Western Carolina 68, Lafayette 51
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina women’s basketball (1-1) scored 37 points in the second half and held Lafayette (0-2) to just 17, in the final 20 minutes, to defeat the Leopards, 68-51, in the first round of the Preseason WNIT Consolation Bracket Friday in the Ramsey Center. The Lady Catamounts will face Liberty (1-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the winner’s bracket while Lafayette and UC Riverside will play the night-cap at 9:30 p.m.
Lafayette opened the second half, leading Western Carolina 34-31, with a two-point bucket by LaKeisha Wright ? it would prove to be the last field goal scored by the Leopards for over six minutes. In that time, Western Carolina reeled off a 12-0 run to build a 43-36 advantage at the 15:41 mark. The Lady Catamounts run began with a three-point bucket by senior Lauren Powell. WCU was also 5-of-5 at the free throw line in the scoring run and also enjoyed a field goal by Kendra Eaton.
Eaton was a force under the basket for Western Carolina. She ended the contest with a season-high 16 points and also had eight boards and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Emily Clarke was the only other Lady Catamount to score in double figures with 10 points and was 2-for-2 from behind the arch.
Lafayette did manage to trim the Western Carolina lead to four, 45-41, which was the closest the Leopards would get in the second half. A pair of free throws by Kristen Feemster and a three-pointer by Clarke pushed the Lady Catamount lead to 10 and WCU didn’t relinquish a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
The Lady Catamount freshmen saw plenty of quality minutes in the game against Lafayette. Kalia’Shea Menendez showed her calm as the clock wound down to end the game as with a second left she buried a three-pointer from the left side as the buzzer sounded. Menendez ended the contest with a career-high nine points and was 2-for-3 from the three point line.
Western Carolina won the rebounding advantage with 42 to Lafayette’s 33, however, the club had just nine offensive boards. The team shot 40.8 percent from the field and was 23-31 from the free throw line for 74.2 percent.
Brooke Johnson led the Catamounts in rebounding with all of her nine boards coming from the defensive side. She also had six points and one block, marking the second straight game she has notched at least one block in a game.
With the win over Lafayette, Western Carolina picked up its first win in a Preseason WNIT event and is now 2-0 in WNIT contests the Lady Catamounts host. Overall WCU is 2-3 in the WNIT.
The pair of games on Saturday closes out the Preseason WNIT for all four teams in Cullowhee.
Samford 58, New Orleans 46
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team placed three players in double figures as the Bulldogs overcame a slow start to defeat New Orleans, 58-46 in Samford's home opener Friday night at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford was led by Savannah Hill with 14 points, four rebounds and five assists. Emily London scored 12 points and Alex Crow added a career-high 11 points for the Bulldogs.
For New Orleans, Ty Felder scored 11 points and Candice McGee added 10 points for the Lady Privateers.
New Orleans scored the first six points of the game, but when Samford head coach Mike Morris substituted five new players for the original starters, the Bulldogs turned things around.
"I thought we started the game poorly and they did a good job of taking it right to us," Morris said. "I was very pleased with that second group we put in. They really got the game right. We were down and had not been playing right and we subbed five in and they were able to do what we wanted to do."
The five new players were freshmen Jazmine Powers, J'Quita Babineaux and Paige Anderson, along with redshirt freshman Crow and senior Karmen Smith.
With the new five players in the game, Samford went on an 11-0 run to take an 11-6 lead with 11:30 to go in the first half after a layup by Crow. Samford pushed its lead to six at 15-9, but UNO then went on a 6-0 run of its own to tie the score at 15-15 with 7:44 to go in the half.
With the game tied at 17-17, Samford went on a 14-3 run to take a 31-20 lead with 3:22 to play after a jumper by Hill. The Bulldogs took a 33-22 lead into halftime.
Samford pushed its lead out to 13 early in the second half at 37-24. With Samford leading, 39-26, UNO went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 39-32 with 13:35 left in the game.
The Lady Privateers cut the Samford lead to six at 42-36 with 12:11 to play, but Samford then went on an 8-1 run to push the lead back out to 13 at 50-37 with 8:03 to go after a layup by Crow. New Orleans could get no closer than eight the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 58-46 win.
With the win, Samford improves to 3-0, while UNO drops to 2-1 on the season. Samford had another strong defensive performance, holding UNO to 7.7 percent from three-point range and forcing the Lady Privateers into 26 turnovers, compared to Samford's 11 turnovers.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Nov. 24, when the Bulldogs play at Lipscomb. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off from Nashville, Tenn.
Furman 75, South Carolina State 41
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The Paladin women’s basketball team earned its third win of the season with a 75-41 victory over SC State on Friday on the Carolina First Court in Timmons Arena.
Although SC State scored the first basket within the first 30 seconds of the game, Furman took the lead with a three-pointer by junior Lee Stephens at the 16:30 mark and controlled the remainder of the game. The Paladins steadily built their lead throughout the first half, leading by as many as 23 points before heading into the break with a score of 38-17.
