Chattanooga 73, Davidson 62
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Senior Alex Anderson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) posted a career-high 39 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to lead Chattanooga (20-3, 12-0) to a 73-62 Southern Conference victory over Davidson (13-9, 7-4) Monday evening at the McKenzie Arena. With the win, Chattanooga has now reached the 20-win plateau for the ninth consecutive season and extends its win streak to 15 games.
Leading 59-57 with 6:42 remaining in the game, Chattanooga used an 10-1 run to take control of a back-and-forth second half and extended their lead to 69-58 with 3:19 to play in the game. From there, the Lady Mocs did not look back as they closed out their 15th consecutive win, 73-62, and 16th consecutive regular season Southern Conference victory.
Trailing 3-2 early in the first half, Chattanooga quickly righted the ship as senior Brooke Hand (Moulton, Ala.) connected on back-to-back three-pointers to key a 15-1 run and gave the Lady Mocs a commanding 18-4 advantage with 12:37 remaining in the half. Just as quickly as they had built their lead, Chattanooga watched it evaporate as the Wildcats posted an 11-0 run of their own to narrow the gap to 18-15 with 7:45 to play in the half.
Davidson would eventually close to within 23-21 before UTC pushed its lead back into double-digits with an 11-2 run, fueled by seven points from Anderson, to make the score 34-23 at the 2:10 mark. An 8-4 spurt by the Wildcats to end the half then sent the teams into the break with the Lady Mocs leading 38-31.
In the second half, Davidson continued their hot streak as they opened with a 9-4 run, narrowing the margin to a mere two points at 42-40 just over two minutes into the half. A three-pointer by senior Laura Hall (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) made the score 45-40 before five straight points by the Wildcats knotted the game at 45-45 with 14:26 to play.
Back-to-back baskets by Anderson and a pair of free throws from senior Amy Mohr (Cumming, Ga.) then gave Chattanooga a 51-45 advantage at the 12:45 mark before Davidson’s Katie Hamilton hit a three-pointer from the corner to key an 8-2 run that tied the game at 53-53. Three Anderson layups made the score 59-57 UTC and set the stage for the Lady Mocs.
Housley led three Wildcats in double-figures with 18 points while junior forward Mercedes Robinson added 13 points and six rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting. Sophomore forward Julia Paquette rounded out the double-figure scorers for Davidson, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
For Chattanooga, Anderson netted her career-high 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field and converted on 11-of-17 of her free throws while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) added nine points and five rebounds while sophomore Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) chipped in with seven points and six rebounds. Hall and Hand each finished the night with seven points and five rebounds.
Anderson’s 39 points is not only a career-high, it is the third-highest point total by a Lady Moc in the program’s history and the most since Regina Kirk notched a program best of 45 points against North Alabama on December 12, 1987. The only other performance ahead of Anderson’s is Denise Power’s 44 points against Bridgewater in 1978.
Anderson’s previous career-high was 34 points set against Western Carolina on January 13, 2007 in an overtime loss at the Roundhouse.
The Lady Mocs return to action on Saturday, February 9 when they travel to Elon for a matinee affair with the Phoenix. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Alumni Gym. The Wildcats will remain on the road with a Saturday 1 p.m. matchup at Appalachian State.
Notes:
-39 is a career-high for Alex Anderson. She had 34 last season in an overtime loss to Western Carolina at the McKenzie Arena.
-Anderson has now reached double-figures in 11 straight contests and has surpassed 20 points 11 times this season
-39 points is the third-most points scored by a Chattanooga player in a game.
Regina Kirk, 45 vs. North Alabama - 1987
Denise Powers, 44 vs. Bridgewaters College ? 1978
-Ninth consecutive 20-win season for the Lady Mocs
-15th consecutive win ? tied for third best streak in school history (Dec. 31, 1999-Feb. 23, 2000)
-15th straight win is second longest Division I streak in the nation behind Connecticut’s 21
-16th consecutive Southern Conference regular season win
-Ninth straight home-court win
Western Carolina 78, Appalachian State 57
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Four Western Carolina women’s basketball players scored in double figures and the Lady Catamounts won their fifth straight home game, and third overall, with a 78-57 victory over arch rival Appalachian State Monday in the Ramsey Center. It was the fifth consecutive win over the Mountaineers who fall to 5-17 overall and 2-9 in the Southern Conference.
