Georgia Southern 64, Western Carolina 62
STATESBORO, Ga. ? The Georgia Southern women’s basketball team edged Western Carolina, 64-62, Saturday evening in front of the fourth-largest crowd at Hanner Fieldhouse, maintaining its undefeated home record and extending its win-streak to six games.
Georgia Southern held off a late Western Carolina rally closing the GSU lead to one point (63-62) with 41 seconds remaining in the game. But after GSU missed a jumper on the next possession, Western Carolina missed an opportunity to go ahead, turning the ball over with 10 seconds remaining, and GSU spent its final possession trying to run out the clock.
A WCU foul sent Ashley Rivens (Charlotte, N.C.) to the line, and with two seconds remaining, she put GSU up by two (64-62). Time ran out before the Catamounts could get a good shot off and the Lady Eagles held on for the victory.
With the win Georgia Southern improves to 11-8 overall and 7-1 in Southern Conference action. The win marks the team’s sixth-consecutive win, and seventh-consecutive conference victory, its best streak since winning 12-consecutive games from Jan. 20, 2001 to Mar. 2, 2001. The Lady Eagles are 8-0 at home.
The win also gives the Lady Eagles sole possession of second place in league standings, behind only Chattanooga, which remains undefeated (9-0) in SoCon action after defeating College of Charleston, Saturday.
Western Carolina’s six-game win-streak came to a halt, and the Catamounts fall to 14-6 overall and 6-2 in league play. WCU currently shares third place in SoCon standings with Davidson (12-7, 6-2).
Georgia Southern was paced by Tiffany Brown (Waxhaw, N.C.) and Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) with 11 points, who were followed by J’Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) with a career-high 10 points on 5-of-7 field goal shooting. Ogburn and teammate Christa Waterman (Sugar Hill, Ga.) pulled down a team-best six rebounds, helping the team outrebound the visitors 43-42.
Western Carolina was paced by Kendra Eaton with 15 points, followed by Monique Dawson with 13. Chevon Keith pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, which helped the team tally an 11-5 advantage in second-chance points.
In first-half action, both teams struggled from the field. Western Carolina went cold since its first basket just 20 seconds into the game, missing 18-consecutive field goal attempts. Georgia Southern took advantage of the Catamounts shooting drought and slowly produced a nine-point lead, 17-8, with 6:35 on the first-half clock.
Catamount Kendra Carroll snapped the shooting slump with a layup, but GSU continued to widen the gap over the next five minutes to claim a 14-point advantage. A jumper by Ashley Pellom closed the GSU lead to 12 points to go into the locker room with the Lady Eagles up, 25-13.
In the second-half, Western Carolina overcame an 11.5 percent (3-of-26) first-half shooting performance, going on a 15-2 scoring run over the first five minutes and taking a two-point lead, 29-27. Three-consecutive three-pointers by the Catamounts helped propel the drive before GSU’s Waterman tied up the game, 29-29 with 15:33 remaining on a pair of free-throws.
Brown’s fast break layup on the next GSU possession gave the Lady Eagles the lead, but Western Carolina fought back to take a 33-32 advantage on a Kristen Feemster layup with 13:04 on the clock.
Carolyn Whitney (Duluth, Ga.), who dished out a game-high five assists on the day, buried the go-ahead triple on the next possession, and after the Catamounts tied it up on a jumper, Whitney’s layup put the Lady Eagles up for good, 37-35, with 11:26 remaining.
Western Carolina’s 57.6 percent (19-of-33) shooting in the second half helped the Catamounts twice pull to within one point in the remaining minutes, but GSU’s 45.2 percent (14-of-31) second-half shooting and solid defense was good enough to hold off a Catamounts’ rally, and the Lady Eagles held on for the win.
Georgia Southern’s bench outscored the Catamounts, 23-15. Western Carolina shot 22-of-59 (.373) from the field, compared to GSU’s 23-of-63 (.365) field goal shooting.
After a four-game homestand, the Lady Eagles have little time to rest as they next head to Chattanooga to take on SoCon leader Lady Mocs, Monday (Jan. 28). Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at McKenzie Arena. Western Carolina returns to Cullowhee to host College of Charleston Monday at 5 p.m.
