College of Charleston 74, Davidson 71
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- College of Charleston's Jade Hughes stole a misguided Wildcat pass with 25 seconds left and drove down the floor for a layup to give the Cougars a one-point lead and Sarah Moye hit two free throws in the last 10 seconds to seal the game as Davidson saw its perfect run in the Southern Conference come to an end with a 74-71 setback despite a career-best 30 points from senior Mercedes Robinson on Monday evening at John M. Belk Arena.
The Wildcats had one last chance to tie the game when they drove up the floor after Moye's two free throws, but Robinson's three-point try from the right wing with three ticks left fell short to send Davidson to 7-1 in SoCon play. Overall, the 'Cats saw their four-game win streak come to an end, dropping them to 8-9 on the year.
College of Charleston, who had four players hit for double digits in points, improved to 10-5 overall and evened its SoCon mark at 4-4. The win also helped the Cougars stop their 13-game losing streak to the Wildcats in the all-time series.
Hughes' 19 points lead the way for the Cougars, but her last four were the biggest with two points coming at the charity stripe at the 3:54 mark that brought CofC to within three at 71-68, and then her layup off the Wildcat turnover gave the Cougars' the lead and eventually was the game-winner.
In all, the Cougars used a 16-4 run in the final six minutes of the game to turn a 67-58 Wildcat lead into the three-point win.
Davidson led by as many as nine points on five different occasions in the second half, but could never shake the Cougars. The 'Cats were also done in by costly turnovers and missed opportunities in the last 5:47 of the game as they scored just four points. They coughed the ball up five times in that stretch and missed four shots.
Prior to the last six minutes, Davidson had hit 14 of its 22 attempts in the half. The 'Cats did close the game hitting half of its field goals (25-50) for a season-best 50 percent.
Robinson did all she could to keep the Wildcats within striking distance of the Cougars in the first half, and then helped them take the lead in the second period. She drained a career-best 12-of-21 shots from the floor, including a couple of treys, and hit all four free throws on her way to the 30-point effort. The senior just missed her sixth straight double-double, finishing with a game-high eight boards.
Junior Julia Paquette and Ashley Lax gave the Wildcats three double-figure scorers with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
It was a tale of two halves as College of Charleston led the majority of the first period, until two Lax free throws in the last five seconds gave the Wildcats a one-point halftime lead (38-37) that it would hold until the final 25 seconds.
The Cougars opened the game hitting 10 of their first 16 shots to grab a 10-point advantage at 27-17 with 7:10 left in the period. CofC closed the first period shooting 53.8 percent from the field, including 4-of-10 from behind the arc.
Davidson began to chip away behind Robinson, who scored 10 of her 17 first-half points after the Cougars jumped out the 27-17 lead to help bring the 'Cats within six (37-31) at the 2:40 mark. Two free throws by Lax and a three-ball from Alex Thompson brought the score to 37-36 before Lax added her final two free throws with five seconds.
The Wildcats take to the road for their next two contests, starting first with a trip to Chattanooga, Jan. 17, at 5 p.m. The Cougars visit Wofford Saturday at 3 p.m.
Appalachian State 73, UNC Greensboro 68
BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University women’s basketball (3-12, 2-5) was able to hold on in the final seconds of play and capture its second SoCon win of the season, as the Mountaineers defeated conference foe UNCG (6-11, 3-5) 73-68 in front of a women’s Holmes Center record attendance crowd of 1573.
Freshman Canesha Edwards was able to put the first points on the board of the contest, when she layed the ball in the bucket after Brittney Spencer was able to get a steal, to put Appalachian up 2-0. The freshman forward scored the Black and Gold's first four points and finished the contest with a career-high 18 points, going a perfect 6-6 from the field. She also had 11 rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals, recording her third double-double of the season.
After missing their first three shots UNCG scored four straight points off of two made free throws and a layup to take the early 4-2 advantage. The Spartans took their largest lead of contest at the 11:44 mark, going up 16 to 8, after Gini Grimsley nailed a three pointer and scored a layup.
ASU cut the deficit to just two points after going on a 9-0 2:27 minute run as Edwards drained a jumper, Brittney Spencer scored a transition layup and Sade Means hit back to back buckets to tie the score at 18. A Brittany Mixon free throw would put the Apps for the first time since the early minutes of play, but it wouldn't last long as Amanda Leigh came down the court and drilled a trey to put the Spartans back up 21 to 19.
The two squads would trade buckets over the course of four minutes, until Appalachian went on a 12-1 run, with sophomore guard Sam Ramirez scoring eight points, her first of the game, draining two three’s and two free throws and with Edwards having a layup to close out the final 3:36 of action, to take a 37 to 26 advantage into the break.
