career chart with former Phoenix star Holly Andrews
(2000-04) at 48 blocked shots. Teammate Kitara McMoore sits in seventh with 50 blocks.
The contest featured four ties and seven lead changes. The Phoenix soared to a 12-6 lead on a fast-break lay-up by King with 14:15 to go in the first half. The Lady Mocs poured on a 17-6 run to claim a 23-18 edge on a three-pointer by Ashley Huff with 4:32 remaining in the opening stanza.
Elon closed the first period by reeling off 13 unanswered points to fashion a 31-23 halftime advantage on a trey by Hester with 15 ticks to go before the intermission. The Phoenix scored four of the second half?s first six points to stretch the difference to 35-25 on a three-point bomb by Bumbrey with 18:32 remaining in the game.
Chattanooga responded with a 17-2 run to go ahead 42-37 on a bucket by Anderson with 11:19 left. The Lady Mocs later extended their edge to 47-40 on a lay-up by Erin Ogan with 7:05 to play.
The Phoenix made one final run, going on a 10-1 spurt to take a 50-48 advantage on a three-point basket by Hester at the 3:21 mark. Chattanooga held Elon scoreless the rest of the way, reeling off the game?s final 10 points.
Anderson?s lay-up with 2:55 to go knotted the score at 50-50. Wade-Fray gave the Lady Mocs the lead for good at 52-50 on a lay-up with 1:51 remaining.
Chattanooga won the battle of the boards by a 47-36 margin, compensating for
21 Lady Moc turnovers to 14 by the Phoenix. Chattanooga fired 38.0 percent
(19 of 50) from the field while Elon shot 29.7 percent (19 of 64) from the floor.
The Lady Mocs outscored the Phoenix 18-14 in the paint and 10-7 off second chances. Elon outscored Chattanooga 26-17 off turnovers and 26-19 off the bench.
The Phoenix will return to action with a visit to Western Carolina at 5 p.m.
Monday. The Lady Mocs visit UNC Greensboro at 5 p.m. Monday.
Appalachian State 69, College of Charleston 47
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University women’s basketball held the College of Charleston to 10 first-half points as it went on to a 69-47 victory in Southern Conference play Saturday at the Holmes Center.
The Mountaineers improved to 10-11 overall and 4-6 in the SoCon with the victory, while the Cougars dropped to 10-11 on the season and 4-6 in the league.
ASU held CofC to 23 (14-of-61) percent shooting from the field, including a mere 15.4 (4-of-26) percent in the first half. The Cougars’ 47 points were three more than the fewest the Mountaineers have allowed this season. Thirteen of CofC’s 19 turnovers were forced by the Mountaineers in the first half.
Juniors Maria Grimes (Birmingham, Ala.) and Whitney Tossie (Oviedo, Fla.) led the Mountaineer offense with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Freshman GiGi Thomas (Tallahassee, Fla.) chipped in 12 points.
The three ASU seniors were honored prior to the game. One of the honorees, Jaime Bennett (Woodstock, Ga.) led ASU on the boards with nine. Her classmates Carleena Costner (Gastonia, N.C.) and Shante Williams (Spartanburg, S.C.) added nine and six points, respectively.
No Cougars scored in double-digits but they were led by Brooke Kotcella with eight points. Jill Furstenburg and Erika Smith added six points apiece. Smith led the team on the boards with seven rebounds.
ASU opened the second half with a stop on the defensive end and a three-pointer by Grimes to extend its lead to 29-10 with 19 and a half to go in the game. Jill Furstenburg hit two free throws to give the Cougars their first points since the 7:15 mark of the first half to make the score 29-12 with 17:36 to play.
Nikki Williams broke a 10-minute field goal drought by the Cougars with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 31-15 with 16:50 to go. ASU’s Grimes countered with a three of her own giving the Mountaineers a 19-point lead back with 16:30 remaining in the game.
Appalachian went on another run, this time an 18-0 run in the next three minutes to extend the lead to 34 points at 49-15 with just over 13 minutes to go in the game. Ashley Scott snapped the run with a jumper at the 12:55 mark to make the score 49-17.
The Cougars took advantage of Mountaineer fouls and went on a 12-0 run in the next three minutes to cut the lead to 22 points at 49-27. Appalachian followed with six-straight points of their own to extend the lead to 55-27 with 8:12 to go in the game.
CofC used another run, this time a 14-1 run to cut the lead to 14 points at 56-42 with 3:33 to go in the game. Costner snapped the run with a three-pointer, but Kotcella hit a trey of her own to keep the ASU lead at 14 points with just under three minutes to go. A 6-0 run gave ASU a 65-45 lead with 2:18 to go.
The Mountaineers outscored the Cougars, 4-2 in the final two minutes as they went on to a 69-47 victory.
The College of Charleston scored first to open up the game, but the Mountaineers put away two-straight buckets to take its first lead at 4-2 with 17:20 to go in the half. An early seven points by Tossie helped the Mountaineers jump out to an 11-7 lead with 9:50 left in the first period.
A three-pointer by Whitney Ketner helped ASU double-up on the CofC with a 14-7 lead with 9:40 to go in the first half. A free throw by the Cougars’ Williams and layup by Moye cut the Appalachian lead to four points at 14-10 with 7:15 to go in the half, before a layup by Thomas gave ASU a 16-10 lead at the seven minute mark.
Appalachian continued on a 12-0 run from that point to go into halftime with a 16-point, 26-10 lead. The 10 points by the Cougars are the fewest allowed by ASU in a half this season. The Mountaineers also held the Cougars to 15 percent shooting in the opening period.