The Paladins continued their strong play in the second half, earning the first two points with a layup by junior Kali Holtfreter and continuing to build their lead, for a final score of 75-41.
“Our defense was very solid and we rebounded very well,” commented head coach Sam Dixon on his team’s victory. “That was a big focus for us coming into this game because they were one of the top rebounding teams in the MEAC a year ago. I thought we executed very well.”
The Lady Bulldogs were led by senior Marie Reid’s 16 total points on 6-14 shooting from the field. Reid also led SC State with six total rebounds.
Furman was led by Lee Stephens’ 15 total points, while Kali Holtfreter and Melissa Liebschwager each added 14 and Susan Troutman contributed a career-high 11 points and added four blocks. Senior Sarah Baker led the team with 11 rebounds.
With the win, Furman improves to 3-0 on the season while SC State falls to 0-2. The Paladins will embark on their first road trip of the season when they travel to Austin, Texas to take on 14th-ranked Texas on Sunday, November 23.
No. 5/13 Tennessee 66, Chattanooga 63
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- In front of 7,008 fans, the Lady Mocs stood toe-to-toe with the Tennessee Lady Vols but faltered at the end, falling 66-63 Friday night at the McKenzie Arena.
The Lady Mocs drained five of their nine three-pointers in a 19-1 run sparked by junior Jenaya Wade Fray’s trey at the 13:35 mark of the second half. Sophomore Bailey Dewart drained three of her career-best four three-pointers in the run capping it off with 8:08 to play to give Chattanooga its largest lead of the game at 58-50.
The Lady Vols got a free throw from Glory Johnson and a layup from Shekinna Stricklen to get within five, but Megan Rollins nailed a three to push the lead back to eight. Seven unanswered points on a trio of layups and a free throw by Tennessee, cut into Chattanooga’s lead and make it 61-60 with 4:11 to play. Junior Shanara Hollinquest put the lead back up to three at 63-60 with 3:24 to play, but Chattanooga would not score again the remainder of the game, getting outscored 16-5 down the stretch.
Foul trouble would get the better of the Lady Mocs who were whistled for 30 fouls to the Lady Vols’ 20. UTK struggled at the line making just 23-of-43 attempts while Chattanooga put on a show from the charity stripe making 16-of-17. Hollinquest and senior Erin Ogan each fouled out in the final minute of the game for Chattanooga.
The Lady Vols tied the game 63-63 on a wide-open three from Alicia Manning in front of the UTK bench. Dewart’s jumper was blocked by Vicki Baugh and recovered by Glory Johnson. Baugh was fouled by Hollinquest with 52 seconds remaining to send her to the bench. Baugh missed the front end of her two free throws, but made the second to give UT its final lead.
The Lady Mocs missed a pair of jumpers that would have put them on top and Ogan fouled out on the Tennessee end of the court with five seconds to play. Baugh missed both of her free throws, but a misstep by transfer Rollins put the ball back into UTK’s hands at the end of the game.
Following a UTC time out, Rollins, with the ball out of bounds, called a time-out when she couldn’t find the open player to avoid a five-second call. However, Chattanooga did not have a timeout in their pocket and a technical took the ball away from the Lady Mocs with just a few ticks to play.
Cait McMahan made the first of her two free throws and a foul by Wade-Fray put Shekinna Stricklen at the line with 2.6 seconds on the clock. She made the first of her two shots but missed her second and time ran out as both teams fought for the rebound.
The Lady Mocs outdid UTK from the perimeter sinking 9-of-23 from three-point land. Hollinquest made Chattanooga’s first three-pointer of the game ? her first-ever that counted ? with 2:40 to play in the first half. The Lady Mocs got treys from six different players for the second time in two games while Tennessee got one trey on 11 attempts. Hollinquest made three-pointer against Lee University earlier this year, but that was in an exhibition game.
Chattanooga’s bench again proved to be productive with a 30-point effort led by Dewart’s career-high 12 points on four 3-pointers. Hollinquest posted her second double-double of the season with a team-best 17 points and 11 rebounds. Rollins chipped in seven points for the Lady Mocs and Townsend grabbed a career-best seven boards.
Glory Johnson had a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Vols while Alyssia Brewer was the only other UT player in double digits with 10 points. Shekinna Stricklen had nine points and seven boards for the Lady Vols while Cait McMahan, Amber Gray and Alicia Manning each chipped in seven.
The Lady Vols outrebounded Chattanooga 45-39 while the Lady Mocs dished out 14 assists led by Ogan’s four. Tenisha Townsend, who started at the point for UTC had three as did Dewart.
NOTES:
Tennessee redshirt freshman Kelley Cain did not make the trip to Chattanooga while still recovering from a knock to the head. Sophomore Angie Bjorklund did not play while resting her back.
For the second time in two games, the Lady Mocs had six different players made at least one three-pointer.