The Lady Catamounts keep pace in the Southern Conference race improving to 9-2 and continue to be tied with Georgia Southern for second place. Western Carolina improves to 17-6 overall.
Western Carolina opened the game with a 13-4 advantage but Appalachian State battled back to tie the game at 13 with 13:41 left in the first half. Senior guard Monique Dawson drained a three-pointer to snap the tie to take the lead again. The Mountaineers would not tie the game again but Appalachian State did pull within one point, 29-28, with 2:40 left in the half. Sophomore Kristen Feemster scored two of her career-tying 10 points to give the Lady Catamounts a three-point lead, and after a pair of Dawson free throws with two seconds left, WCU ended the half leading by seven, 37-30.
After being held scoreless and only pulling down two rebounds, senior Chevon Keith put on an offensive and defensive clinic in the second half. Keith poured in 13 points and had nine rebounds in the second half to end the game with 11. It is the third straight game she has had double figure rebounds and her seventh double-double of the season; which breaks her single-season record.
The Lady Catamounts scored 41 points in the second half and held Appalachian State to 27 points. It is the third consecutive game Western Carolina has held an opponent under 60 points, ironically, in the last two games, both teams scored 57 points.
Western Carolina had a season-high 23 assists in its first meeting, this season, with Appalachian State and in this meeting the team was two shy of that mark with 21. The Lady Catamounts only allowed Appalachian State 10 second chance points and have allowed a total of just 10 second-chance points in the last two games. Western Carolina didn’t allow Appalachian State to hit a three-pointer in the game, the first time since 2005 the Mountaineers didn’t hit a trey.
Dawson led the team with 16 points and also had five assists and had two steals. Senior Jessika Johnson was the fourth Lady Cat to score in double figures with 10 points. Ashley Pellom dished out a season-high five assists and added four points and three steals.
ASU was led by three players in double figures, including GiGi Thomas, who scored a game-high 17 points. Whitney Tossie added 15 points while Brittany Mixon recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Western Carolina heads back out on the road Saturday to face UNC Greensboro. The two teams will participate in the Think Pink initiative sponsored by the Southern Conference. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. Appalachian State hosts Davidson Saturday at 1 p.m.
College of Charleston 65, UNC Greensboro 61
Charleston, S.C. ? Jill Furstenburg scored 20 points, including two clutch free throws with nine seconds remaining, as the College of Charleston women’s basketball team survived a late rally by the Spartans to take the 65-61 win in front of 237 fans at the John Kresse Arena.
Charleston improves to 11-10 overall and 7-4 in the Southern Conference. The 11 wins eclipse the Cougars’ win total from last year and ties the mark set in 2005-06. UNC Greensboro moves to 5-17 and 3-8 in the league.
The Cougars led by as much as 14 in the second half and held a 10-point, 59-49 lead with 3:07 to go. The Spartans went on a 12-4 run the next three minutes to cut the deficit to two, 63-61, with just 12 seconds remaining. A foul by the Spartans at the nine-second mark put Furstenburg, who went six-for-six from the charity stripe, on the line where she calmly sank both free throws to make it a two possession game and help Charleston seal the 65-61 win.
Charleston didn’t make a field goal until 12:24 remaining in the half and trailed 13-4 until Furstenburg nailed a three-pointer, to cut the deficit to 13-7. That was the start of a 13-2 Cougar run to give them their first lead of the game, 17-15, with 8:22 before intermission. UNC Greensboro would take the lead once more off a small 4-0 spurt but Charleston responded with a 14-5 run to take its biggest lead of the half, 31-24. The Spartans cut the lead to three and went into the locker room trailing 31-28.
Furstenburg’s 20 points was just two from her career-high. Following Furstenburg in scoring for the Cougars was Erika Smith with 14 and Brooke Kotcella with 12. Furstenburg also paced the team with seven rebounds. Gini Grimsley led the Spartans with 17 points. Jasmine Dixon followed with 14 and Lakiah Hyson had 13 to go along with her team-leading seven rebounds.
Charleston shot 40.4 percent for the game, with the Spartans shooting 38.5. The Cougars were 24-for-29 from the free-throw line, compared to just six-for-10 for UNCG. UNC Greensboro out-rebounded Charleston 42-31 and had more turnovers, 21-16.
Charleston next travels to Furman Sat., Feb. 9th for a 3:00 p.m. game, while UNC Greensboro hosts Western Carolina the same date and time.
