No. 10 Wofford 57, No. 7 Furman 50
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Wofford sophomore Natalie Gramblin was a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line in the final minutes-and-a-half as she helped lift the Terriers to a 57-50 victory over Upstate rival Furman during opening round action Thursday at the Southern Conference Tournament inside the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, S.C.
The Terriers advance to face No. 2 seed Western Carolina at 10 a.m. Friday.
Gramblin, who led all players with 14 points, stepped to the line and made all of her attempts after Wofford (10-20) opened the contest just 1-of-6 from the charity stripe.
The game was tightly contested throughout with Kendra Berry pulling the Lady Paladins (10-20) within one, 47-46, with 5:38 to play. The Terriers then turned to 2007-08 SoCon Freshman of the Year Mahagony Williams for their next two buckets and the Little Rock, Ark., native gave No. 10-seed Wofford a five-point cushion with four minutes remaining.
Neither team scored for nearly three minutes as the Terriers used the clock to their advantage. Following a pair of free throws from Lee Stephens bringing Furman (10-20) within three, 51-48, at 1:24, Gramblin stepped to the line two seconds later for her first set. The Upper Marlboro, Md., product who closed the regular season ranked sixth in the league with a 73.3 free throw percentage, calmly knocked down the pair.
She later added the final four Wofford points as the Terriers pushed their advantage to nine, 57-48, before letting Chrissy Phelps drive for an uncontested layup with three seconds left.
The first half saw No. 7-seed Furman racing out to a seven-point lead on two occasions, the last coming on a Sarah Baker jumper at 11:04 for a 15-8 advantage. Wofford, however, clawed back with a 9-0 run with junior Liz Miller tallying five points, including a 3-pointer to give the Terriers a 17-15 lead with 8:12 to play.
Wofford stayed in front for the remainder of the half and took a one-point, 27-26, halftime lead.
The Terriers played a solid game on the defensive end as well, holding the Lady Paladins to 27.1 percent (16-of-59) from the field. Wofford opened the game with a 50.0 percent effort in the first half from the field before finishing 23-of-54 for 42.6 percent.
Gramblin's 14 points led a trio of Wofford players in double figures as Williams and Miller each posted 10. Sophomore Kathlyn Varno was the team's top rebounder with seven. Williams also had five blocked shots for the Terriers, who captured a win in the SoCon Tournament for the first time under head coach Edgar I. Farmer Jr. and since a 73-63 triumph over Georgia Southern March 1, 2002.
The win also marked the first time in school history Wofford earned two victories in one season over Furman.
Stephens paced the Lady Paladins with 12 points, also knocking down all six of her foul shots. Melissa Liebschwager finished with 11 points, including a trio of triples. Baker garnered game-high rebounding honors with 10.
No. 9 UNC Greensboro 62, No. 8 Appalachian State 44
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC ? The UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 62-44 win over Appalachian State in first round action from the North Charleston Coliseum on Thursday evening.
The ninth-seeded Spartans (7-23) will face Chattanooga (26-3), the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Friday at approximately 12:30 p.m.
Senior guard Kemena Brooks paced a balanced UNCG attack with 13 points, including a 3-of-4 effort from behind the three-point arc.
After taking a 33-17 lead into the locker room at halftime, UNCG extended their lead to 40-23 within the first four minutes of the second half and got some clutch play from Monique Floyd who on her first attempt of the half completed a three-point play.
Appalachian State was able to get a lift from Robin Colbert who hit her first attempt of the half and the Mountaineers forced UNCG into several miscue but couldn’t do anything with the ball on the other end of the floor.
The Spartans picked up their defense and used back-to-back blocks which led to two quick baskets in transition, but Sam Ramirez hit two three-pointers from the right side to cut the lead to 46-36. The ASU defense kept UNCG without a field goal for over six minutes, but UNCG locked down on defense, paving the way for a pair of three pointers from Gini Grimsley and Brooks to seal the win.
The Spartans got off to a little bit of a slow start but were able to shake off the jitters and were able to force the Mountaineers into a few early miscues and took a 10-8 at the 11:40 mark of the half.
Jasmine Dixon led the charge for UNCG in the paint and had six points to lead UNCG midway through the half. UNCG continued to give Appalachian State fits on the defensive end and forced three quick turnovers which led to several baskets in transition and kept the 19-11 lead with UNCG.
UNCG closed the half on an 8-2 run sparked by their outstanding free throw shooting. Hyson and Grimsley were each 4-for-4 from the stripe and six of UNCG’s final eight points come from free the line.
UNCG was bolstered by a 17-for-21 effort (81 percent) from the foul line, and the Spartans held a 27-2 advantage in points off of turnovers after forcing 25 Appalachian State miscues.
Appalachian State freshman Sam Ramirez led all scorers with 16 points, including four treys. The Mountaineers also held a rebounding advantage, 39-36.