Chattanooga 72, Western Carolina 66
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Senior guard Laura Hall (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) scored a game-high 18 points and senior forward Alex Anderson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) netted her 10th double-double of the season as Chattanooga (26-3, 18-0) defeated Western Carolina (23-7, 15-3) 72-66 Thursday evening in Southern Conference action at the McKenzie Arena. The Lady Mocs closed out the regular season with their third undefeated conference season in five years.
With the Lady Mocs leading 62-48 with 6:28 remaining in the game, Western Carolina mounted a fierce rally outscoring Chattanooga 18-6 over the next 5:53 behind eight points, including two three-pointers, from freshman forward Emily Clarke to close the gap to two points at 68-66 with 35 seconds to play. That would be as close as they would get as Chattanooga’s LaCondra Mason and Jenaya Wade-Fray combined on a 4-for-4 performance down the stretch at the foul line to close out the 72-66 victory.
In the first half, after being held scoreless for nearly the first five minutes of the game, Chattanooga rebounded to tie the game at 6-6 before the Lady Cats went on a 9-2 run to take a 15-8 lead with 11:15 to play in the first half. Then the Lady Mocs came to life, using strong defense and a multi-faceted offense to put together a dominating 21-3 run over the next 7:38 to power out to a 29-18 lead with 3:37 to play in the half. Chattanooga then maintained its double-digit lead and headed into the break with a 38-28 advantage.
In the second half, the Lady Mocs quickly extended their lead to 46-33 with less than four minutes into the second stanza before pushing that advantage to 55-41 with 9:49 remaining in the game. From there, Chattanooga would maintain at least a ten point lead until Western Carolina made their charge with 6:28 to play.
Clarke paced three Catamounts in double-digits as she finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and was joined by senior guard Ashley Pellom who totaled 13 points on the night. Senior guard Monique Dawson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and added four rebounds and three steals.
Hall led the way for Chattanooga with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and pulled down six rebounds while Anderson had 17 points and 10 rebounds. She added a game-high three blocked shots and game-high tying three steals. Sophomore guard Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) chipped in with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting and connected on all five of her free throws along with pulling down five rebounds. Junior forward Erin Ogan (Knoxville, Tenn.) added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
As a team, Chattanooga shot 88.9 percent from the foul line while the Catamounts connected on only 64.3 percent of their tries for the game.
The Lady Mocs return to action on March 7 when they take the floor at the North Charleston Coliseum as the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament. Western Carolina has wrapped up the tournament’s No. 2 seed and will also take the floor in Charleston on March 7.
Davidson 66, Georgia Southern 53
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern women’s basketball team dropped a 66-53 decision to Davidson, Thursday evening (Feb. 28) in its final home game of the season at Hanner Fieldhouse.
On hand were family and friends of Georgia Southern’s four seniors - Shawnda Atwood, Tiffany Brown, Chequilla Jessie and Christa Waterman - as they were honored on Senior Night.
Georgia Southern (16-12) and Davidson (18-10) are now tied with a 12-5 league record, but because Davidson completed the series sweep over GSU, the Wildcats have the advantage going into this weekend’s final games.
If GSU wins on Saturday at Appalachian State, and Davidson loses versus College of Charleston, then Georgia Southern would claim the third seed going into the tournament. Otherwise, the Lady Eagles will hold the fourth seed and will match up with the number five seed, Saturday (Mar.
8).
Paced by Mercedes Robinson’s career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, the Wildcats held the Lady Eagles to just 31.1 percent field goal shooting, while making 43.1 percent (22-of-51) of their shots from the field. Following Robinson’s 10-of-14 shooting night, Kelsey Cary came off the bench to score 12 points.
Georgia Southern was led by sophomores Jessica Geiger (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Carolyn Whitney (Duluth, Ga.) with nine points, apiece. Senior Shawnda Atwood (Pensacola, Fla.) and junior Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) tallied seven points and a team-high seven rebounds, apiece.
Davidson started the game on a 9-0 run capped by a triple by Honna Housley at the 17:05 mark.
J’Lisia Ogburn’s (Dublin, Ga.) pair of free-throws halted the drought in the next minute and Georgia Southern was able to cut the lead down to five, 11-6, after a jumper by Whitney.
But Davidson heated up over the next seven minutes, going on a 15-4 run that was capped by a triple by Ashley Lax at the 7:59 mark and Davidson claimed a 24-10 lead.
