UNC Greensboro 74, High Point 64
HIGH POINT, N.C. ? Kemena Brooks led a trio of players in double figures with 15 points as the UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team picked up its first win of the season with a 74-64 win over backyard rival High Point in the Millis Athletic Center on Monday night.
Also in double figures for UNCG (1-6) were Brittany Frazier, who tallied 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Monique Floyd, who tallied 11 points. UNCG shot 40.7 percent from the floor on 24-of-59 shooting while out rebounding the Panthers, 49-42.
“This was a huge win for us,” said head coach Lynne Agee. “Being able to get a win on the road and the way that we won was impressive. We shot well and rebounded well and when forced to step up and close the game, we responded which was extremely encouraging. It was a total team effort tonight.”
High Point (4-4) was led by LaTeisha Dean with 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the floor. Jennifer Long and Jurica Hargraves were also in double figures with 13 and 15 points, respectively.
UNCG used a 6-0 run, keyed by a steal from Monique Floyd to pull ahead 55-46 and a jumper from Kemena Brooks to go ahead 57-47 at the 10:45 mark, but a Hargraves three-pointer sparked a 5-0 High Point run that quickly cut the lead to 57-52 midway through the half. The teams battled for the remainder of the half, but with a nine point lead and just over three minutes remaining UNCG went on a 5-0 run to push their lead to 70-56 and never looked back as they picked up their first win of the season.
UNCG opened the second half with a 5-2 run to extend their lead to 38-31 early in the half and was able to push their lead to as many as nine points before High Point’s LaTeisha Dean hit a three-pointer and forced a UNCG to cut the lead to 45-39 at the 15:44 mark.
The Panthers used good defensive rebounding and several UNCG miscues to key a 5-0 run to cut the lead to three points, but the Spartans countered with a 5-0 run to keep the lead at 50-42 at the 13:46 mark of the stanza. High Point wouldn’t go away and used a layup from Jurica Hargraves to cut the lead to four points with just under 12 minutes remaining -- the closest they had been since the end of the first half.
UNCG scored early in the first half with a three-pointer from Gini Grimsley but High Point responded with a long three to keep the game tied after two minutes of play. After three pointers early, both teams went cold from the field before High Point went on an 8-3 run to take a 15-11 lead at the 11:05 mark.
High Point was hot from behind the arc and was shot 3-of-5 from the three-point line with Dean connecting on a team-high two through the first nine minutes of the game. The Spartans were also shooting well from behind the arc connecting on 3-of-4 early.
UNCG cut the lead to two points and was able to tie the game with a two from Brooks before UNCG rattled off five consecutive points to take a 34-19 lead. High Point wouldn’t go away and responded with a bucket to cut the lead to three points but the Panthers went on a 6-0 run over the next 1:30 to cut the UNCG lead to 28-27.
The Spartans held High Point to one bucket in the last 2:06 to take a 33-29 lead into the break. The Spartans were led by Brooks who was 3-of-3 from the floor in the first half for seven points while Meghan Chamberlain was 2-of-5 for six points. As a team the Spartans shot 35.5 percent from the field on 11-of-31 shooting while pulling down 22 rebounds.
The Spartans will continue their road swing when they head to Longwood on Wednesday. Tip off is set for 7 pm at Willett Hall in Farmville, Va.
SIDELINES: UNCG forward Jasmine Dixon picked up her 300th career rebound...this is the first time in the last four meetings that the away team had won...UNCG also won last year’s contest with by 10 points.
USC Upstate 73, College of Charleston 62
Charleston, S.C. ? Despite a career-high 23 points from Tonia Gerty, the Cougars could not answer the 12-for-24 three-pointer effort by the Spartans and the College of Charleston women’s basketball team fell to USC Upstate, 73-62, tonight in front of 217 fans at the John Kresse Arena.
Charleston fell to 1-5 on the year, while Upstate improved to 3-5.
The Cougars opened the first half with a layup by Deidra Jones at the 19:42 mark, but did not score another basket for almost eight minutes, and fell behind 17-3 before a jumper by Ashley Scott with 11:36 on the clock ended the scoring drought. During that stretch, Charleston went 0-for-7 from the field and turned the ball over seven times, resulting in 10 Spartan points. Upstate answered with an 8-2 run to take its largest lead of the half, an 18-point 25-7 lead with 8:36 to go before intermission. The Cougars responded with an 8-0 run, fueled by a five-point effort by Gerty, over the next minute to make it a 10-point 25-15 game with 7:36 to go. Trailing by 17 (32-15) with 4:46 remaining, Charleston took another 8-0 run to cut the deficit to nine with 2:32 at 32-23 but could not contain the single-digit margin after Spartan Courtney Bradley nailed a three-pointer as time expired, and went into the locker room down by 12, 37-25.
