Chattanooga 57, Middle Tennessee State 54
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Sophomore guard Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) connected on a three-pointer from the corner to break a 49-49 tie with 2:02 to play and Chattanooga (5-2) converted on five of six free throws down the stretch to come away with a 57-54 victory over Middle Tennessee (3-2) Wednesday evening in a non-conference women’s basketball game at McKenzie Arena.
Leading 52-49, the Lady Mocs stretched their lead to 54-49 behind two free throws from senior forward Alex Anderson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) with 49 seconds to play before Blue Raiders senior forward Amber Holt (Duluth, Ga.) drilled a three-pointer from the corner at the 29-second mark to close the gap to 54-52. That would be as close as they would get as UTC sank three-more free-throws and weathered a last second try to lock up the three-point victory, 57-54.
After a number of runs by both teams in the first half, the Lady Mocs found themselves trailing 25-16 with 5:34 to play in the first half. At that point, Chattanooga got back in the game as they put together a 12-4 run behind seven points from junior forward Erin Ogan (Knoxville, Tenn.) to head to the break down one, 29-28.
UTC’s hot streak continued into the second half as they opened with an 11-4 run to pull out to their largest lead of the game, 39-33, with 13:51 to play. That stretch capped off an overall run of 23-8 over a period of 11:45. MTSU narrowed the gap to 39-37 with a mini 4-0 run before the teams traded baskets for much of the next five minutes, eventually settling at a 45-45 tie with 6:00 to play.
Four free-throws from Anderson and two layins from the Blue Raider’s Amber Holt over the next three minutes then knotted the score at 49-49, setting up the Lady Mocs late game heroics.
For the game, Holt led the way offensively for MTSU with a game-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds while senior guard Starr Orr (Danville, Ala.) and freshman guard Anne Marie Lanning (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Chattanooga’s balanced attack was led by sophomore forward Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala) who finished with a team-high tying nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds while Wade-Fray added nine points and seven rebounds. Anderson connected on all six of her free throws and contributed eight points and five rebounds and Ogan finished with eight points on three-of-four shooting. Senior forward Kristen Spann (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) and senior guard Laura Hall (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) each finished with seven points while Hall dished out a game-high five assists.
As a team, Chattanooga shot 80 percent from the foul line, connecting on 16-of-20 from the line, including 13-of-15 in the second half, while Middle Tennessee attempted only two foul shots, connecting on both.
The Lady Mocs will return to action on Saturday, December 1 when they travel to Alabama A&M for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
NOTES
The 54 points allowed by the Lady Mocs was one shy of tying the lowest output they have ever allowed against Middle Tennessee in the series 39 game history ... the all-time low is 53 set in a game on January 18, 1975.
Western Carolina 89, UNC Asheville 74
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Two Lady Catamounts posted career-highs and five scored in double figures to help propel Western Carolina women’s basketball (4-1) to an 89-74 victory over instate rival UNC Asheville Wednesday night in the Ramsey Center. Western Carolina returns to action on Sunday, traveling to Middle Tennessee for a 3 p.m. tip-off.
Center Brooke Johnson tallied a career-high six blocks and scored a season-high 21 points in the Lady Catamount’s win. The junior from Seymour, Tenn. has scored in double figures four of the first six games of the season.
Western Carolina had to shake some of the rust off their shoes after taking a nine day hiatus from the hardwood. The Lady Catamounts began to hit a stride after breaking a 13-13 tie at the 14:35 minute mark in the first half when senior Jessika Johnson hit a jumper in the paint to give WCU a 15-13 lead.
The Lady Catamounts led by just one point, 27-26, with 5:28 remaining in the half, but went on a 17-4 run to build their lead to 14 heading into the locker room. Senior Ashley Pellom hit a jumper and was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the run to help WCU build its lead.
Western Carolina led by as much as 19 points four times in the second half. The Lady Catamounts shot a scorching 56.7 percent from the field in the last 20 minutes of the game and ended the contest shooting a season-high 50 percent.