Ramirez was 4-9 from the three point line and for the second consecutive game was the only Mountaineer to score a trey. She finished the evening with a career-high ten rebounds, to go along with 16 points, giving her, her first double-double of her career. The sophomore guard hauled in nine boards in the first half, matching a team, season-high, with Edwards being the only other Mountaineer during the 2007-08 campaign to grab as many boards in the first half of play.
The lead at halftime was just the fourth time all season ASU had been ahead at the break and it was the Black and Gold’s largest lead (9 points) heading into intermission.
Edwards increased Appalachian's lead in early minutes of second half play, hitting both of her free throws giving ASU its largest lead of the contest at 13 points.
UNCG wouldn't go away quietly going on a run of their own, scoring seven straight points to cut Appalachian's lead to just five at 43-36 with a little under 16 minutes to play.
Ramirez continued with her hot shooting, drilling a trey to put ASU up 49-42, but a 5-0 run cut the advantage to just two points with 8:10 remaining.
Mixon also became an offensive threat for the Apps, scoring 11 of her 14 points in the second period of play. She had 14 points and seven boards against the Spartans.
Appalachian would be able to hold onto its lead in the waning minutes of play, as Spencer hit four crucial foul shots in the final seconds of play to let ASU hang on for the win.
Amanda Leigh paced the Spartans with 13 points while Monique Floyd chipped in 10.
Appalachian State hits the road to take on SoCon newcomer Samford Saturday at 5 p.m. ET while UNCG travels to face Western Carolina Saturday at 4 p.m.
Furman 78, Elon 76
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Melissa Liebschwager poured in a game high 20 points and Katie Johnson registered 19 points and nine rebounds to help Furman defeat Elon, 78-76, in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Monday night on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.
The victory, Furman’s fifth in its last six games, improves the Paladins to 10-7 on the season and 4-4 in SoCon play. The loss was the 15th straight for Elon, which falls to 1-15 on the campaign and 0-7 in SoCon action.
Liebschwager, who played the entire 40 minutes for a Furman squad that lost starting guard Kali Holtfreter to a knee injury in Saturday’s victory at UNC Greensboro, found the mark on 8-of-17 field goals, including 4-of-9 3-pointers, while also notching three assists, three blocks, and a pair of steals.
Johnson, meanwhile, converted 8-of-12 field goal attempts for Furman, which shot 47.1 percent from the field (32x68), its best shooting performance since a 71-30 victory over UNC-Asheville on Nov. 18.
Lee Stephens added 17 points and a game high six assists for the Paladins, and Kendra Berry tallied her first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds ? both career highs.
Elon placed four players in double figures, including 17 by Aiesha Harper and 13 by Urysla Cotton, who also contributed a team high nine rebounds. Courtney Medley and Tiara Gause added 11 points each for the Phoenix.
Leading 41-39 at halftime, Elon opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Medley and layup by Gause to take a 46-39 lead, its largest of the game.
A Liebschwager 3-pointer at the 14:50 mark sliced Elon’s margin to a point at 48-47, and over the next four minutes the lead changed hands four times until Johnson’s jump shot with 10:34 to go put Furman ahead, 58-56.
The Paladins extended their advantage to 63-58 with another Liebschwager trey at the 8:57 juncture, but the Phoenix quickly tied the contest at 63-63 with a pair of Harper free throws less than minute later.
Furman grabbed the lead for good at 65-63 with a Liebschwager layup with 7:52 to go.
After Elon got within a point at 65-64, the Paladins used a 6-0 spurt to claim a 73-66 advantage following a Johnson jump shot with 3:22 remaining.
A basket by Berry gave Furman a 77-71 lead before the Phoenix fashioned one final push. Two Gause free throws cut the lead to 77-73, and a Medley three-point play with 47 seconds to go narrowed the Paladins’ margin to 77-76.
On the ensuing possession, Furman worked the clock and benefited from a clock reset following a kicked ball. After collecting a missed Paladin shot with 11 seconds to go, the Phoenix’s Tiffany Davis drove into the lane, but her layup attempt under pressure bounced hard and off the rim into the hands of Furman’s Johnson, who was fouled and made one of two free throws with less than a second remaining.
Elon drained 19-of-29 free throw attempts to Furman’s 7-of-11, and the Phoenix outscored the Paladins 28-18 in the paint and 15-5 off turnovers. The Paladins’ rallied from a 22-16 rebounding deficit at intermission to claim a narrow 42-41 advantage on the boards.