The Cougars went into the locker room shooting 40.0 percent, compared to 41.9 for the Spartans. Upstate was seven-for-14 in three-pointers, while the Cougars were only three-for-six. Rebounds were even at 18 apiece, but it was Upstate that led in second-chance points, 14-2. Charleston led in turnovers, 14-9. Upstate converted 20 points off the turnovers, the Cougars just 12.
Every time in the second half the Cougars attempted a run, bringing the deficit to nine or 10 on several occasions, Upstate seemed to respond with a three-pointer or timely jumper and kept Charleston at bay for much of the final 20 minutes. Down by 12, 66-54, with 1:30 to go, Gerty cut the margin to nine but after a quick Cougar foul and a made free throw and a jumper by the Spartans, Charleston trailed by 12 again. That would be as close as the Cougars would get as the Spartans converted on the final four free throws to seal the eventual 73-62 win.
The Cougars shot 40.6 percent from the field in the second half and 40.4 for the game. Upstate shot 50.0 percent in the second half, for 45.1 percent in the game. While Upstate was 12-for-24 in three-pointers, Charleston was seven-for-17. After being tied in the second half, the Cougars out-rebounded the Spartans 41-33 for the game. Charleston held the edge in turnovers, 25-21, while Upstate went 15-for-23 from the free throw line, compared to nine-for-17 for the Cougars.
Following Gerty’s 23 points was Erika Smith with 13. Sarah Moye pulled down a team-leading 12 rebounds, just two from her career-high.
For the Spartan, Courtney Hawkins paced the team with 21. Oceana Jackson followed with 17 on the night. Shanea Wyant led in rebounds with nine.
The Cougars take off for exams and resume action Wednesday, Dec. 12th at 4:30 p.m. against Kennesaw State. The Spartans travel to Georgia Tech the sixth for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.
Radford 65, Appalachian State 45
BOONE, N.C. - Despite tying a career-high with 11 points, Sam Ramirez was unable to lead the Appalachian State women's basketball team to a win, as the team fell to Radford 65-45 on Monday night.
Radford opened with the first four points of the game before Whitney Tossie dropped in a pair of layups to tie the score. Frances Hernandez then gave Appalachian its first lead of the game with a jumper from the top of the key. A seven-point run helped the Highlanders regain the lead at 14-8, before the Apps made a run of their own.
Ramirez opened a 12-3 ASU run with a runner in the paint before Brittany Mixon added five consecutive points with a layup and a three-point play. Taylor Lake capped off the run with a turn-around jumper from the baseline as ASU took a 24-17 lead.
Ramirez finished the first twenty minutes with a team-high nine points, and ended the game with 11. Mixon and Tossie found themselves in foul trouble early on, with three each. Tossie played just five minutes before the intermission. Lake and Colbert picked up two fouls each in the first half as well.
Mixon ended the game with nine points on 4-for-10 shooting. She gathered four rebound and knocked down one of three free throws. She led the team with two blocks.
Radford regained control before the intermission, scoring 19 of the final 21 points of the half to take a 36-26 advantage into the locker room. ASU shot 31.4 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while RU converted 41.4 percent. The Highlanders held a 15-to-3 advantage in free throw attempts in the half as well.
Sophomore Karina Mill grabbed a rebound and converted the put-back for her first career points. The bucket pulled the team to within 13 points at 47-34. Appalachian was never able to regain the lead in the second half, and trailed by as many as 24.
ASU out-shot Radford 34.5 to 32.4 percent from the floor in the game, but committed five more turnovers than the Highlanders.
With under 10 minutes to play, Whitney Randolph scored five straight for the Mountaineers and Mixon banked in a jumper, cutting the Radford lead to 62-43. All seven of Randolph's points came in the second half. Mixon fouled out of the game with just over a minute to play.
Taylor Lake led the team in rebounding, with five, over 21 minutes. The freshman added two points and swatted one of the team's five blocks. Classmate Frances Hernandez tied for third on the team with seven points. The guard connected on both free throws but was 1-for-4 from beyond the arc.
The Apps take a break for final exams before opening conference play at College of Charleston on December 14.