All 11 players scored in the contest and Western Carolina got 44 of its 89 points from the bench. One player coming off the bench had a career night as sophomore Heather Swayne scored a career-high 10 points ? the first time the guard has hit the double figure mark.
Blocked shots were also a big stat for the Lady Catamounts as the club batted away 10 in the game ? just two shy of tying the school record for blocked shots.
Senior Chevon Keith notched her third double-double this season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. It is also the fourth time in six games she has scored in double figures.
Pellom scored in double figures for the third straight game ending the contest with 14 points. Jessika Johnson also had a season-high with 10 points.
Elon 79, Lynchburg 63
ELON, N.C. - Elon topped Lynchburg 79-63 Wednesday night in women's basketball action at Alumni Gym.
The point total is Elon's second-highest in 54 outings, dating back to the 2005-06 season, and the highest since pouring in 104 on Montreat last season (11/19/06).
"We took care of the ball tonight," said Phoenix head coach Brenda Paul. "We took care of the board and we dominated where I thought we should dominate in the game."
Senior guard Tierra Bumbrey netted 20 points, two shy of tying a career high, to lead the Phoenix, dishing out a team-high five assists on the night. Amber Wall was stellar for Elon, recording her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 boards off the bench.
The Phoenix (2-5), who had been struggling from the free throw line, sank 5-of-8 (62.5%) from the stripe in the second half.
Allison and sophomore guard Tiffany Davis also reached double-digit points for Elon, scoring 13 and 10, respectively. Davis was 4-of-8 from the floor, grabbing four steals.
"I was happy with the adjustments that we made in the offense to get the ball in our guards' hands a little bit more," added Paul, "to pressure them to defend us out there and give our posts some looks on rolls."
Lynchburg was led by Kristina Darby whose five treys boosted her to 21 points on the night. Brittany Dahn added 19 (8-of-14) for the Hornets, who shot 48% from the floor in the game as a team.
Elon forced 27 Hornet turnovers, to its own 12, ripping the ball from Lynchburg 15 times in the game.
The Phoenix take to the road to open up Southern Conference action Saturday, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., for a 1 p.m. tip-off with Wofford.
East Carolina 75, Appalachian State 69
BOONE, N.C. - Whitney Tossie set season highs with 21 points and five steals, but the Appalachian State women's basketball team was unable to take down 2007 NCAA Tournament participant East Carolina at home. The 75-69 loss moved ASU to 1-4 on the season and 1-1 at the Holmes Center.
Robin Colbert drained an early three to tie the contest in the first minute before Thomas scored the next four points for the Mountaineers as they took their first lead of the game at 7-6 with just under 16 minutes to go in the first half.
Whitney Randolph pulled down seven rebounds and with six points in the first half, but picked up a pair of fouls early in second half. Randolph re-entered the game with 10 minutes to play and finished the game with eight points and tied a career high with eight boards.
Seven consecutive points from Frances Hernandez helped the Mountaineers open their largest lead of the game at 45-40 four minutes into the second half. Hernandez fouled out with 13 points, two assists and a rebound. She shot 4-for-7 from the floor in the game.
Tossie helped extend the lead to a game-high nine points at 51-42 with a fast break layup followed by a putback for her 13th point of the game. ECU pulled within 53-52 before Tossie added another four to help the Apps keep a one-point lead. The Pirates regained the lead at 61-60, and used a 9-2 run to take a 65-62 lead before a pair of Colbert free throws closed the gap to a single point with four minutes to play. ASU would never regain the lead.
GiGi Thomas shot 5-for-11 from the floor with two rebounds and an assist before fouling out with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. She has scored in double-figures in each of her last four games. Over that stretch, Thomas is averaging 16.5 points per game.