Georgia Southern 70, Elon 51
STATESBORO, Ga. - Junior guard Ashley Melson netted a game-high 17 points behind the team’s 46.7 percent field-goal shooting as the Georgia Southern women’s basketball team secured a 70-51 Southern Conference victory over Elon, Monday evening, at Hanner Fieldhouse.
With the win, Georgia Southern improves to 13-9 overall and 9-2 in SoCon play, and extends the home win streak to 10 games as the Lady Eagles remain undefeated at home. The record for most consecutive wins at Hanner is 19 games, spanning from Feb. 1981 to Dec. 1982.
Elon falls to 7-16 overall and 2-9 in the conference, marking its second consecutive loss.
Melson (Newnan, Ga.) led all scorers, shooting 8-of-9 from the field in her second-best shooting game of the season. Sophomore forward Jessica Geiger (Duluth, Ga.) was close behind with a career-high 14 points. She hit 4-of-11 of her field goal attempts, including a pair of triples and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Senior guard Shawnda Atwood (Pensacola, Fla.) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to add to her four points.
Georgia Southern’s depth proved to be as much of a factor as was the team’s overall shooting, with the bench backing up game- and career-highs from Melson and Geiger. The Lady Eagles outscored the Phoenix 27-18 in bench points.
“When you’re playing as deep as we do for nine, 10, 11 people, you’re going to have some chemistry that’s just not right,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “And that’s what we’ve got to find on that given night when it’s not right. Then we’ve got to make it right by getting certain people in the ball game. Sometimes it’s Tiffany Brown coming in and scoring 24; maybe (Ashley) Melson at 17; (Jessica) Geiger; Carolyn (Whitney) had [16] last Saturday. So who’s going to make that chemistry go for us on a given night? That’s the luxury of depth.”
In first-half action, Geiger’s three-pointer sparked an early 8-0 scoring run to start the game. It took Elon the next 10 minutes to slowly chip away at the GSU lead, and after an 8-2 Elon scoring run which included a pair of three-pointers by Tierra Bumbrey and Tiffany Davis, the Phoenix took its first and only lead (20-19) from the charity stripe.
Urysla Cotton’s jumper with 6:48 remaining in the first gave the Phoenix its largest lead so far, 22-19, before the Lady Eagles exploded on offense.
In the remaining six minutes, Georgia Southern went on a 21-3 scoring run that saw Melson knock down five of the team’s final nine field goals. Freshman Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) added two consecutive three-pointers during the stretch as part of her season-high tying, six-point performance.
Georgia Southern went into the locker room with a 40-25 lead, thanks in part to a 58.7 percent outing from the field, hitting 17-of-29 attempts, including 6-of-9 from downtown. Elon finished the half shooting 10-of-23 (.435) from the field.
Georgia Southern held on to its lead for the remainder of the game, despite Elon’s mid-half rally. The Phoenix slowly chipped away at the 15-point, first-half deficit and closed the gap to six points on two occasions. A three-pointer by Davis and a jumper by Cotton put the Phoenix to within six points (46-40) with 12:25 remaining in the game. Two minutes later, after Chequilla Jessie (Sanford, Fla.) made a layup, Kitara McMoore hit a pair of free-throws to close the gap again to six points (48-42). But that was as close as the visiting team could get for the remainder of the game.
At the 10-minute mark, Georgia Southern began building up a 21-point lead using a 15-3 scoring run that gave the Lady Eagles a 66-45 advantage and the insurance down the stretch to claim the victory and the season sweep of the Phoenix.
“These kids are just getting more and more confidence every time we go out,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “What you’re seeing right now is the kids are starting to finally understand the mind of the offense because they’re starting to read what the defense is giving them. If they’re taking away one look, we’ve got the next look. If they take that away, we’ve got the next option. The kids are really starting to pick up on that and get more and more confidence.”
Georgia Southern edged the Phoenix in the rebounds category, 31-28, the first time it has led that category since a one-rebound advantage (43-42) over Western Carolina (Jan. 26).
Kitara McMoore paced Elon with 12 points, followed by Tiffany Davis with 11.
The Lady Eagles will next prepare for a four-game road trip starting Saturday (Feb. 9) at Wofford. Tip-off against the Terriers is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. Elon hosts league-leading Chattanooga Saturday at 2:00 p.m.