UNC Greensboro 68, Wofford 56
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Junior Lakiah Hyson and sophomore Monique Floyd combined for 37 points as UNC Greensboro put together one of its best games of the season in dropping Wofford on Monday, 68-56, to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Hyson missed her career highs by one each with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Floyd matched her career high with 18 points and equaled her season high with eight boards of her own as both players flirted with double-doubles. The duo also set new career highs with six steals each.
“They’re just doing a great job for us,” UNCG coach Lynne Agee said. “They’ve been shackled with the point guard position; they’re 2-guards. But they’re trying to do the best they can. It’s kind of a double whammy with them. Mo is different, she’s very serious and very controlled with the ball, and Hyson’s going to try to make something happen and go to it. But they’re both really trying to step up and doing a terrific job. I’m very proud of them.”
Sophomore Kendra Smith also set a new career mark with a game-high 10 rebounds for the Spartans, who matched their overall and Southern Conference win totals from last season in moving to 7-12, 4-6.
Natalie Gramblin led Wofford (3-14, 1-8 SoCon) with 13 points, while Maddie Helms added 12.
The Spartans pulled down a season-best 58 rebounds, their best total since grabbing 60 against Georgia Southern on Jan. 8, 2005. UNCG also had 20 steals in the game, its best effort since coming away with 27 thefts vs. UNC Wilmington on Nov. 12, 2006.
Nursing just a six-point lead coming out of halftime, the Spartans set the tone for the rest of the game early in the second half, getting four points from Floyd and three each from Hyson and Agne Girstautaite in an 10-0 run out of the break.
The Terriers would hang around, though, working their deficit back to nine at 51-42 with 9:22 to play. UNCG’s lead would hover in the 9- to12-point range for the next eight minutes, but 3-pointers from Gramblin and Helms made it a six-point game at 60-54 with 1:18 left on the clock.
UNCG quickly pumped its lead back to double digits, getting an Amanda Leigh jumper on its next possession and a Smith steal that led to a Floyd layup to make it 64-54 with 43 seconds left.
A pair of Floyd free throws with 27.1 seconds left put the Spartans up by a dozen before Liz Miller’s jumper cut it back to 10 with 19.2 to play. Hyson then went to the free throw line for a pair, sinking both to lock up the win.
Twelve of Floyd’s points in the game came in the second half, while Hyson had the hot hand early, going into halftime with 14 to her credit.
The Spartans opened up an eight-point lead in the first half, turning a 19-18 Wofford advantage into a 27-19 UNCG lead with a 9-0 run. After a Helms 3 gave the Terriers their first lead since an early 6-3 advantage, Hyson sandwiched a pair of layups around a Leigh free throw. Leigh and TaShama Banner added layups off consecutive Wofford turnovers to seemingly put the Spartans comfortably ahead.
The Terriers would find the answer, however, as Miller rattled off five straight Wofford points and Gramblin and Kathlyn Varno had two points each to cap a 9-2 Terriers run that cut UNCG’s lead to one at 29-28 with about two minutes to play. The Spartans would close the half on a high note, though, getting a Hyson layup and then a Gini Grimsley 3-pointer just before the buzzer to go into the locker room with a 34-28 lead.
“We just played our game today, which we hadn’t been doing for the last couple of games,” Hyson said. “Today, I think we really stepped up and played how you know we can play.”
Helped by their 20 steals, the Spartans forced 29 Wofford turnovers, their best effort of the season. UNCG had not forced that many turnovers since getting 33 against Chowan on Dec. 28, 2007.
The Spartans filled up the stat sheet from all over the roster, as Smith grabbed a career-best three steals to go with her 10 boards. Grimsley had three blocked shots and Leigh had two, both matching their career highs.
“I’m thrilled that we got a win,” Agee said. “We’ve really been struggling, been in lots of close games and couldn’t get over the hump. At one point there, we had a 16-point lead and we were really running and pushing the ball well. I thought we did OK down the stretch. We lost our concentration there for a minute or two, but we regrouped and closed it pretty well.”
UNCG will get back on the road this weekend looking to make up more ground in the SoCon standings, taking on Georgia Southern on Saturday at 3 p.m. before facing College of Charleston next Monday at 7 p.m. The Spartans beat both teams earlier in the season in Greensboro.