A steal by Tiffany Brown (Waxhaw, N.C.) and the ensuing old-fashioned three-pointer changed the momentum back in GSU’s favor and the Lady Eagles used a 14-5 run over the next four minutes to close the gap to just five points, 31-26, with two minutes remaining.
Davidson held off the rally by scoring the final five points of the half and went into the locker room with a 10 point lead, 36-26.
In second-half action, Georgia Southern tried to climb back into contest with Melson scoring eight of her nine and Atwood tallying seven points in the second stanza.
Georgia Southern then went on a shooting drought for a six-minute period while Davidson widened the lead to 15 points on eight-consecutive free-throws and the Wildcats claimed a 47-32 lead at the 8:52 mark.
The Lady Eagles couldn’t close the gap to less than seven points for the remainder of the game and Davidson held on for the team’s 10th-consecutive victory over Georgia Southern.
“I think our confidence is obviously waning and we don’t have any leaders right now that are stepping up,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “Ashley Melson has been our most consistent player. But outside of that, I think we are playing leaderless right now. Nobody will step up to stop the train and put the breaks on it so we can turn this thing around and get us to being the aggressors again.”
Georgia Southern won the rebounds margin, 40-38, but Davidson translated GSU’s 25 turnovers into 27 points, while the Lady Eagles turned Davidson’s 24 mishaps into 18 points.
Georgia Southern will next hit the road for the regular-season finale at Appalachian State. The Lady Eagles and Mountaineers will battle at Boone, N.C., Saturday (Mar. 1) at the Holmes Center with a 1 p.m. tip-off. Davidson will entertain College of Charleston at 1 p.m. Saturday in its home finale.
College of Charleston 72, Appalachian State 63
BOONE, N.C. - Sam Ramirez led the team in scoring for the third time in five games and tied a career-high with 19 points, including five three-pointers, but it was not enough to overcome a late surge from College of Charleston as the Appalachian State women's basketball team fell 72-63 on Thursday.
Appalachian (8-20, 5-12) got in a 7-0 hole before Brittany Mixon hit a close jumper in the paint and Sam Ramirez hit three-pointers from both wings to quickly pull the team within 9-8. Another Mixon jumper and a third Ramirez trey gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the game, at 13-11.
Mixon had scored just 13 points in her last four games but poured in 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting to go along with five rebounds. She added three steals and one of the team's two blocks as well.
College of Charleston (13-14, 9-8) tied it at 15 but then Ramirez hit another jumper and GiGi Thomas sank a pair of fast-break layups as the lead was stretched to 23-17. Thomas ended the game with four points after a 2-for-12 shooting performance.
Ramirez sank her fourth trey and Frances Hernandez added one as the team took a 31-25 lead to the locker room. After missing their first nine field goals, the Apps rebounded to shoot 37.1 percent in the first half, compared to 40.7 for the Cougars.
Senior Whitney Tossie was scoreless in the first half but scored 13 of the team's first 15 points to open the second. The Mountaineers pushed the lead to as many as seven points but the Cougars chipped away and regained the lead at 58-57 with five minutes to play.
Tossie hit a layup and a jumper at the 2:30 mark to put Appalachian ahead 63-62, but a pair of three-pointers gave CofC a 68-63 advantage with 90 seconds to play. The senior finished with 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting with a steal and five assists.
The Cougars drained 12-of-15 free throws in the game including several down the stretch to ice the game, as the home squad was unable to convert in the final two minutes of play, and the Cougars picked up the 72-63 victory.
Jill Fustenburg led five Cougar players in double figures with 18 points. Deidra Jones added 15 points while Tonia Gerty tallied 13. Erika Smith and Nikki Williams each chipped in 11 points in the winning cause.
Appalachian shot 39.1 percent in the game with CofC hitting 45.6 percent from the floor. ASU held a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers - thanks in part to 13 steals and 20 total forced turnovers.
The Mountaineers host Georgia Southern for Senior Day on Saturday March 1 at 1 p.m. It is the first part of a double-header, as the men's basketball team hosts Western Carolina at 3:30 p.m. The Cougars visit Davidson Saturday at 1 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 66, Wofford 63
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Senior guard Kemena Brooks had a career-high 26 points and extended her consecutive free throws made streak to 12 to lead the UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team to a 66-63 win over Wofford on Thursday night. The Spartans snapped a seven-game losing streak with the win.
UNCG (6-22, 4-13 SoCon) was led by Brooks’ 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field. The Accokeek, MD native was 4-of-8 from behind the arc and grabbed three rebounds in the win. Jasmine Dixon was a point and a rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds while Lakiah Hyson and Monique Floyd had five assists each.
