College of Charleston 62, UNC Greensboro 37
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team dropped its second consecutive game as it fell to College of Charleston, 62-37 in SoCon women’s basketball action in Fleming Gym on Monday afternoon.
UNCG (3-12, 1-3 SoCon) was led by Gini Grimsley who had eight points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field. Senior forward Jasmine Dixon was UNCG’s next leading scorer with six points on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor. Brittany Frazier collected a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.
“I am disappointed in today’s game,” said head coach Lynne Agee. “The effort is there but we aren’t doing the things that we need to do in the fundamental areas of the game. We’re playing tentative, as if we are afraid to lose.”
College of Charleston (7-7, 3-1 SoCon) had two players in double figures and was led by Nikki Williams and Jill Furstenburg. Williams had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and tallied 10 rebounds while Furstenburg contributed 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor.
The Spartans bench outscored College of Charleston’s bench, 25-11 while the Cougars held a slim rebounding edge, 43-37.
The teams traded buckets early in the half but the Cougars went on a 5-0 run and pushed their lead to 33-21, their largest lead of the game, at the 15:39 mark of the second half. Brittany Frazier picked up her play in the second half and had two key buckets but the Spartans couldn’t stop the Cougars who went on an 8-0 to extend their lead to 39-23 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
College of Charleston went cold from the floor midway through the half and but UNCG couldn’t put together anything on the offensive side of things as the Cougars kept their lead at 14 points with just under eight minutes remaining. The Spartans got a spark from reserves Sharniece Wadelington and TaShama Banner, who each had several key buckets late in the game. UNCG would get as close as 11 points in the final minutes but couldn’t’ get any closer and dropped their second consecutive game.
College of Charleston jumped out to a 9-0 lead early and forced UNCG into several key turnovers early in the game Williams came out hot and accounted for five of the Cougars first nine points, including a deep three-pointer at the 16:24 mark. Lakiah Hyson finally ended UNCG’s 4:38 minute scoring drought with a jumper but the Cougars were able to extend their lead to 12-4 before a bucket from Gini Grimsley kept the College of Charleston lead at 12-6 at the 11:29 mark.
The Spartans were able to find a little bit of offense and used a three pointer from Brooks to cut the lead to 15-9 midway through the first half. UNCG got the lead down to 20-15 with a triple from Grimsley but Williams completed a three-point play and College of Charleston was able to again extend their lead. The Spartans cut into the lead a little before the end of the half when Gini Grimsley was fouled on three point shot but the Cougars went into the break ahead, 26-18.
The Spartans hit the road for their next two games beginning with a match-up at Western Carolina on Saturday. First tip is set for 4 p.m. at Western Carolina’s Ramsey Center. Charleston returns home to host Furman Saturday at 2 p.m.
Chattanooga 67, Davidson 47
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Alex Anderson and Shanara Hollinquest combined for 31 points and 18 rebounds to lead Chattanooga to a 67-47 SoCon women's basketball victory over Davidson Monday night in Belk Arena.
The Mocs (12-3, 4-0 SoCon) worked the ball inside all night, and the forwards combined to shoot 12-for-24 from the field. Anderson recorded 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots to go along with four assists. Hollinquest finished with 14 points and 10 boards. Brooke Hand added 15 points.
Senior Honna Housley led Davidson (8-7, 2-2 SoCon) by matching her career-best with 17 points, and freshman Kelsey Cary had seven points off the bench. Junior Mercedes Robinson and senior Danielle Hemerka each registered eight rebounds to lead the Wildcats, who hauled in 23 offensive rebounds.
Davidson could not get it going on the offensive end and shot 27.3 percent from the field for the game, including 4-of-19 from 3-point range. Defensively, the Wildcats recorded 13 steals and forced 22 turnovers.
Leading 44-35 early in the second half, Chattanooga scored 12 straight points, capped by a pair of Hollinquest free throws to open a decisive 21-point lead. The margin grew to as many as 24 with 6:54 to play, and the Wildcats never got it under 19 points for the rest of the game.
Davidson trailed 22-19 after a pair of Housley free throws, when Chattanooga used a 13-4 run to distance itself. The Mocs went inside, and Anderson scored seven of her nine first-half points during the stretch.
After Robinson hit a layup, neither team could score for the final 2:05 of the period as Chattanooga went into the break with a 35-25 cushion.
