Chattanooga 76, Davidson 69
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Behind a career-high 35 points from Shanara Hollinquest the Chattanooga women’s basketball team (12-6, 8-1 SoCon) defeated Davidson (8-10, 7-2 SoCon) 76-69 Saturday evening and retained its share of the Southern Conference lead.
Hollinquest was 60 percent from the field making 9-of-15, including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the three-point arc, as the Lady Mocs shot 41.1 percent in the game. The junior also had a career evening from the free throw line, sinking 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. Jenaya Wade-Fray scored in double-digits for the fifth straight game with 19 off 7-of-15 shooting, while LaCondra Mason set a career-high in rebounds with 12 and assists with five.
In the contest Davidson was led by the trio of Ashley Lax, Mercedes Robinson, and Alex Thompson who combined for 58 of the Wildcats’ 69 points. Lax finished with a team-high 24, while Robinson and Thompson had 18 and 16 respectively.
In the first half the Lady Mocs shot 41.4 percent from the field (12-of-29) as UTC went into the locker room up 31-27. Davidson was able to hang close to Chattanooga as the Wildcats were 12-of-26 (46.2 percent). In the half Hollinquest displayed her dominance early, scoring 15 of the Lady Mocs’ first 19 points.
After the break Chattanooga was able to extend its slim four point lead thanks to a 10-2 run. Hollinquest began the second period much like she did in the first, pouring in eight points in the half’s first four minutes.
The lead would not last long however as Davidson went on a run of its own, outscoring the Lady Mocs 14-5 to cut the UTC lead down to only three, 46-43 with 12:03 to play in the game. That would be as close as the Wildcats were able to get however, as Chattanooga slowly began to build its lead thanks to the tandem of Hollinquest and Wade-Fray.
In the second half, the two combined for 34 of UTC’s 45 points as the Wildcats continued to push shooting 50 percent in the second half. Chattanooga continued to push the lead back into double digits only to be foiled by the Wildcats who kept UTC’s advantage in double digits most of the game.
Samford (13-3, 8-1) posted an 87-51 win over Appalachian State in Birmingham to keep pace with the Lady Mocs at the top of the standings. Davidson, after winning its first seven conference games, has now lost its last two and stands in third.
The Lady Mocs will continue their four-game homestand on Monday as UTC plays host to Appalachian State. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the McKenzie Arena.
Davidson concludes its two-game road trip Monday night with an 8 p.m ET (7 p.m. CT) tip at Samford in Birmingham, Ala.
College of Charleston 64, Wofford 57
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Junior Jade Hughes led all players in scoring with 19 points to lead the College of Charleston Cougars to a 64-57 win over the Wofford Terriers in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday.
In a first half that saw four ties and seven lead changes, the Terriers used solid defense and .500 shooting from the field to contain College of Charleston. The Terriers put the first points on the board with two good free throws from Liz Miller within the first minute of the contest, but a quick Cougar jumper tied the score.
Wofford picked up a five-point lead, its biggest of the half, at the 14:34 mark, and neither team led by more than three points for the remainder of the period until a four-point run by the Cougars put College of Charleston up by six heading into the break.
College of Charleston carried its momentum into the second half, opening the period with a seven-point scoring run to boost its lead to 13 points. The Cougars held the Terriers scoreless for the first six and a half minutes of the second half until a made free throw by Summer Nichols broke the dry spell.
Wofford then went on a run of its own, scoring seven unanswered points to cut the Cougars’ lead to five, but could not contain College of Charleston in the final five minutes of the game, as the Cougars stretched their lead to as many as 11 points, eventually claiming the 64-57 win.
Junior Deidra Jones added 13 points for the Cougars. Senior Nikki Williams led Charleston with 11 rebounds and contributed nine points in the win.
Junior Kelly Dwyer led the Terriers with 13 points, while recording five assists and grabbing five steals, helping the team to 14 steals during the game. Junior Kathlyn Varno also notched double-digit points with 10, while sophomore Mahagony Wiliams led the team with 11 total rebounds and added a career- high seven blocks.