Wofford (9-19, 2-15 SoCon) was led by freshman Mahagony Williams’ 19 points and 12 rebounds, her third double-double in the last five games. Natalie Gramblin also scored in double figures with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor.
The Spartans shot 35.7 percent for the game on 25-of-70 shooting from the field while Wofford shot 42.1 percent for the game. The Terriers also held a 48-41 rebounding edge.
The Terriers used several quick buckets to open the second half and pulled ahead 28-24 with only three minutes off the game clock but the Spartans kept in the game with a quick jumper.
Wofford went on a 5-0 run to pull ahead 34-28 but Brooks put the team on her back and answered with 10 consecutive points to put UNCG ahead, 41-36 at the second media timeout. Wofford wouldn’t go away and was able to cut the lead to three-points but UNCG found their shooting touch and wouldn’t be denied as they extended their lead to 50-43.
“I was pleased with the way Kemena responded in the second half,” said coach Lynne Agee. “She has been in a bit of a shooting slump lately and for her to knock them down in the second half made all of the difference.”
The Terriers had their chances late in the game and cut the lead to three points and had a chance with a long three-pointer to end the game but the Spartans held their ground and pulled out the victory to end their seven-game skid.
Turnovers were the name of the game in the first half. The Spartans were able to force the Terriers into nine first half errors within the first eight minutes of the game which translated into seven points for UNCG. Wofford had turnovers on three straight possessions which turned into a 6-0 UNCG run giving them a 15-8 lead at the 11:34 mark.
Wofford returned the favor and forced the Spartans into several turnovers and got right back in the game and back-to-back three-pointers from Laura Depko cut the lead to 15-14. The teams traded buckets late in the game and went into the break at a 24-24 stalemate.
Between the two squads there were 27 turnovers in the first stanza. UNCG held a 14-8 advantage in the paint but the Terriers held a 35-20 rebounding advantage. Three players led the way in scoring as Wofford’s Mahagony Williams and Natalie Gramblin each had six along with UNCG’s Kemena Brooks.
The Spartans close out the regular-season on Saturday when they host Furman on Senior Day. UNCG will honor seniors, Kemena Brooks, Meghan Chamberlain, Jasmine Dixon and Brittany Frazier in a pre-game ceremony. First tip is scheduled for 3 pm.
Elon 66, Furman 44
ELON, N.C.- The Elon women’s basketball team defeated Furman 66-44 behind a solid defensive effort, including a career-high 17 rebounds by Amber Wall, Thursday night at Alumni Gym.
With the win, Elon improves to 10-19 overall, including a 5-12 mark in the Southern Conference. Furman falls to 9-19 and 4-13 in league play.
Kitara McMoore led all scorers with 17 points, while Tiffany Davis added 14-points in the win. McMoore also grabbed nine boards to help pace the defensive effort. Katie Johnson led the Paladins with 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the effort.
Furman got on the board first when Chrissy Phelps hit a free throw after being fouled by Tiffany Davis. A lay-up by Nicole Allison gave the Phoenix their first points of the night. Elon put together an 11-3 run before a jumper by Furman’s Katie Johnson ended the Phoenix charge.
Julie Taylor’s three-point shot extended Elon’s to 10 at the 12:05 mark. The Paladins outscored Elon13-5 to take a 21-20 lead with 6:49 remaining in the first half. A jumper by Tierra Bumbrey sparked a 9-0 run for the Phoenix and gave them a 29-21 lead with 3:50 left in the half.
Furman’s Lee Stephens ended the Elon surge with a lay-up that cut the Phoenix lead to six. Elon went on an 11-2 run at the close of the half to enter halftime with a 30-23 lead. Furman scored the first points of the second half off a lay-up by Kali Holtfreter.
Following the Paladin points, Elon strung together a 24-6 run to take a 23 point lead at 54-31. Elon extended its lead to 28 points, its largest lead of the night, after outscoring the Paladins 11-6.
Furman cut the Elon lead to 23 by scoring five unanswered points before a foul on Melissa Liebschwager sent Jess Luedtke to the line where she went 1-for-2. Furman scored the final points of the game on an Adrienne Gilmore lay-up.
Elon shot 47.4-percent from the field, including 63.6 percent from behind the arc. The Phoenix limited Furman to just two three-point baskets and held them to a 28.3-shooting percentage.
Elon returns to action Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m. when they host Wofford on Senior Day. Furman remains in the Triad to close the regular season at UNC Greensboro Saturday at 3 p.m.