Furman 75, Appalachian State 66
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Melissa Liebschwager scored 21 points and added a game high six assists to propel Furman to a 75-66 win over visiting Appalachian State in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Liebschwager, a senior guard from Memphis, Tennessee, connected on 6-of-12 field goals, including a game high 4-of-6 3-pointers, and converted 5-of-6 free throws for her 21 points, just one shy of her career high. Kali Holtfreter added 18 points along with a game high seven rebounds, and Katie Johnson chipped in 16 and six boards for Furman (5-5, 1-2 SoCon), which claimed its second straight victory.
Sam Ramirez poured a game and career high 22 points for Appalachian State (1-8, 0-3 SoCon), and Canesha Edwards claimed a season high 17 rebounds for the Mountaineers, who dropped their fifth straight.
Furman shot 40.3 percent from the field, making good on 25-of-62 shots, including 8-of-22 3- pointers. Appalachian State, meanwhile, converted 36.5 percent of its field goal attempts (23-of-63), including 4-of-12 3-pointers.
The Mountaineers claimed a 51-40 rebounding advantage, including a 32-17 margin in the second half, but ASU’s solid work on the boards was neutralized by 26 turnovers.
A Kali Holtfreter 3-pointer a minute and a half into the game put Furman ahead 6-4, and the Paladins never trailed the rest of the way.
With Furman leading 43-33 at intermission, Appalachian State’s Sam Ramirez and Brittany Mixon delivered a pair of baskets to make it 43-37 at the 17:32 mark of the second half.
The Paladins responded with a decisive 14-2 run over the next three minutes to take control of the contest. A pair of 3-pointers by Holtfreter and two treys by Liebschwager, including a long range missile at the 14:30 mark, stretched Furman’s lead to 57-39.
The Paladins led 66-49 with eight and a half minutes left before Appalachian State’s man-to-man defensive pressure helped ignite a 10-0 run that trimmed the lead to 66-59 with 4:57 to go following a free throw by Sade Means.
A Holtfreter layup with 4:41 to go snapped Furman’s near four-minute scoring drought and put the Paladins back up by nine points at 68-59.
From that point the Mountaineers twice cut the lead to seven points, but Furman put the game away with strong defense and by converting 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch.
Furman returns to action on Monday when it travels to College of Charleston for a 7:00 p.m. game. Appalachian State travels to Washington, D.C., to face Georgetown at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 28.
Missouri State 77, Chattanooga 68
CANCUN, MEXICO --- After jumping out to a nine-point lead to start the game, the Lady Mocs played catch up the remainder of the game trailing by as much as 19 points in the second half and fell 77-68 to Missouri State in the finals of the Caribbean Classic at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico Saturday afternoon.
Chattanooga battled back and got as close as nine points, but couldn’t break the barrier and succumbed to the Bears who were led in scoring by Casey Garrison’s 24 points, 18 of which were scored in the first half.
The Lady Mocs started the game with a flash and scored nine unanswered points on Missouri State who didn’t hit a bucket until nearly four-and-a-half minutes were gone in the game. The Bears got into the game and managed to take a 15-14 lead with 11:03 to play in the first half and the two teams battled back and forth over the next six minutes before Melissa Busby’s 3-pointer with 5:19 to play in the half tied it up 27-27.
The Bears claimed the lead on a 3-pointer from Garrison and went on to take a 10-point lead into halftime.
Over the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Bears pushed the lead to its game-high of 19 points at 64-45. Chattanooga pushed and got as close as nine three times in the latter part of the half but could get no closer and fell for the fifth time this season to move to 8-5 overall.
Missouri State improved to 4-7 overall and had four players in double figures on the day. Maggie Dwyer and Jacque Griggs each had 12 points and Jaleshia Roberson chipped in 10.
Erin Ogan led Chattanooga with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds while Shanara Hollinquest also posted a double-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals. The Lady Mocs shot 37.7 percent on the day making just 23-of-61 and were 8-of-28 from the 3-point line.
Missouri State posted a strong first half and stayed steady to shoot 50 percent for the game and was 7-of-16 from the perimeter.
The Lady Mocs will take the holiday break off and return to action against Southern Conference foe UNC Greensboro at the Roundhouse on Dec. 31 at 3 p.m.