With the loss, Wofford falls to 3-13 on the season and 1-7 in Southern Conference play while College of Charleston improves to 11-5 overall and 5-4 in league play. The Terriers will take on UNC Greensboro on Monday, January 19 in a 3:00 p.m. matchup in Greensboro while CofC hosts Georgia Southern Monday evening at 7:00 p.m.
Western Carolina 57, UNC Greensboro 49
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina women’s basketball had three score in double figures and halted a two-game losing streak with a 57-49 win over UNC Greensboro Saturday in the Ramsey Center. The Lady Catamounts improve to 9-8 and 5-4 in the Southern Conference while the Spartans fall to 6-12 and 3-6 in the SoCon.
Senior center Brooke Johnson led Western Carolina with 15 points, all in the second half, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Johnson also had three blocks against UNC Greensboro moving into second place in the Lady Catamount record books for blocks in a career with 103.
Junior Kristen Feemster followed in double figure scoring, tying her career-high with 14 points and also had eight boards. Sophomore Emily Clarke rounded out the double figure scoring with 13 points.
Monique Floyd led UNCG with a game high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor.
Clarke’s offensive outburst in the first half drug Western Carolina out of its scoring drought in the first half. After Feemster hit a layup to tie the game at four, with 16:20 left in the first half, the Lady Catamounts did not score again for seven minutes until Clarke connected on a jumper with 9:39 on the clock, allowing UNCG to build a 10-point advantage
Clarke proceeded to score 11 straight points for the Lady Catamounts and cut the UNCG lead to three when she nailed a three-pointer with 6:24 left. The Spartans built its lead back to seven points twice, before Western Carolina scored the final four points of the half, thanks to a pair of free throws by Kendra Carroll and a lay-up by Heather Swayne. The Lady Catamounts trailed by three, 27-24, at the half.
The game was tied for the third time after a layup by Brooke Johnson knotted the contest at 37 with 12:49 left in the game. Feemster quickly followed Johnson with a layup to give Western Carolina its first lead of the contest, 39-37. UNCG answered with a bucket from Gini Grimsely for the fourth tie, 39-39, in the game with 11:01 left.
Western Carolina took the lead for good again thanks to Feemster hitting a layup with 8:57 left. The Lady Catamounts built its largest lead of the game, eight points, off a pair of Clarke free throws with 3:37 left.
UNCG threatened in the final three minutes of the game when Grimsley nailed a jumper and Kendra Smith also hit a bucket to cut Western Carolina’s lead to four, 51-47. Johnson answered with a layup after she ripped down an offensive rebound. The Lady Catamounts were a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw in the final minute of the game to keep the Spartans at bay.
Western Carolina won the rebounding battle ripping down 44 to the Spartan’s 37, with 29 of the boards defensive. The Lady Catamounts also got 23 points from their bench and 14 points off turnovers.
The Lady Catamounts head back on the road Monday when the club travels to Elon. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. UNCG hosts Wofford Monday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Samford 87, Appalachian State 51
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team had four players score in double figures as the Bulldogs claimed their eighth-straight Southern Conference win in an 87-51 win over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
"This was as good of a team effort on both ends of the floor as we've had this season," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "This was a great team victory, and I thought we set the tone defensively, which is something that we talk about a lot."
Three Samford players scored career highs in the game. Senior forward Chika Okoli scored a career-high 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Freshman forward J'Quita Babineaux scored a career-high 13 points, and freshman guard Paige Anderson had a career-high six points.
Sophomore forward Savannah Hill and junior guard Monica Maxwell scored 12 points each for the Bulldogs. Freshman guard Jazmine Powers had a career-high five assists in the victory.
Appalachian State was led by Brittany Mixon with 14 points and six rebounds. Canesha Edwards and Sade Means scored seven points each for the Mountaineers.