East Carolina stretched the lead to 71-66 with a minute to go. Brittany Mixon hit a free throw and Tossie drove for a layup to pull within 72-69 with 30 seconds remaining. Mixon then fouled out six seconds later on an attempted steal. ECU's Impres Manning sank both foul shots to give the Pirates a 74-69 lead, and the Mountaineers' final offensive possession was unsuccessful. ECU tacked on an additional free throw for the 75-69 final.
Mixon swatted all three ASU blocks in the game, which tied a career high. Midway through the first half, the 6-3 forward sank her first career three-pointer. She closed out the game with a season-high 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting, along with three rebounds and an assist.
Appalachian shot .458 from the floor and .444 from downtown, while ECU shot .467 for the game but just .167 in three-point shots. The Pirates shot 49 free throws compared to just 18 for the home team, but ASU held a 12-8 advantage in steals.
The Mountaineers play their final home game of the calendar year on Monday, December 3 against Radford. The tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Charlotte 70, UNC Greensboro 45
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The Spartans suffered a 70-45 setback to Charlotte in women’s basketball action at Fleming Gym on Wednesday night.
UNCG (0-6) was led by Gini Grimsley who tallied 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor while Ashley Ling recorded eight points which tied her career high. Monique Floyd also contributed a team-high five rebounds in the loss. The Spartans shot 36.5 percent from the field and tallied 343 rebounds.
Charlotte’s Sabrina Gregory and Erin Floyd were both in double-digits with
12 points each and Gregory tallied a game-high seven rebounds in the win.
“I was disappointed with the way we played in the second half”, head coach Lynne Agee said. “We couldn’t get any shots to fall but we also needed to have a better effort from everybody when they get on the floor. Tonight we had some people who weren’t quite with us.”
Both teams came out shooting in the second half but it was Charlotte that couldn’t miss and extended their lead to 45-30 at the 16:10 mark, their largest lead of the game at that point. Lakiah Hyson was able to cut into the lead with a long two from the right side but they couldn’t find a way to stop Charlotte from scoring as the 49ers extended their lead to 51-34 at the 12:54 mark.
Both teams went cold from the floor midway through the half but a bucket from Charlotte’s Wendy Stywalt ended the drought and put the 49ers ahead, 56-34. The Spartans had no answer for the 49ers in transition and committed
19 fouls while trying to slow the 49ers.
Charlotte used a 15-2 run to pull out to a commanding 22-point lead putting the game out of reach and giving Charlotte its third consecutive win.
Charlotte scored the first bucket of the game but the Spartans answer with a long two from Grimsley to tie the game early. UNCG was able to limit the touches of Charlotte’s Danielle Burgin and took a 4-3 lead early but the 49ers responded with two free throws to keep the game tied early.
The teams traded buckets through the early part of the half but a 4-0 run by Charlotte put them out in front 14-11 at the 11:59 mark of the half. The Spartans cut into the lead with a free throw from Grimsley but a 7-0 run put Charlotte ahead, 21-12 midway through the half.
Grimsley hit back-to-back buckets to cut the lead to 21-16 but an untimely UNCG foul on Jasmine Dixon put Charlotte on the line where they were able to capitalize and extended their lead to 25-18 with just over eight minutes remaining. With the 49ers leading 28-18, UNCG used a bucket from Ashley Ling and an offensive foul on the next possession to take away some of the momentum. Ling had the hot hand and with another bucket cut the lead to six points at the 5:18 mark while Kemena Brooks added a bucket to get the lead to 28-24.
The Spartans held Charlotte with out a field goal for 2:26 minutes before a bucket from Sabrina Gregory pushed their lead to 32-24. Charlotte closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a 36-26 lead into the break.
UNCG was shot 39.3 percent from the floor on 11-of-28 shooting and tallied 16 rebounds. Grimsley led the Spartans with 10 points while four players had two rebounds. Erin Floyd recorded 10 points to lead Charlotte in the first half.
The Spartans are next in action Dec.3 when they take on backyard rival, High Point in non-conference action. First tip is set for 7 pm at High Point’s Millis Center.