Anelia Murray: Career-high six points
Tenisha Townsend: Career-high seven rebounds
Bailey Dewart: Career-high 12 points
Career-high four 3-pointers
Shanara Hollinquest: Second double-double of season (two games)
Andrea Neil: Career-high five points
Megan Rollins: Career-high seven points, two rebounds
North Carolina A&T 90, Elon 60
ELON, N.C. ? The Elon women’s basketball team fell to the defending MEAC champions and 2008 NCAA tournament participant North Carolina A&T 90-60. The loss drops Elon to 1-3 on the year, while the Aggies improve to 4-0.
Leading the way was Amber Wall who poured 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the effort. Urysla Cotton, Tiara Gause and Julie Taylor each had eight points. Elon shot just 37.5% from the floor but made six three-pointers. Elon was also 12-for-25 from the free throw line.
Lamona Smalley earned a double-double for the Aggies with 10 rebounds and 15 points. Three other Aggies scored in double-digits, led by preseason MEAC Player of the Year, Amber Bland.
The Lady Aggies started the game on a 9-0 run that was stopped by a three-point basket by Gause that put the Phoenix on the board. Seven N.C. A&T points later, Courtney Medley hit another three that cut the Lady Aggie lead to 10. The Aggie lead extended to 15, at the 21-6 mark, following a jumper by Bland.
Aiesha Harper recorded a steal that was followed by a layup that ended the N.C. A&T run and give the Phoenix its eighth point. N.C. A&T retook a 16-point lead that was cut to 13 following a three-point shot by Tiffany Davis.
The Aggies opened up to their largest lead of the half at 19 points following a 4-0 run. Elon cut the lead to 14 at 44-30 with less that a minute remaining in the half. With two seconds remaining the first half, Ta’Wauna Cook made a layup into a three-point play after a foul by Wall that sent Elon into the locker room trailing 30-47.
Wall scored the first points of the second half for Elon with a layup at the 17-minuute mark to make it a 53-32 ballgame. With just under 16 minutes remaining in the game, Wall sank a shot from the charity stripe that was followed by a layup from Cotton that cut the N.C. A&T lead to 24 at 59-35.
A 5-0 run with 10 minutes to play brought the Phoenix within 26 at 68-42. The Aggies continued to protect their lead, never allowing Elon to come within 24. Davis gave Elon its 50th and 51st point after sinking a pair of free throws.
With less that a minute to play, Jess Luedtke and Jermile Batten scored their first points of the season off of free throws, but it would be too late as N.C. A&T ran away with a 90-60 win.
Elon will have a week off before traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Pitt Thanksgiving Classic Elon will face host-school Pitt on Nov. 28 at 4 p.m. and will take on either Youngstown State or Weber State on Nov. 29.
Wake Forest 68, Appalachian State 35
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Sad? Means scored nine points and pulled down 10 rebounds but Appalachian State University women's basketball struggled with turnovers and field goal shooting as Wake Forest dealt the Mountaineers a 68-35 loss on Friday at the Joel Memorial Coliseum Annex.
Means connected on 4 of her 12 shots on the night and sank 1-of-3 free throws to lead the Mountaineer offense. She swatted a block and snagged a steal but accounted for 10 of ASU's season-high 38 turnovers.
The Apps hit just three of their first 10 shots to fall into a 14-10 hole early on, before the Demon Deacons took off on a 16-4 run before both teams settled down late in the half as ASU made up a little ground to take a 33-18 deficit at halftime.
ASU scored nine second-chance points and finished with 12 in the game.
Appalachian (0-3) turned the ball over 17 times in the first half, which led to 13 Demon Deacon points. Neither team shot particularly well in the opening 20 minutes, as ASU hit just 7-of-24 shots for 29 percent while WFU hit 39 percent of its shots. The Apps did have one bright spot in the half with a 21-19 edge in rebounding.
Along with Means, Sam Ramirez and Brittney Spencer scored four points each in the first half to lead the team. Ramirez was held scoreless in the second half but totaled four rebounds and two assists while leading the team with three steals. Spencer tallied six points in the game on 3-for-6 six shooting with three rebounds.
Freshman Canesha Edwards came back down to earth after starting her career with a pair of double-doubles. The Newnan, Ga. native was still active on the glass with eight rebounds but scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in 27 minutes.
Wake Forest (2-0) came out firing after the intermission and scored five points within the next 45 seconds and scored the first 11 points of the half. Nearly five minutes elapsed before the Apps got on the board, as Frances Hernandez knocked down the team's only three-pointer of the game to cut the score to 44-21.
Hernandez finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Catherine Williams pulled down a career-best five rebounds and added one point.
Surprisingly, the 35 points were the most allowed by the Demon Deacons this season, as they held UNC Greensboro to just 27 in the season opener. The last time Appalachian failed to score 40 points was 2005-06, when ASU was held to 38 by Chattanooga.
Appalachian returns home to host Alabama A&M on Monday at 7 p.m.