The Mountaineers remain at home as they host Furman on Monday, January 29 at 4:30 p.m. in their second-straight doubleheader. The Appalachian men follow with a game against the College of Charleston at 7 p.m.
Furman 75, Georgia Southern 63
Greenville, S.C. --Furman used a 13-0 second half run and got a career-high 19 points from freshman Kali Holtfreter as the Lady Paladins defeated Georgia Southern 75-63 on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Holtfreter, who earned her first start of her career, scored 19 points, including 10-of-14 free throws to lead Furman. Sarah Baker added 13 points, and the Lady Paladins got nine points each from Chrissy Phelps, Lee Stephens, and Katie Agin.
Georgia Southern took a 37-36 lead on Chequilla Jessie three-point play with 11:49 left in the second half. The Lady Paladins then took off on a 13-0 run, using three-pointers by Stephens and Baker and a three-point play by Melissa Liebschwager, to take a 49-37 lead with just over eight minutes remaining.
Furman held its biggest lead of 16 points with 1:13 left and withstood any Georgia Southern rally by connecting on 23 second half free throws.
Georgia Southern was led by Carolyn Whitney with 19 points, while Tiffany Brown added 18 points for the Eagles, but no other Georgia Southern player scored more than six points.
The Lady Paladins tied a season-high with 50 total rebounds, including 16 off the offensive glass, and outrebounded Georgia Southern 50-42. Furman also benefitted from a 28-13 advantage in points off the bench.
Courtney Opie and Maggie McKemie each grabbed seven rebounds, and Agin added a career-high five assists and three blocked shots.
With the win, Furman improves to 7-12 overall, 2-8 in the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern loses its seventh straight game and falls to
7-14 on the season, 2-8 in league action. Furman returns to action on Monday as the Lady Paladins travel to face Appalachian State. That game is set to tip-off at 4:30 p.m. from Holmes Convocation Center.
Western Carolina 79, Wofford 65
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Junior Ashley Pellom scored 14 of her game-high 18 points during a decisive 28-to-7 first half run to put the Lady Catamounts ahead by 23, and then held off a late charge by the Terriers as Western Carolina captured its school-record, sixth-straight Southern Conference victory, 79-65, Saturday afternoon over Wofford.
With the win, Western (14-7, 8-2 SoCon) moves into a three-way tie for first place in the SoCon with Davidson (L at UNC Greensboro, 78-55) and Chattanooga (W at Elon, 58-50). Also, the current six-game winning streak is the longest since winning eight-in-a-row during the 1986-87 season.
Pellom just missed tying her career-best on the afternoon connecting on 6-of-7 from the floor including a 3-pointer and a perfect 5-for-5 showing from the foul line. The Wilmington, N.C., native also dished out four assists with two rebounds and a steal. Pellom’s classmate Chevon Keith posted her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds, with sophomore Brooke Johnson scoring 11 with seven rebounds and junior Monique Dawson finishing with 10 points, 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
Senior Lynsie Lamite, who is one of four Lady Cats to have started every game this season, finished with nine points, one shy of tying her career-high.
Wofford sophomore Liz Miller connected on two free throws to give the Terriers a short-lived two-point, 4-2, lead four minutes into the first half. However, a Lauren Powell 3-pointer put Western ahead for good at the 16:29 mark. Up two, 7-5, Western embarked on a 28-to-7 run over the next nine minutes to take its largest lead of the first half, 23, with 6:26 to play before intermission. During the run, Pellom scored 14 points, including swishing just her second 3-pointer of the season and shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, while also dishing three assists.
The Terriers outscored WCU 13-to-6 to end the half and slice the Lady Catamount lead to 16, 41-25, at the break.
Out of the halftime locker room, Western was able to balloon the lead back to 19 before Wofford closed to within 16, 51-35, at the 13:35 mark. The Lady Catamounts used an 8-0 spurt from the 10:51 mark until 7:43 to take their largest lead of the game, 25, capped by jumper by Kristen Feemster to lead 65-40.
Western’s advantage hung in the 20s until a late surge by the Terriers. Wofford capitalized on five WCU turnovers as a part of a 12-to-2 run, pulling to within 10, 75-65, with just under a minute to play in regulation. However, Dawson and Keith combined to connect on all six free throw attempts inside the final minute to secure the victory.
Miller scored 15 to lead Wofford (9-11, 3-7 SoCon) with her fifth-straight, double-figure scoring outing, with junior Kelsi Koenig adding 14 points. Freshman Kelly Dwyer recorded a career-high 13 points including a perfect 6-for-6 showing from the free throw line with senior K.C. Correll tallying 10 points. Koenig and freshman Kathlyn Varno each boarded six misses in the loss for the Terriers.
The Lady Catamounts conclude their three-game home stand on Monday night in the first half of a Catamount basketball double-header. Western’s women hosts the Elon Phoenix at 5:00 pm, while the Catamount men entertain Wofford at approximately 7:30 pm. The Lady Cats will look to avenge a five-point defeat at Elon back in early January. Both games Monday night will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard in Western North Carolina on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee or on-line at www.WWCUFM.com.
Monday night is also Sonic Greek Night. Everyone in attendance will receive a coupon for a FREE Sonic hotdog, redeemable at the Sonic Drive-In of Sylva. There will also be shooting contests at both games for more Sonic food, with a hotdog eating contest planned for halftime of the men’s game. Also, the Sonic Skaters will be on hand on Sonic Night.