Davidson 69, UNC Asheville 56
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Freshman Kelsey Cary (Anselmo, Calif.) netted a season-best 24 points off the bench and sophomore Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) gave her hometown fans much to cheer for with career highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists as the duo helped the Wildcat women's basketball team to their first win of the 2007-08 season with a 69-56 victory over host UNC Asheville in the first round of the Carolina First Classic on Friday night at the Justice Center.
Davidson, who was a school-best 11-5 last year on the road, moved to 1-1 in the early campaign, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-1. The Wildcats now advance to the championship game against Georgia State, who defeated Gardner-Webb in the first game of the evening.
Cary did most of her damage in the first half when she dropped in 14 of her 23 points, including 11 during a two-minute stretch that pushed the Wildcats advantage out to 24-15 with 5:54 to go in the first stanza. Of those 14 first-half points, Cary drained 12 of them from behind the three-line as she finished 4-for-4 in the game and 9-of-10 overall from the field.
The freshman also chipped in with eight boards as Davidson hauled in 50 total rebounds, 17 of them on the offensive end.
Thompson, playing 39 of the possible 40 minutes, assisted the Wildcats on the glass with her 10 rebounds, besting her pervious high by five. She also dished out half of Davidson's 16 assists for the game, while adding six points and pocketing a steal.
Three of her six points came on a clutch three-pointer late in the second half. Trailing by 10 with nine minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs used an 8-0 run to cut the lead down to 51-49. After UNCA's Jessica Monroe's layup cut the lead to two, on Davidson's next possession, Thompson spotted up from the left wing and drained a three-ball off a pass from junior Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) for a 54-49 Wildcat lead. UNCA never threatened after that as Davidson pushed its lead out to as much as 14 points.
Leading 59-50 with 2:14 left in the game, senior Honna Housley (Riceville, Tenn.) sealed the Wildcat win by scoring seven of the final 10 Davidson points, including a 5-for-6 performance from the charity stripe, and the 'Cats cruised to the 69-56 win.
Davidson used the three-point shot to its advantage in the first half to take a three-point lead into halftime. Housley and Cary hit all five of the Wildcats' three-pointers in the half and Davidson went into the break up 31-28.
While Housley and Cary worked the outside, sophomore Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) took care of busy on the blocks. Paquette scored seven of her nine points in the paint in the first period and helped Davidson outscore UNC Asheville 32-24 down low for the game.
The Bulldogs though, would not lay down in either half, thanks to Ashton Barton and Ana Baker. Barton scored the Bulldogs' last seven points, six of them on two three-pointers, in the first half to cut the Wildcat lead to three at halftime and finished the contest with a team-best 21 points. She finished 4-of-8 from behind the arc.
Baker scored the first 10 Bulldog points to start the second stanza and keep UNC Asheville close. The shooting guard ended the evening with 14 points, four assists and four steals.
Davidson did a great job of not forcing things in the second half, turning the ball over just seven times, while forcing 11 Bulldog turnovers (18 for the game) and holding them to a 35.6 percent shooting performance for the game.
Davidson will be seeking its third in-season tournament title in the past four years when it battles a familiar foe in Georgia State on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the championship game. The two squads met two years ago in the 2005-06 season at GSU's holiday tournament, with the Wildcats earning a 63-56 win in the champion game.
Appalachian State 91, N.C. Central 62
BOONE, N.C. - Each of the Appalachian State starters scored a field goal to account for the first 10 points of the game and the Mountaineers never looked back in a 91-62 home-opening win over NC Central at the Holmes Center on Friday night. Sophomore GiGi Thomas led the way with 17 points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Whitney Tossie also scored in double figures with 13 points. Tossie was 5-for-9 from the field with five rebounds, six assists and four steals. Robin Colbert followed up her 17 point, eight rebound game at NC State with six points, five rebounds, and three assists in the contest.
Colbert and Whitney Randolph collaborated for the final ASU took a 46-26 lead into the locker room.
Freshman Taylor Lake was the fifth freshman to make her debut this season, and did not disappoint. She sank a pair of free throws and hit a field goal to head to the half with four points. At the intermission, ASU led 46-26. Lake finished the game with 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting. Lake also collected four rebounds and a block in 15 minutes of play.
The second half was more of the same, as the Mountaineers scored an additional 45 points in the half. The Apps were just 3-for-12 from beyond the arc in the contest, but shot .471 from the field, and .759 from the free throw line.
Solid defense and three blocks helped keep the Eagles to .246 shooting on the night. The ASU bench scored 39 points, led by Lake and classmate Sam Ramirez. Ramirez shot 4-for-10 with four assists and 4 rebounds in just 12 minutes of play. Frances Hernandez scored nine points and Brittney Spencer pitched in eight of her own.
Jori Nwachukwu led all players with 22 points for NCCU, and picked up a double-double with 11 rebounds as well. The Eagles out-rebounded Appalachian 49 to 43 for the night.
The Mountaineers broke the 70-point mark for the first time since January 20, 2007. The 91 points scored were the most since February 24, 2005, when the team put up 96 points against Western Carolina.
ASU returns to the road on Tuesday as the team takes on Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C. at 7 p.m.
Minnesota 70, Western Carolina 67
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. ? One of the strongest outings of the young season turned into one of the most heartbreaking for Western Carolina women’s basketball (2-1) dropping a nail-biter, 70-67, in front of a crowd of 4,109 to host Minnesota (3-0) in the opening game of the Minnesota Subway Classic. The Lady Catamounts have little time to mourn their loss as WCU faces off against No. 21/22 Louisville at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Western Carolina’s last lead of the game was 58-57 with a little over six minutes left. Minnesota went on an 8-0 run to build a seven point lead, 65-58, in the span of over a minute and built what seemed to be a comfortable lead.
The Lady Catamounts would continue to fight and thanks to back-to-back lay-ups by Ashley Pellom and Chevon Keith, Western Carolina trailed by three with three minutes left in the game. Minnesota again inflated the lead to seven points and again WCU fought back. With 1:42 left junior center Brook Johnson nailed a huge three-pointer from the top of the key to shave the Golden Gopher lead to four, 69-65.
Western Carolina got the Minnesota fans even more nervous when Pellom connected on a pair of free throws with nine ticks left on the clock. At the in-bounds, Western Carolina fouled Minnesota’s Brittany McCoy and placed her on the free throw line as the Lady Catamounts were in the bonus. McCoy hit one of two from the charity stripe and WCU pulled down the rebound.
Western Carolina took one final shot at the basket but the ball didn’t fall their way and the horn sounded to end the game.
The Lady Catamounts had a good showing in the first half as well. Western Carolina trailed Minnesota by three, 33-30, at the half. Western Carolina stayed in the game in the first half despite going four minutes, in the waning minutes of the first half, without scoring a basket. Pellom pulled Western Carolina within three at the half thanks to a lay-up with 27 seconds left on the clock.
Western Carolina shot a season-high 40 percent from the field and was 45.5 percent from the field in the second half alone. The Lady Catamounts also had six blocks, as a team, in the game. WCU was out rebounded by Minnesota 42 to 39.
Two Lady Catamounts notched season-highs and one Western Carolina player tied her career-high. Pellom and Lauren Powell scored season highs, with Pellom leading the team with 18 points and Powell ranking second with 14. Johnson tied her career-high five blocks.
Freshman Emily Clarke scored in double figures for the second time in three games with 10 points against Minnesota.