Hanner Fielhouse, which was decorated in pink, was filled with 1,710 fans donning their pink attire in support of the “Pack the House in Pink” initiative to promote breast cancer awareness.
Davidson 70, Wofford 58
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Junior Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) scored 10 her game-high 16 points and hauled in nine of her career-best 15 rebounds in the second half as Davidson outscored Wofford, 38-26, in the second period to capture a 70-58 Southern Conference win over the Terriers in women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at John M. Belk Arena.
Davidson earned its fourth straight win to improve to 12-7 overall and 6-2 in league play. The win also marked the 12th time in the past 13 meetings the Wildcats have secured a win over the Terriers. Wofford fell for the sixth straight time as it is 9-10 overall and 2-6 in SoCon play.
Robinson went 7-of-11 from the field and added a couple of free throws on her way to scoring in double figures for the 10th time this year. The 16-point effort was the second time in the past three games she has scored that many. All 15 of Robinson's rebounds came off the defensive glass in leading the Wildcats to a 45-36 overall rebounding advantage.
Also hitting double figures was senior Honna Housley (Riceville, Tenn.), who scored all 13 of her points in the first half, and junior guard Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) with 12 points off the bench.
Kathyln Varno led Wofford with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 3-for-5 at the charity stripe.
After both teams played to an even score of 32-all in the first half, Davidson took control of the game to open the second stanza with a quick 9-0 run in the first three minutes of action. Gassie and sophomore Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) started the run with back-to-back three-balls and Gassie capped off the streak by converting on a three-point play to make the score
43-34 with 17:01 remaining.
Later, Gassie pushed the lead out to double digits with two free throws and then a layup on the 'Cats next possession at the 12:08 mark for a 52-40 Wildcat lead.
Robinson gave Davidson its biggest lead of the game, 58-46, with a bucket in the paint at the eight minute mark and the Wildcats never looked back on their way to the 70-58 win. The 'Cats improved to 6-2 at home this season.
Davidson's defense step it up in the second half, holding Wofford to just nine field goals in 30 attempts for a 30 percent shooting percentage. On the offensive side, the Wildcats found the bottom of the net 53.6 percent of the time in the half to finish the contest at 46.6 percent, the fourth straight game they have shot 44 percent or better from the field.
Housley led a 15-7 charge by the Wildcats to open the game by scoring the first six points on back-to-back shots from long range as Davidson hit six of its first eight shots, including a 3-for-3 showing from behind the arc.
Wofford came back with a 12-4 run and eventually took the lead, 22-21, on a three-pointer by Liz Miller from the top of the key with 9:30 left in the first period. Miller finished with 12 points and a career-high nine boards.
The Terriers led by as many as five points over the next eight minutes, before Davidson regained the lead briefly on a jumper by Housley to make it 32-30 with 1:15 left in the half. Housley finished 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from behind the arc in the first period.
Two free throws by Kelsi Koenig knotted things up at 32-all heading into intermission to set up the Wildcats second half surge.
Davidson next plays host to Furman on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m., seeking its ninth win in the past 10 meetings against the Paladins. Wofford plays the second of its three-straight road contests at Appalachian State Monday night at 5 p.m.
Game Notes: Davidson won its sixth straight at home against the Terriers ...before the game, senior Danielle Hemerka was honored with a 1,000-point game ball after becoming the 11th Wildcat to join the 1,000-point club on Jan. 21 at Elon ... senior Katie Hamilton got her first start of the season and responded with nine points in just eight minutes ... she has now combined for 17 points the past two games in 15 minutes of action ... In addition to her 16-point, 15-rebound game, Robinson chipped in two blocks and three steals, both team highs.
Furman 73, Appalachian State 63
BOONE, N.C. - Senior Chrissy Phelps led four Lady Paladins in double-digit points as Furman topped Appalachian State, 73-63, to claim its first Southern Conference win of the season.
Furman (6-14, 1-8) opened the game with an 11-2 run before Brittany Mixon converted a three-point play and Thomas drove the lane for her second bucket of the game to cut the lead to four. Thomas would score five-straight points before Whitney Tossie took over on both ends of the court, forcing turnovers and converting them into points.
Tossie finished the game with 16 points and five steals while GiGi Thomas set a season high with 23 points for the Mountaineers.