Furman returns to action on Wednesday when it entertains Samford in a 7:00 p.m. game. Elon will play Thursday at High Point beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Chattanooga 84, Western Carolina 71
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina women’s basketball fell to Southern Conference rival Chattanooga 84-71 Monday in the Ramsey Center. The Lady Catamounts fall to 8-8 and 4-4 in the Southern Conference while the Mocs improve to 11-6 and 7-1 in the SoCon.
The Mocs scorched Western Carolina from behind the three-point line, which turned out to be one of the key difference makers in the game. After hitting three treys in the first half, Chattanooga lit up the court with eight three-pointers in the second half to end the game with 11.
After a poor shooting night against Samford on January 10, Western Carolina did bounce back in its shooting percentage against Chattanooga. The Lady Catamounts, after shooting just over 20 percent against the Bulldogs, shot about its average of 42.6 percent against the Mocs.
Western Carolina came out blazing to start the game scoring the first seven points of the contest. Chattanooga answered with the next seven points to tie the game. The Lady Catamounts built a 22-13 nine point lead with 11:54 to go before Chattanooga closed out the half on a 24-10 run to lead 37-32.
The Lady Catamounts opened the second half on a 4-0 run to cut the Chattanooga lead down to one point, 37-36, before Erin Ogan drained a three-pointer from the left side. A lay-up by Kendra Eaton and a free throw by Jessica Jackson helped Western Carolina cut the Mocs’ lead back to one again, but a pair of Shanara Hollinquest free throws pushed the lead back to three and Chattanooga was never threatened again.
Western Carolina did keep the Chattanooga advantage below double digits for the first eight minutes of the game but a three-pointer by Andrea Neil pushed the Chattanooga lead to 10 with 11:35 left. Twice in the final five minutes a free throw by Jackson and a bucket by Feemster trimmed the Mocs lead to single digits, nine points, but Chattanooga always had an answer to push its lead back to double digits.
Ogan led five Lady Mocs in double figures with 18 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Joining her in double digit points were Shanara Hollinquest (17), Andrea Neil (16), Tagan Hatchett (13) and Jenaya Wade-Fray (11).
The Lady Catamounts were outrebounded 40-33 in the contest but did commit just 14 turnovers. The club also had seven steals.
Sophomore guard/forward Emily Clarke lead Western Carolina with 14 points and also had four rebounds. Senior Brooke Johnson added 10 points and two blocks, which gives her 100 for her career, making Johnson just the third player in school history to go over 100 blocks in her career.
Western Carolina completes its three-game home-stand Saturday hosting UNC Greensboro. Tip time is set for 4 p.m. Chattanooga returns home to face Davidson Saturday at 5 p.m. in a battle of 7-1 teams.
Georgia Southern 70, Wofford 48
STATESBORO, Ga. ? The Lady Eagles came out strong and never let up as they handled the Wofford Terriers, 70-48, Monday night (Jan. 12) in Hanner Fieldhouse. Georgia Southern improved to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play with the win, while Wofford fell to 3-12, 1-6.
“It all came together,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “And it was coming from everybody on the team.”
J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) tied her career-high in points as she led the team with 17 points tonight. Brittney Nelson (Rochester, Mich.) led the team in rebounding with a career-high 10 boards. The Lady Eagles shot 42 percent for the game, 50 percent in the first half.
Georgia Southern held Wofford to four points through the first eight minutes of action, as the Lady Eagles built a 22-6 lead by the 11:28 mark. Ogburn scored 14 points in the opening stanza of the game, 10 points within the first seven minutes. Nelson cleared away nine of her 10 rebounds in the first half, as the Lady Eagles went into the halftime break leading 43-13. The Lady Eagles led by as many as 32 points in the opening stanza.
Georgia Southern continued to hold the Terriers through the final twenty minutes of play as they led by as many as 34 points. Logan Youngblood (Sylvester, Ga.) came out firing in the second half, shooting 4 of 9 to close out the game with a career-high nine points. Wofford shot 23 percent in the second half and closed the margin to within twenty points twice. But that would be the closest they would get in the game, as Georgia Southern rounded out a 70-48 victory.
“We looked like we were taking good shots at the basket,” said Cram. “Everybody was shooting well. We came out early in the game and that was the difference in the ballgame.”
Wofford shot 23 percent from the floor and was led by Natalie Gramblin, who chipped in 11 points. April Moorhouse and Mahagony Williams both cleared away a team-high six rebounds.
The Lady Eagles return to action Saturday, January 17 as they travel to take on Furman. Tip-off is slated for a 5:30 pm start in Greenville, S.C. The game will be televised on CSS. Wofford returns home to host College of Charleston Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Benjamin Johnson Arena.