With the win, Samford improves to 13-3 overall and 8-1 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are currently tied with Chattanooga for first place in the league. ASU drops to 3-13 overall and 2-6 in SoCon play.
Samford jumped on top early, racing out to a 16-2 lead with 13:39 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Maxwell. ASU fought back to cut the lead to eight at 16-8 with 11:49 left in the first half after a jumper by Sam Ramirez.
Samford then went on a 15-5 run to push its lead to 18 at 31-13 with 5:32 to go in the first half after a layup by Okoli. With Samford leading, 33-16, the Bulldogs closed the half with a 10-0 run to take a 43-16 lead into halftime.
Appalachian State cut the Samford lead to 22 at 48-26 with 17:35 to go in the game after a jumper by Karina Mill. Samford then went on a 7-1 run to push its lead out to 28 at 55-27 with 15:52 to go after a three-pointer by Okoli.
ASU cut the lead to 23 at 55-32 with 12:58 to go after a layup by Mixon. With Samford leading, 62-39, the Bulldogs went on a 13-2 run to make the score 75-41 with 4:38 to go after a three-pointer by Babineaux.
ASU could get no closer than 31 points the rest of the way and Samford came away with the 87-51 win.
As a team, Samford shot 53.7 percent from the floor, including a 56.5 percent effort from three-point range. Samford held Appalachian State to just 35.7 percent overall and 22.2 percent from three-point range.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 19, when the Bulldogs play host to Davidson. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT tip-off from the Pete Hanna Center.
ASU will visit Chattanooga Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
Georgia Southern 74, Furman 69
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Ashley Rivens poured in a game high 21 points and Georgia Southern used hot 3-point shooting to down Furman, 74-69, in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.
Rivens, a senior guard, connected on 7-of-11 field goals, including 4-of-6 3-pointers, and 3-of-4 free throws to pace Georgia Southern (11-7, 6-3 SoCon), which burned the nets on 10-of-19 3-point shots (52.6 percent) in the contest. Ashley Melson tallied 15 points and six rebounds, and Jessica Geiger added 13 points for the Eagles.
Furman (10-9, 4-6 SoCon) was led by Lee Stephens with 19 points and five assists. Freshman guard Candace Dowell, seeing her first action after a five-week absence due to injury, added 14 points for the Paladins, who also got 12 points from Sarah Baker.
Georgia Southern’s strong work from the perimeter headlined a 49.1 percent overall shooting clip. Furman, meanwhile, converted just 35.8 percent of its field goal attempts, but the Lady Paladins managed to make it a game due, in part, to its own solid work from 3-point range, making good on
9-of-21 treys (42.9 percent). Furman also canned 22-of-30 free throws to GSU’s 12-of-19, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a poor first half.
Georgia Southern, which twice built 14-point leads over the game’s first 20 minutes, went into halftime sporting a 39-30 lead.
In the second half Furman outscored GSU 11-5 over the first six minutes to narrow the Eagles’ advantage to 44-41 following a Johnson jump shot at the 13:58 mark.
Baker’s 3-pointer from the corner with 8:35 to go pulled Furman to within a point at 50-49, and on the Paladins’ next possession Dowell drained another 3-pointer to knot the game at 52-52.
The Paladins took a 54-53 lead at the 6:34 mark on a pair of Johnson free throws and led 57-55 following a Johnson jump shot before Rivens ticked the net with a 3-pointer that put Georgia Southern back ahead, 58-57, with 5:02 remaining.
Furman managed to forge another tie at 65-65 on a Baker 3-pointer from in front of the Paladin bench, but Georgia Southern responded with a Melton trey with 1:34 left put that gave GSU the lead for good.
Rivens helped preserve the lead by making three of four free throws down the stretch.
Furman’s next game is Jan. 24 at Samford with tipoff set for 3:00 p.m. ET.
Georgia Southern plays at College of Charleston on Monday in a 7:00 p.m. game.