Senior Chrissy Phelps led the Lady Paladins with 18 points. Sophomore Kali Holtfreter added 13 points and five assists, while junior Katie Johnson contributed 11 points and led the team with five rebounds. Junior Melissa Liebschwager added 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Furman.
The Lady Paladins shot 44.6% as a team and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 40 to 27.
Thomas poured in 11 first-half points, while Tossie added six points, two assists and a pair of steals. The Paladins' hot shooting allowed them to maintain a lead, as the visitors shot a scorching .419 from the floor with five free throws in seven attempts in the opening 20 minutes. The Mountaineers (4-15, 1-7) shot .464 in the first to keep the game close, 35-28 at the half.
Four different players accounted for the first four baskets after the intermission, before Thomas knocked down another jumper to pull the team within five, 47-38. ASU then went on a quick run as Whitney Randolph drove the lane for her second layup of the game before Thomas stole the inbounds pass and laid it in to cut the Paladin advantage to 49-42.
Tossie put in eight of the team's next 14 points with the help of a pair of steals while Thomas hit a long jumper for her tenth basket of the game. It would not be enough, however, as Furman shot .492 in the game to earn its first Southern Conference win of the season.
Frances Hernandez knocked down a three-pointer from the corner with a minute to play, and Thomas scored the final bucket of the game on a layup with just a second left to cut the final score to 73-63.
Appalachian shot 49.2 percent in the game compared to 44.6 percent for Furman, but the Lady Paladins knocked down 17-of-21 free throws, while ASU shot 2-for-3 from the charity stripe. The Apps were 1-for-5 from downtown, compared to 6-of-18 for Furman.
The Mountaineers host Wofford on Monday at 5 p.m. in the first half of a double-header while Furman concludes its two-game road swing Tuesday night at Davidson. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 56, Elon 54
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Brittany Frazier hit two crucial free throws and grabbed a key rebound late in the game to lead the UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team to a 56-54 win over backyard rival, Elon on Saturday afternoon in Fleming Gym.
UNCG (5-15, 3-6 SoCon) was led by seniors Brittany Frazier and Kemena Brooks who both tallied 10 points in the victory. Frazier also led the way on the glass with a team-high seven rebounds. The Spartans shot 33.3 percent for the game on 22-of-66 shooting from the field and committed a season-low, 11 turnovers.
“I thought we played a pretty good game,” said coach Lynne Agee. “We did lose our focus and became a little too relaxed, which let them back in the ballgame late but I was pleased with the way that our seniors, especially Brittany Frazier led us late in the game she hit some crucial free throws and had a huge rebound late that led us to the win.”
Elon (6-14, 2-7 SoCon) had three players in double figures with Kitara McMoore leading the way with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. Tierra Bumbrey and Tiffany Davis were also in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectfully. The Phoenix shot 42.6 percent on 23-of-54 shooting for the game and recorded 41 rebounds.
The Phoenix made things interesting late and used a 10-0 run late in the half to cut a 15-point UNCG second half lead to a one point lead with just over a minute remaining in the game before a key rebound and free throws from Brittany Frazier sealed the win and gave the Spartans their second consecutive win.
Elon came out in the second half with two quick buckets to cut the lead to 31-28 with just two minutes off the game clock and from that point the teams traded buckets before baskets from Brittany Frazier and Ashley Ling extended UNCG’s lead to 37-28. Gini Grimsley put a punctuation mark on a UNCG 9-4 run with a three-pointer from the left side to give UNCG a 40-28 lead.
Elon ended a nearly six minute drought with a basket from Bumbrey but a foul on the other end put Grimsley on the line to keep the Spartan lead at 12 points at the 12:15 mark. The Spartans continued to turn their hard work on the defensive end of the floor into offense which turned into a season-high nine fast break points for UNCG and 10 points off turnovers.
McMoore continued to keep the Phoenix in the game and the just when Elon seemed poised to make a run, a block from Ashley Ling followed by a trey from the Centreville, Va. native on the other end pushed the Spartan lead to 48-32 with a little over eight minutes remaining.
