Game 3: Chattanooga 84, Appalachian State 60
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - Chattanooga proved to be too much for Appalachian State as the Mocs cruised to an 84-60 victory in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference women’s basketball tournament Wednesday morning.
The second-seeded Mocs converted on nearly 55 percent of their shots from the floor behind Laura Hall’s 16 points on four three-pointers. UTC (23-7) advances to face the winner of the No.6 Wofford vs. No. 3 Davidson in the semifinals tomorrow afternoon. ASU ends its season with 13-18 record.
Hall was joined in double-figures by SoCon Player of the Year Alex Anderson and Jenaya Wade-Fray with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Whitney Tossie paced ASU with a game-high 17 points. Maria Grimes chipped in 11 points in the losing effort.
Chattanooga opened up the game on a 13-0 run that featured three-consecutive three-pointers and held Appalachian without a field goal for the first four minutes of the game. Chattanooga built up a 20-4 lead before ASU rattled of a 12-1 run that featured nine unanswered points, including six from Tossie on three-point plays to pull within five at 21-16 with nine minutes left in the half.
The Mocs answered right back with an 8-0 spurt of their own, capped by two backdoor layups from Shanara Hollinquest to build the lead back to 15, 33-18, with four minutes remaining. UTC kept ASU at bay for the remainder of the half to take a 41-27 lead into the locker room.
The Mountaineers started the second half with a 7-0 run, but soon ran out of gas as the Mocs scored 18 of the next 22 points, eight of them from Hall’s hot hand, to amass a 21-point, 59-38, lead on one of Hall’s four three-pointers with 12:24 remaining.
ASU got no closer than 18 points the rest of the game as UTC ran its lead out to as many as 28 two times before finishing with the final 24-point, 84-60 margin.
Game 4: Western Carolina 79, Furman 56
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - Western Carolina never trailed and established a 25-point halftime lead to defeat Furman, 79-56, in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference women’s basketball tournament Wednesday afternoon.
No. 1 seed Western Carolina had four players in double-figures with Monique Dawson’s 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting leading the way. Guard Chevon Keith pulled down 15 rebounds with 10 points for a double-double. Brooke Johnson added 14 points as WCU (22-8) advances to face the winner of UNCG vs. Georgia Southern on Friday at noon.
No. 9 Furman ends its 2006-07 campaign with an 11-20 record. The Paladins were led by Chrissy Phelps’ 18 points.
The top-seeded Catamounts jumped out to a 17-3 lead and held Furman without a field goal for nearly 7:30 as Furman missed 12 consecutive shots from the floor. WCU ended the half with a 9-0 run over the last four minutes for a 40-15 halftime lead. Monique Dawson and Lauren Powell combined for 22 of WCU’s first half points with 11 each. Furman’s 15 points was the lowest by a WCU opponent in the first half this season.
Furman came out of the locker room firing and rattled off a quick 6-0 run to open the half and cut into WCU’s lead. The Paladins pulled within 13 points with six minutes left on two of Katie Johnson’s 10 points, however, WCU responded with a 16-5 run to reassert control of the game. WCU outscored Furman 18-8 in the final six minutes for the final 79-56 tally.