Chattanooga 82, Furman 38
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Senior LaCondra Mason led four players in double-digit points as Chattanooga sailed past Furman, 82-38, to move to 2-0 in Southern Conference play in women’s basketball action Tuesday night.
The Lady Mocs shot 72 percent in the second half to overpower the Paladins and break Furman’s three-game home winning streak.
Furman’s only lead came with a two-point shot by junior Kali Holtfreter to start the game. A quick answer from Chattanooga’s Tagan Hatchett evened the score, and the Lady Mocs steadily built their lead throughout the first half, working to a 33-20 lead heading into the break.
The Lady Mocs continued to build their lead in the second half, using strong shooting to wear down the Paladin defense and taking the 82-38 win.
Chattanooga was led by Mason’s 16 points, while junior Shanara Hollinquest recorded 12 points and senior Erin Ogan and junior Jenaya Wade-Fray each added 10 points. Hollinquest also led the Lady Mocs with nine rebounds, helping the team out-rebound Furman 42-28.
Junior Lee Stephens led Furman with 19 total points, her seventh double-digit scoring game of the season. Stephens also led the Paladins with six rebounds, while Melissa Liebschwager added three blocks.
With the loss, the Paladins fall to 3-5 on the season and 0-2 in league play while Chattanooga improves to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the SoCon. The Paladins will take the court again on Saturday, December 13 against non-conference opponent Berry. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. Chattanooga visits Wofford Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.
Charlotte 72, Davidson 64
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Davidson placed at least three players in double figures for the fourth time in the past five games, but Charlotte countered with five players in double digits, including Danielle Burgin who scored nine of the 49ers' last 16 points in guiding Charlotte to a 72-64 win over the Wildcats on Tuesday evening at John M. Belk Arena in the cross-county rivalry.
Davidson saw its two-game winning streak come to an end, falling to 3-6 overall in the non-conference tilt. Charlotte picked up its fourth straight victory, and sixth in the past seven games, to run its record to 7-2. The 49ers now lead the all-time series 11-10, having won five of the past six meetings.
Burgin finished with 11 points, nine of them coming in a 16-2 game-clinching run in the last four minutes when Charlotte turned a 59-56 Wildcat lead into a 72-61 advantage with just 24 second left in the contest.
The 6-5 post player was one of four Charlotte starters to hit double digits, led by Traci Ray's 17 points, 15 of them coming from behind the arc. The 49ers hit 7-of-12 from three-land, including five in the first half when they took a 33-25 lead at halftime.
Davidson was led by senior Mercedes Robinson's 14 points and seven rebounds, followed by junior Alex Thompson and Ashley Lax with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Thompson, fresh off Southern Conference Player of the Week honors after dropping in a school-and league-record nine three-pointers on her way to a school-record tying 35 points at Appalachian State, continued her hot streak from downtown by canning 4-of-9 shots from behind the arc.
Trailing 52-42 with 10:22 left in the game, freshman Amanda Ottaway started a 17-4 run with a put-back on an offensive rebound, and Lax and Thompson capped it off with back-to-back shots from three-point range to give Davidson its first lead of the game at 59-56 with 4:08 on the clock.
Charlotte responded though, by feeding Burgin in the lane on five of its next seven possessions as she helped carry the 49ers to the eight-point win with her nine points to close out the game.
Ray lead the way for Charlotte in the first half, draining two of her four first-half three-pointers through the first 10 minutes as Charlotte doubled up the 'Cats at 12-6.
Another three-ball, this time from Aysha Jones, pushed the 49er advantage out to 24-12 with 5:04 left in the half.
Freshman Amanda Ottaway kept the Wildcats close by draining a three-pointer and later hitting a layup on her way to seven points in the half as Davidson went into halftime down eight. Ottaway came off the bench for a season-high nine points and led Davidson with a personal-best eight rebounds in guiding the 'Cats to a 46-39 edge on the glass. Of their 46 total rebounds, 16 of the Wildcats boards came on the offensive end as they got 15 second chance points.
Despite hitting just 27.8 percent of its shots in the first stanza, Davidson finished the game shooting 36.1 percent from the field thanks to a 44.4 percent shooting performance in second half. Eight of Davidson's 26 field goals came from behind the arc as it finished 8-for-20, marking the fourth straight game the Wildcats have swished home at least seven three-pointers in a game.
Charlotte's Jones and Floyd rounded out the four starters who scored in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively, while Shannon McCallum came off the bench to tie Ray with a game-high 17 points, 10 of them coming in the first half.
Davidson stays at home as it returns to league play, hosting Western Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.