Wofford visits league-leading Chattanooga Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Chattanooga 72, Appalachian State 43
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Erin Ogan tallied a game-high 15 points to lead four Lady Mocs (13-6, 9-1 SoCon) in double-digits as Chattanooga downed Appalachian State (3-14, 2-7 SoCon) 72-43 in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Monday night.
Ogan was 5-for-7 on the night with a pair of Chattanooga’s nine 3-pointers and seven rebounds. Jenaya Wade-Fray was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and had 14 points for the Lady Mocs in the win. Junior transfer Megan Rollins notched a career night scoring 13 points, making five of her six free throw attempts and doubled her previous best off the glass with eight boards.
Chattanooga’s defensive effort held the Mountaineers to just 29.6 percent shooting from the floor and clamped down even harder of Appalachian State’s perimeter shooting allowing ASU just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.
At the end of the first half, the Lady Mocs carried a 33-20 lead into the locker room as UTC held Appalachian State without a field goal for the final 4:30 of the period.
Wade-Fray opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and combined with Ogan to score 17 for the Lady Mocs in a 21-2 run that saw Chattanooga’s lead expand to 54-22 with 13:10 to play. The Mountaineers would not any closer than 24 points the remainder of the game as the Lady Mocs cruised to a 29-point win at home.
Shanara Hollinquest, playing just 18 minutes in the contest, extended her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games with 11 points. She just missed a double-double with eight rebounds. The Lady Mocs shot 48 percent on the night making 24-of-50 from the field including a 9-of-22 effort from 3-point range.
The Mountaineers were led by Sade Means’ 10 points and Brittney Spencer’s eight points and team-high six rebounds.
Chattanooga scored 21 points off 22 Appalachian State turnovers while the Mountaineers forced 21 UTC miscues and scored 12 points. The Lady Mocs outrebounded App State 45-33 and scored 11 second chance points off 14 offensive boards.
Both benches were factors in the game as UTC got 24 points while the Mountaineers subs scored 22 of ASU’s 43 points. Spencer had a career-high tying six rebounds for App State as the Mountaineers nabbed 14.
Both teams will return to action next Saturday. Appalachian State will remain on the road to take on Davidson at Belk Arena while the Lady Mocs stay at home for its longest SoCon home stretch of the year. Chattanooga will host Wofford at 7 p.m. at the McKenzie Arena.
College of Charleston 52, Georgia Southern 42
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Senior forward Sarah Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the College of Charleston (12-5, 6-4) defeated Georgia Southern (11-8, 6-4) Monday evening in a Southern Conference women’s basketball game at the Carolina First Arena in Charleston, South Carolina. The victory moves the Cougars into fourth place in the conference.
Trailing 25-24 with 17:04 remaining in the second half, Charleston used a 16-5 run over the next 8:50 to take a commanding 40-30 lead at the 8:14 mark. The Eagles quickly battled back to within 40-35 with 6:15 to play before the teams traded the next four baskets to make it 44-39 with 3:56 remaining in the game.
A three-pointer by sophomore guard Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) then keyed a 7-1 run that helped the Cougars close out the game with a 52-42 victory. Previously, Georgia Southern had taken three of the last four matchups and entered the game holding a 23-6 advantage in the all-time series.
In the first half, it was a defensive battle as neither team would garner more than a four-point lead as the two clubs fought through three ties and five lead changes. Following a 6-2 lead by Charleston to open the game, GSU responded with a 7-0 run to take a 9-6 advantage at the 12:55 mark. With the score at 11-8, the Cougars propelled into the lead with a 6-0 run fueled by a three-point play by junior center NeShonda McLaurin (McColl, S.C.) and a three-pointer by junior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) to go up 14-11.
It would be short lived, however, as freshman guard Samantha Williams answered right back with a three-pointer of her own, knotting the score at 14-14 with 7:11 left in the half. A basket by junior guard Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) gave Charleston back the lead at 16-14 before another three-pointer, this one by sophomore guard Jaime Navarro, made it 17-16, Georgia Southern. Back-to-back baskets by Kotcella and Gerty then closed the half for the Cougars and sent them into the break with a 20-17 lead.
A 6-2 run to start the second half gave the Eagles a 23-22 advantage before a pair of free throws gave CofC back the lead at 24-23. A basket by senior guard Ashley Melson then made it 25-24 and set the stage for the Cougars second half rally.
