Davidson 66, College of Charleston 51
Charleston, S.C. ? The College of Charleston women’s basketball team rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to take a two-point lead in the second half but suffered through a shooting drought the remainder of the game and fell to the Davidson Wildcats, 66-51, in action tonight at the John Kresse Arena.
Charleston falls to 5-7 overall and 1-1 in the Southern Conference, while Davidson improves to 8-5 and 2-0 in league play.
Charleston outscored Davidson 19-11 to open the second half and even led 41-39 with 12:17 left. The Cougars would only post 10 more points the rest of the game as Davidson outscored CofC 27-10 to end the game with the 15-point 66-51 win. Davidson ended the game converting on eight-of-eight free throws.
The Cougars were cold from the field in the first half, converting just three baskets and two free throws but only trailed 13-9 with 9:45 to go before intermission. Davidson went on an 11-4 run to increase its lead to 24-13 with 5:32 left. Charleston responded with a 10-4 run the remainder of the half to head into the locker room down by five, 28-23. Deidra Jones led the run with six points as part of her 12-point night.
The Cougars shot 33.3 percent in the second half for a 29.5 percentage for the game. Davidson went 22-for-53 for 41.5 percent. The Wildcats went 17-for-24 from the line, while the Cougars were a perfect 12-for-12. Davidson held the 41-37 edge in rebounds, which included 26 defensive boards, compared to 20 for CofC. Turnovers were even at 18 apiece.
Four Wildcats scored in double-figures with Mercedes Robinson leading all scorers with 16. She also paced the team with 14 rebounds for a double-double. Jones led the Cougars with her 12 points, while Brooke Kotcella and Jill Furstenburg followed with 10 each. Furstenburg also led in rebounds with six.
Charleston travels to Elon Saturday, Jan. 5 for a 2:00 pm game, while the Wildcats host Western Carolina the same day and the same time.
UNC Greensboro 66, Furman 54
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Senior Kemena Brooks led two Lady Spartans in double-digit points with 18 to lead UNC Greensboro to a 66-54 victory over Furman.
The Lady Paladins jumped out to an early 18-6 lead in the first half and lead 24-28 going into the break, helped by sophomore Kali Holtfreter’s nine points and junior Katie Johnson’s four rebounds.
Despite its lead, the team was unable to take the win, allowing UNC Greensboro a 14-0 run to take the lead 41-38. From there, the Lady Spartans led by as many as 11 points to take the game by a score of 66-54.
UNC Greensboro was led by Brooks’ 18 points, while junior Gini Grimsley added 14. Senior Brittany Frazier led the team with 11 total rebounds.
Sophomore Kali Holtfreter led the Lady Paladins with 18 points, while senior Chrissy Phelps contributed ten, eight of which came from the free throw line. Redshirt freshman Susan Troutman led the team with 5 boards.
With the loss, Furman falls to 4-9 overall and 0-3 in Southern Conference play, while UNC Greensboro improves to 3-10 overall and picks up its first league victory.
The Lady Paladins return to action Saturday, Jan. 5 with a trip to cross-town rival Wofford. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. UNC Greensboro resumes play Saturday afternoon at 12:00 when it hosts Georgia Southern.
Wofford 83, Bethune-Cookman 71 (OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Wofford needed an extra five minutes, but the Terriers took advantage of the additional time to pull away for an 83-71 triumph Wednesday afternoon in non-conference women's basketball action against Bethune-Cookman inside the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. The contest was the first overtime tilt for both schools this season.
The Terriers built a six-point halftime cushion and then would push their lead to as high as 16 in the second half on a corner 3-pointer by junior Laura Depko at 13:50 to make it 45-29. The Wildcats, however, did not back down and slowly chipped away at the lead. Bethune-Cookman (3-9) would then tally the next nine points to dwindle the margin to seven, 45-38, with 12:05 to play in regulation.
Back-to-back layups by Cleniece Roberts and Demetria Frank with just over 10 minutes remaining trimmed the deficit to three before junior Liz Miller netted a jumper at 9:35 to give Wofford (8-4) a five-point edge, 49-44. Following missed opportunities on the Terrier end, Keturah Newkirk hit a triple with 8:27 left to make the lead two, 49-47.
Sophomore Kelly Dwyer would then hit a 3-pointer, followed by another from classmate Natalie Gramblin as Wofford increased its lead back to eight with seven minutes showing on the clock in regulation. Dwyer kept the Wildcats at a double-digit deficit with her second trey to make it 62-52 with 2:57 remaining.
Bethune-Cookman, however, would not go away despite a pair of free throws from sophomore Kathlyn Varno at 2:08 giving Wofford an 11-point lead, 64-53. The Wildcats outscored the hosts 13-2 over the final two minutes, which was started by a 3-pointer via Frank. After B-C, down two, forced a Terrier turnover with six seconds left, Frank fed a wide-open Natasha Ferguson underneath for the game-tying layup as the buzzer sounded, which forced overtime.
In the extra time, the Terriers would not be denied as they hit 4-of-5 field goals and 9-of-10 foul shots to pull away and outscore the Wildcats 17-5 in the extra frame. Wofford held the visitors off the board until a jumper by Jasmine Daniels at 1:37 brought B-C within nine, 77-68.
The first period featured a tightly played affair with Varno hitting a layup at 8:54 to knot the score at 15-15, which would prove to be the final tie until the end of regulation. The Terriers used an 8-0 run, capped by a basket from junior Summer Nichols, to open the margin before taking a six-point, 30-24, halftime lead.
Varno finished with her second double-double of the campaign, and third in her career, with a career-best 14 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Her other double-double came at Gardner-Webb Dec. 4.
Dwyer netted a career-best 16 points to pace Wofford, while her five steals tied a career high and seven boards were one shy of a career-best outing.
Miller gave the Terriers a trio of players in double-figure scoring with 15 points, while she hauled in a career-best eight rebounds and dished a season-high seven assists.
Ferguson led the Wildcats and all players with 20 points and 12 caroms. She was one of two Bethune-Cookman players with a double-double, as Newkirk added 18 points and 10 boards. Frank finished with 16 points and a team-high six assists.
Wofford, winners of five straight for the first time since the 2001-02 squad opened its campaign with five in a row, will return to Southern Conference action when it hosts Upstate rival Furman at 6 p.m. Saturday in the second half of a Terrier basketball doubleheader. The contest will follow the men's game at 3 p.m. against West Virginia Wesleyan.