The 'Cats return to action when they host SoCon rival Appalachian State Saturday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. in Belk Arena. The Lady Mocs look to stay perfect in the SoCon when they host Elon Saturday, Jan. 12 at 12:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised by SportSouth.
Game Notes: Davidson has now lost 18 straight to Chattanooga with its last win coming on Jan. 23, 1999 S it was the second game in a row the Wildcats had just one player in double figures in points S the 47-point output for the 'Cats was its lowest point total since it school just 41 against San Francisco on Nov. 28, 2003 S Mandy Halbersleben tied her personal-best with six rebounds S Davidson's bench outscored Chattanooga, 20-10.
Georgia Southern 64, Elon 46
ELON, N.C. ? Ashley Melson pumped in a contest-best 12 points and Jessica Geiger posted 11 points and eight rebounds as Georgia Southern beat Elon 64-46 in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Monday night at Alumni Gym.
“Jessica Geiger is one of those players that you are not going to pick up the newspaper the next morning and see huge, outstanding numbers by,” Georgia Southern coach Rusty Cram said. “But she is a coach’s dream because she does everything right. Very seldom does she make a mistake. She’s a very fundamental, solid player. She’s a great post defender and knows how to position herself to get good, solid rebounds.”
The Lady Eagles (7-8 overall, 3-1 SoCon) sprinted to a 13-3 lead to open the contest on a three-point bomb by Geiger with 13:25 remaining in the first frame. The Phoenix (6-9, 2-2) went on an 11-7 spurt to inch within 20-14 on a jumper by Kitara McMoore with 5:53 left to play before the intermission.
Georgia Southern used an 11-2 surge to close out the opening stanza with a 31-16 advantage, following an inside bucket by Christa Waterman with 13 seconds left in the period. In the second half, the Lady Eagles extended their 37-23 edge to a 52-26 cushion with 10:34 left via a 15-3 run after a basket by Tiffany Brown.
Tierra Bumbrey (11 points, five steals), Tiffany Davis (nine points, four assists), McMoore (nine rebounds) and Amber Wall (four steals) led Elon. The Phoenix out-rebounded Georgia Southern 40-37, but committed 18 turnovers to 15 by the Lady Eagles. Georgia Southern outscored Elon 34-24 in the paint, 19-11 off turnovers, 13-4 off second-chance opportunities and 18-10 off the bench.
The Lady Eagles fired 46.3 percent (25 of 54) from the field and 58.8 percent (10 of 17) from the free throw line while the Phoenix shot 31.7 percent (19 of 60) ? 20.7 percent (6 of 29) in the first half ? from the floor and 45.5 percent (5 of 11) from the charity stripe.
“We had no highlights in the first half,” Elon coach Brenda Paul said. “We can’t come out like that and the coaches have to work very hard to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Georgia Southern returns home to battle Wofford at 3 p.m. Saturday and Furman at 7 p.m. Monday while Elon hits the road to visit Chattanooga at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on SportSouth and Western Carolina at noon Monday.
Western Carolina 87, Appalachian State 63
BOONE, N.C. - The Appalachian women's basketball team put up a tough fight against a top Southern Conference foe for the second straight game, but were unable to close the game out. Western Carolina pulled away late in the game with an 87-63 win at the Holmes Center on Monday night.
Western Carolina (10-5, 2-1 SoCon) opened the contest with nine points over the first two and a half minutes before GiGi Thomas turned a pair of steals into layups. Frances Hernandez then drained a three to pull the team within 9-7. Thomas was the team's high scorer with 16 points in the game. She added five steals and an assist.
Western Carolina’s Jessika Johnson led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and a 6-of-7 effort from the charity stripe. Chevon Keith added her sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and Lauren Powell also crossed into double digits with 15 points, including three treys.
Hernandez scored 12 of her 15 points in the first half, and came just three short of tying a career high. The freshman guard was 5-for-15 from the floor with two rebounds and an assist.
Appalachian (2-12, 0-4 SoCon) then fell victim to another run by the Lady Cats, but made the most of of seven steals to pull back within 17-13 at the twelve-minute mark.
Hernandez reached double-figure points in the first half when she knocked down her second trey of the night. Western kept a small lead for a majority of the half, but a Whitney Randolph free throw tied the game at 29-29 with just over a minute to play before the intermission.