Junior forward J’Lisa Ogburn led Georgia Southern with a game-high 15 points, 13 in the second half, and pulled down a game-high tying nine rebounds. Melson finished the night with 10 points as the only other double-figure scorer for the Eagles. Senior guard Ashley Rivens grabbed seven rebounds on the evening.
For Charleston, Moye led the way with 10 points and seven rebounds while Gerty finished with 10 points. Junior center Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) put in a solid night’s work with eight points and nine rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass, and junior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) pulled down eight boards. Hughes setup the offense with a game-high seven assists and added six points herself while Kotcella added six points and five rebounds.
The Cougars take a break from the conference schedule to travel to Savannah, Georgia for a date with the Savannah State Tigers on Wednesday, January 21. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
GSU hosts UNC Greensboro Saturday afternoon (Jan. 24) at 3 p.m.
Western Carolina 78, Elon 50
ELON, N.C. ? Kendra Eaton dropped a game-high 17 points as Western Carolina sprinted to a 78-50 Southern Conference women’s basketball triumph over Elon Monday night at Alumni Gym.
The Catamounts (10-8 overall, 6-4 SoCon) also received 12 points and a contest-best three steals from Kaila’Shea Menendez, 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds from Brooke Johnson, 10 points from Lauren Powell and a contest-best four assists from Kendra Carroll.
The Phoenix (1-17, 0-10) was paced by a double-double performance by Amber Wall, who posted 11 markers and 11 boards. Elon’s Erica Keto made the most of her first collegiate start by pulling down a career-high seven caroms.
Western Carolina finished the contest with advantages in rebounds (47-41), assists (11-6), turnovers (15-16), blocked shots (4-2), steals (11-10), points in the paint (46-28), points off turnovers (17-6), second chance points (14-9) and bench points (33-22).
The Catamounts shot 47.0 percent (31 of 66) from the field ? 30.8 percent (4 of 13) from three-point land ? and 70.6 percent (12 of 17) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Phoenix fired 27.7 percent (18 of 65) from the floor ? 10.0 percent (1 of 10) from downtown ? and 68.4 percent (13 of 19) from the charity stripe.
In the early going, the contest saw three ties and two lead changes. Western Carolina went on a 16-4 run to transform an 11-11 deadlock ? the game’s final tie ? into a 27-15 advantage on a trey by Brooke Johnson with 6:35 left in the first period.
Elon answered with a 9-4 spurt to draw to within 31-24 on a jumper by Aiesha Harper with 1:40 to play before the break, but the Phoenix could inch no closer the rest of the way. WCU went on to outscore Elon 43-20 over the next 18:16 to build a 74-44 cushion on a pair of freebies by T.T. Belcher with 3:24 remaining in the contest.
Samford 74, Davidson 65
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford sophomore guard Emily London scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Bulldog women's basketball team to a 74-65 win over Davidson Monday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.
The win was Samford's ninth-straight SoCon win and eighth-straight victory overall. The nine-game conference streak is the longest in program history, while the eight-game overall streak ties a program best.
"We beat a good team that I thought played well," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I thought our team did a good job, for the most part, the entire game offensively. I thought this was two pretty good teams playing at a good level."
With the win, Samford improves to 14-3 overall and 9-1 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs are in a first-place tie with Chattanooga in the league standings. Davidson is now 8-11 overall and 7-3 in league play.
Davidson's Mercedes Robinson led all scorers with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Robinson made 10-of-17 shots from the floor. The Wildcats' Alex Thompson had 14 points and Ashley Lax added 10 points and six rebounds.
London made 7-of-12 shots on the night and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Behind London for Samford, Megan Wilderotter scored a season-high 16 points, making 6-of-8 shots from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Chika Okoli added 12 points, while Savannah Hill scored eight points, pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out five assists.
Samford shot 53.6 percent in the first half, compared to Davidson's 41.9 percent, and the Bulldogs took a 40-34 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Samford opened up as much as a 15-point lead at 54-39, but the Wildcats closed to within seven at 54-47 with 12:56 to go in the game. The Wildcats, however, could get no closer as Samford came away with the 74-65 win.
For the game, Samford shot 47.2 percent, while Davidson shot 41.3 percent. Samford made 41.7 percent of its three-point attempts, and the Bulldogs made all 14 of their free throw attempts on the night.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 24 when the Bulldogs play host to Furman. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT start from the Pete Hanna Center. Davidson will next play host to Appalachian State on Jan. 24, with the game set to begin at 12 p.m. (EST)