UNCG opened up a 4-1 lead early in the first half but Elon responded and cut the lead to 6-5 with four minutes off the game clock. The Phoenix went on a 6-2 run to take their first lead of the game but the teams traded three-point baskets to keep the lead with Elon at the first media timeout of the game.
With Elon holding a 13-12 lead, UNCG went on an 8-4 run to pull ahead 20-17 at the 6:31 mark. Elon wouldn’t go away and used a three-pointer from Tierra Bumbrey to cut the lead to 22-20 and as the teams traded buckets down the stretch but UNCG closed the half with a 7-4 run to take a 29-24 lead into the break.
Elon’s McMoore led all-scorers with 10 points at the break on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Brooks led UNCG with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting from the floor and had a team-high four rebounds. The Spartans had a season-low three turnovers in the first stanza.
The Spartans hit the road for two games and open their two-game road trip at Georgia Southern on Feb. 2. First tip is set for 3 p.m. in Georgia Southern’s Hanner Fieldhouse. Elon steps out of the SoCon to take on Presbyterian Wednesday morning at 11:45 a.m.
Chattanooga 73, College of Charleston 63
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Forwards Alex Anderson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) each posted double-doubles and combined for 39 points and 29 rebounds to lead Chattanooga (17-3, 9-0) to a 73-63 victory over the College of Charleston (9-9, 5-3) Saturday evening in a Southern Conference women’s basketball game at The McKenzie Arena. The victory for the Lady Mocs is their 12th straight dating back to December 15, 2007.
Leading 57-52 with 6:22 to play in regulation, Chattanooga used an 11-2 run over the next 3:44 to take a commanding 68-54 lead with 2:38 to play. After withstanding a late Cougar rally, the Lady Mocs then closed out the 73-63 victory to move to a perfect 9-0 in the Southern Conference.
It was a very different game for much of the first half, however, as the College of Charleston led most of the way after taking an 11-8 lead at the 13:38 mark and extending that to 17-13 with 9:35 to play. Chattanooga would stay within four points over the next 4:35 until a basket by sophomore center Deidra Jones pushed the Cougars advantage to 25-19 with 5:04 remaining in the half.
At that point, the Lady Mocs offense came to life with a 7-0 run to take a 26-25 lead on a 3-pointer from senior guard Amy Mohr who started her first career game. The Cougars would take the lead back on the very next possession on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Erica Williams to go up 28-26. A 6-2 run to close out the half, keyed by a pair of layups by junior guard LaCondra Mason (Chattanooga, Tenn.), gave the Lady Mocs a 32-30 advantage heading into the break.
It continued to be a tight affair in the second half as Chattanooga maintained its lead, but never by more than four points until Hollinquest connected on two free throws to make the score 47-41 with 11:21 to play in the half. The Cougars battled back, drawing to within three points twice, before back-to-back layups by Hollinquest extended the Lady Mocs lead to 53-46 with 9:34 to play. The teams then alternated baskets until it was 57-52 and strong defense and solid foul shooting keyed Chattanooga’s 11-2 run.
Junior forward Nikki Williams led the Cougars with a team-high 14 points while junior guard Jill Furstenburg contributed 13 points and six rebounds. Jones and freshman guard Tonia Gerty rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while sophomore guard Ashley Scott contributed a solid all-around game with six points, four rebounds and a game-high five assists.
For the Lady Mocs, Alex Anderson led the way with a game-high 21 points to go along with 13 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and Shanara Hollinquest posted her second double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Junior guard LaCondra Mason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) chipped in a career-best 12 points while sophomore guard Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) added 10 points.
The Lady Mocs return to action on Monday, January 28 when they host Georgia Southern in a 7 p.m. contest at The McKenzie Arena. The Cougars will travel to Western Carolina Monday night in a 5 p.m. contest.
NOTES
? 12 consecutive wins for Chattanooga is fifth longest in school history
? Chattanooga is tied with Illinois State for longest active winning streak at 12. UConn has won 18 straight.
? Sixth double-double for Anderson. She now has 1,517 career points. Just the fifth player in school history to score more than 1,500.
? Second double-double for Hollinquest
? Career high mintues (35) for Amy Mohr. Tied her career-high points with nine.
? Career-high points (12) for LaCondra Mason
? First game this season for Brooke Hand without a 3-pointer.