Following a three-pointer by the visitors, Brittney Spencer sank a pair from the charity stripe to pull within a single point again, but Western scored six straight in the final few seconds to take a 38-31 advantage into the locker room.
Spencer tallied five steals, two points and two boards in 21 minutes off the bench.
Thomas accounted for the squad's first four points in the second half, but the Mountaineers again found themselves in a hole early on, 48-37. The sophomore went on to score eight of the team's first 14 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Over the span of a minute, Whitney Randolph scored five-straight, getting three points the hard way, followed by a jumper. The scores pulled the team within 69-53. Randolph posted her second career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 boards.
Woeful free throw shooting hurt both teams, as ASU was just 10-for-21 from the charity stripe for the evening. Western was marginally better, with a 13-for-24 mark. ASU shot 43 percent from the field compared to 54 percent for WCU.
Western Carolina has now defeated the Apps in six straight games. Freshman point guard Robin Colbert did not play due to an injury sustained in Saturday's game against Chattanooga.
ASU returns to the hardwood on Saturday at Davidson. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Western Carolina hosts UNC Greensboro Saturday at 4 p.m.
Kentucky 67, Wofford 57
LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Wofford ended the game with a 13-3 run, but host Kentucky held on for a 67-57 win Monday night in non-conference women's basketball action inside Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky. It marked the final out-of-league game for both the Terriers and Wildcats.
Wofford, finding itself down 20, 64-44, with 4:46 to play, trimmed the deficit in half before the game was over. Sophomore Natalie Gramblin hit a 3-pointer, while junior Liz Miller converted a pair of foul shots to bring the Terriers within 14, 64-50. Wofford continued to utilize full-court pressure and following UK's final field goal at 2:04 by Catina Bett, senior Kelsi Koenig answered with a trey in the corner. Sophomore Kathlyn Varno then had a layup and tip-in with :34 seconds to play to knock the gap down to nine, 66-57.
Wofford hung tough early, keeping the score tied at 8-8 following a backcourt steal and uncontested layup by Miller at 15:19. The score would remain knotted for nearly three minutes until Victoria Dunlap started a 7-0 Wildcat run with a bucket. Amani Franklin then added UK's other five points, including a corner 3-pointer, as the hosts took a 15-8 advantage.
A second-chance reverse layup by Varno stopped the Kentucky (6-8) run. Her basket ignited a 6-0 Terrier surge, as junior Kate Dempsey hit a pair of shots to pull Wofford within three, 17-14. Franklin knocked down another triple and Lydia Watkins added a pair of jumpers in the paint for Kentucky. Miller hit a trey in the far corner for Wofford to keep it close, 24-19, with seven-and-a-half minutes to play in the frame.
The Wildcats then used an 8-2 run, including four points from Franklin, to push their lead to 11, 32-21, with 3:54 to play. The two Wofford (9-5) points during the period came on a pair of free throws from Koenig.
Kentucky then turned to the tallest player on the floor, 6-6 Sarah Elliott, for its next six points. She hit two free throws and a couple field goals to end the half with 12 points. Gramblin drilled a top-of-the-key 3-pointer, while Varno added another in-the-paint basket as the Terriers closed to within 12 at the half, 39-27.
The Lady 'Cats went back to Elliott to begin the second stanza, as she hit the team's first field goal. Miller then had a coast-to-coast layup and hit another corner 3-pointer at 14:36 to off-set a triple by UK's Chelsea Chowning. Miller's trey would be the last Wofford points until sophomore Kelly Dwyer hit a 3-pointer of her own at 8:51. However, during that near-six minute stretch, Kentucky tallied 11 points and it held a 61-37 edge with 7:30 to play in the half.
Miller finished as the team's leading scorer for the sixth time in the last seven games with 13 points. She tied a career high and Varno with eight rebounds, while the Terriers' 42 overall caroms matched the output of the Wildcats despite Kentucky being taller than Wofford at nearly every position. Koenig finished with 10 points to give the Terriers a pair of players in double figures.
Elliott led all scorers with 16 points, while Franklin contributed 15. Watkins and Dunlap ended the game with 10 points apiece. Elliott and Watkins were the Lady 'Cats' top rebounders with six each.
Wofford will return to action with a 3 p.m. Saturday contest in Statesboro, Ga., with Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern.