Western Carolina 72, Davidson 66
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Brooke Johnson scored a game-high 22 points and also notched her second-straight double-double with 11 rebounds to lead Western Carolina women’s basketball to a 72-66 victory over Davidson Monday. The Lady Catamounts improve to 11-8 and 7-4 in the Southern Conference while the Wildcats fall to 8-13 and 7-5 in the SoCon.
After leading by one point, 37-36, at halftime, Western Carolina built as much as a five point lead, 43-38, early in the second half before Davidson went on a 14-4 run to take a five-point lead, 52-47, with 9:47 left. Western Carolina continued to battle and cut Davidson’s lead to one, 60-59, when Johnson drained a three-pointer at the top of the key. The Lady Catamounts took the lead for the first time in the second half since the 11:22 mark, when Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 5:00 left in the game.
The Lady Catamounts held a tenuous lead throughout the remainder of the game, and held a slim three-point lead with 3:32 left when Davidson’s Alex Thompson went in a for a lay-up to cut the WCU lead to one, 65-64.
After a missed lay-up by Emily Clarke gave Davidson the ball back, senior Lauren Powell stole the ball, but her three-point attempt was wide, and Davidson’s Ashley Lax pulled down the rebound. Powell turned up her pursuit and again stole the ball. With 1:31 left, junior Kristen Feemster spotted Jessica Jackson open on the right side, and Jackson nailed a three-pointer that all but iced the game.
Davidson’s Thompson again trimmed Western Carolina’s lead to two, 68-66 with 1:08 left, but Feemster came back down the court and answered. Feemster hit a layup off an assist from Johnson with 22 seconds left and was also fouled, nailing the free throw to give Western Carolina a comfortable five-point and secure the win.
Western Carolina’s scorching 83.3 percent, 15-of-18, from the free throw line in the second half kept the Lady Catamounts in the game when the club went on a scoring drought from the field. The club shot 75 percent from the charity stripe for the game.
The Lady Catamounts turned the ball over just 12 times, a season best for the club. Western Carolina also had 40 rebounds in the contest, 26 of the boards off the defensive glass.
Johnson’s double-double, 22 points and 11 rebounds, was the seventh of her career and third this season. She was 6-of-8 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the three-point line and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Johnson also had two blocks in the contest and now needs just 22 to break the school record, 127, for blocks in a career.
The Lady Catamounts have won three straight games.
Davidson had three players score in double figures and was led by Thompson and Ashley Lax who each had 12 points. Mandy Halbersleben added 10.
Western Carolina begins a two-game road swing at 1 p.m. Saturday when the Lady Catamounts travel to Charleston, S.C. to take on College of Charleston. Davidson visits SoCon foe Wofford Saturday at 3 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.
Samford 81, Wofford 60
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team tied a school and Southern Conference record with 15 three-pointers in an 81-60 win over Wofford Monday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.
With the win, Samford improves to 16-3 overall and 11-1 in SoCon play. The win was Samford's 11th-straight conference win and 10th-straight win overall. Both streaks are program bests. Wofford drops to 3-16 overall and 1-10 in SoCon play.
"We spend a lot of time on shooting the ball, we have very good shooters," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Having the ability to make threes comes from being unselfish and wanting to make the extra pass. Wofford played a zone and we had some openings and our players did a good job of making the extra pass."
As a team, Samford made 15-of-33 from three-point range, while Wofford was 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Individually, Samford was led in scoring by Emily London with 18 points. Monica Maxwell scored 16 points, while Chika Okoli added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
Wofford was led by Mahagony Williams with 12 points and eight rebounds. April Moorhouse also had 12 points for the Terriers.
Samford jumped out to an early 12-4 lead with 15:43 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by London. After Wofford cut the Samford lead to three at 14-11, Samford went on a 14-4 run to push its lead to 13 at 28-15 with 8:13 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Maxwell.
With Samford leading, 39-26, the Bulldogs closed the half with an 8-3 run to take a 47-29 lead into halftime.
Samford pushed its lead out to as much as 23 points early in the second half at 54-31 with 19:00 to go after a three-pointer by London. Wofford fought back to cut the lead to12 at 54-42 with 13:30 to go after a layup by Kathlyn Varno.
Samford then went on a 12-4 run to push its lead to 20 at 66-46 with 9:04 to go after a three-pointer by Savannah Hill. Wofford could get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 81-60 win.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 31, when the Bulldogs play at Elon. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Elon, N.C. Wofford returns home to host Davidson Saturday at 3 p.m.
Georgia Southern 59, Elon 29
STATESBORO, Ga. - Senior Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) joined the Georgia Southern women’s basketball record book when she scored her 1,000th career point Monday night (Jan. 26) in a 59-29 win over Elon on her home court. Melson becomes the 18th Lady Eagle to reach such a milestone in GSU history.
“She’s grown and matured so much since she’s been a freshman,” said head coach Rusty Cram on Melson scoring 1,000 career points. “Every year since she has been here, we have improved our record. It’s almost like a team award because everyone knows they helped her get there.”
Elon held the lead for the first three minutes of play before Georgia Southern took the lead and never looked back. The Phoenix (1-19, 0-12) dropped its 19th straight game, while the Lady Eagles picked up their 13th win, pushing their record to 13-8 overall and 8-4 in Southern Conference play.
Georgia Southern got off to a slow start in the opening stanza, scoring a total 18 points in twenty minutes. Ashley Rivens (Charlotte, N.C.) drained the first five points for the Lady Eagles that gave them their first lead, 5-4, at the 17:37 mark. The game remained close as the Phoenix held Georgia Southern without a field goal for over five minutes until Jessica Geiger (Stone Mountain, Ga.) nailed a three-pointer to give the Lady Eagles a five point lead, 13-7, with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Georgia Southern widened its lead to eight points after Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fl.) hit a jumper with 3:08 left, allowing the Lady Eagles to walk to the locker room with a 19-11 advantage at halftime. Rivens led Georgia Southern in the first half with five points, while Melson pulled down five boards. Sharwill Bell led the Phoenix at half also with five points as Erica Keto secured a team-best five boards in the opening twenty minutes.
Georgia Southern held Elon to a mere 11 points off 14 percent shooting in the first half, a season low by a Georgia Southern opponent this season. The Phoenix were held to three field goals in the half, but hit 5-of-7 from the charity stripe to equal 11 points. The Lady Eagles drained three from beyond the arc and went 7-of-27 from the floor to comprise a 26 shooting percentage in the opening half.
The Lady Eagles came alive after the halftime break. A three from Navarro jump started Georgia Southern who went on a 9-4 run to take its first double digit lead of the game, 28-15, three minutes into play. Melson continued to inch her way to scoring her 1,000th career point in the second half. With 8:07 on the clock, Melson was fouled by Tiara Gause and went to the free throw line, shooting two. Melson missed the first and drained the second, scoring her 1,000th career point and gave the Lady Eagles a 43-24 advantage.
Georgia Southern continued to widen its lead the remainder of the game and led by as many as 31 points off a jumper by Dawnieka Green (Ellenwood, Ga.) with 45 seconds left. The Lady Eagles rounded out the 30 point win after Keto visited the charity stripe, connecting on 1-of-2.
The Lady Eagles shot 39 percent from the floor to Elon’s 21 percent as both teams went 9-of-14 from the free throw line. Georgia Southern held a 42-36 edge on the glass over the Phoenix who went 10-of-47 from the floor.
Melson scored a team-high 13 points (nine in the second half) and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Tiffany Davis and Courtney Medley each scored a team-best six points for the Phoenix as Keto and Urysla Cotton each pulled down a team-high eight boards.
Georgia Southern returns to action on Monday, February 2 when they host Western Carolina. Tip-off in Hanner Fieldhouse is slated for 5 p.m. Elon steps out of league play to take on Southern Virginia Thursday at 11:45 a.m. in Alumni Gym.
Chattanooga 68, Furman 52
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- After trailing 30-26 at halftime, the Lady Mocs outscored Furman by 20 points in the second half to snare a 68-52 win over the Paladins and remain atop the Southern Conference leader board Monday night at the McKenzie Arena.
Shanara Hollinquest made a driving layup at the 15:54 mark to pull UTC to within four at 38-34 and that sparked a 29-4 run over the next 11:22. The run was capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from seniors LaCondra Mason and Erin Ogan and Chattanooga was up 61-42 with 4:32 to play in the game.
Ogan went 5-for-6 and led all scorers with 16 points, making a career-high-tying three 3-pointers. Hollinquest had 15 points on the night and Jenaya Wade-Fray, with three strategic steals, had 12 points in the win. The trio each pulled down a game-high seven boards and combined for six of UTC’s eight steals. Mason, with eight points and three assists, had the other two steals for the Lady Mocs.
In the run, Ogan scored eight points as did Wade-Fray who snagged a pair of steals that resulted in fastbreak layups for the junior guard.
At the start of the half, Furman’s Melissa Liebschwager hit a pair of 3-pointers that seemed to keep the Lady Mocs at bay and double the Paladin lead. However, Furman would go 2-for-9 from the field, including an 0-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line, in the Chattanooga run, while committing eight turnovers.
The Lady Mocs shot a season-high 52.9 percent on the night making 27-of-51 shots, but struggled again from the 3-point line connecting on just 4-of-15 attempts.
Liebschwager led the Paladins with 14 points including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and Lee Stephens had 12 points with a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Candace Dowell, who scored all four of Furman’s points in the run, was the third Paladin in double figures with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Chattanooga capitalized on 17 Paladin turnovers with 21 points while Furman could muster just two on 11 UTC miscues. The Lady Mocs outrebounded Furman by a 32-24 margin off the glass and got 15 points from the bench that included six from sophomore Anelia Murray.
After a four-game homestand, the Lady Mocs will now travel to North Carolina to take on UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m., in Fleming Gymnasium.
Furman travels to Boone, N.C., Saturday to take on Appalachian State at 1 p.m.
College of Charleston 71, UNC Greensboro 51
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sophomore guard Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) scored a game-high 20 points and dished out six assists as the College of Charleston (15-5, 8-4) handed UNC Greensboro (7-14, 4-8) a 71-51 defeat Monday evening in a Southern Conference women's basketball game at the Carolina First Arena. The victory marks the Cougars' seventh consecutive, dating back to a 64-53 victory over Appalachian State on January 10.
Trailing 23-13 with 6:48 remaining in the first half, the Cougars took control of the game as they went on a 20-3 run to close out the first half. Junior guard Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) fueled the run as she scored eight points, six of them coming on a pair of three-pointers, as Charleston took a 33-26 lead going into the break.
The Cougars continued their hot shooting at the start of the second half as they went on a 19-5 run over the first 7:10 to extend their lead to 52-33. Gerty led the way for Charleston during the stretch as she scored ten of her 20 points on a pair of three-pointers and layups. Overall, CofC outscored the Spartans by a score of 39-10 over a span of 13:58 stretching from the 6:48 mark in the first half. The Cougars then maintained at least a 15-point lead the rest of the way as they closed out the 71-51 victory.
At the beginning of the game, Charleston jumped out to 9-4 lead by the 15:15 mark behind a three-pointer and jumper from Gerty. The Spartans quickly fought back though as they put together a 17-2 run over the next 4:43 to take a commanding 21-11 lead. At that point, both teams' shooting went cold as neither club managed a point over the next 3:07 before trading baskets to make it 23-13. That set the stage for the Cougars' 39-10 run that decided the game.
UNC Greensboro was led by junior guard Lakiah Hyson with 10 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Gini Grimsley added eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Kendra Smith finished with eight points and freshman guard Sarah Folwell chipped in with six points, and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line.
For the Cougars, Gerty led the way with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, four of which were three-pointers. She also added six assists and five rebounds, while junior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) came within one of her career high with 11 rebounds and added nine points on the night. Hughes finished with 11 points and two steals, and senior forward Sarah Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) added nine points and five rebounds.
The victory marks the first seven-game win streak at the Division I level for the Cougars and is the first since the 1988-89 team compiled seven victories from January 23 through February 11. Earlier that same season, the Cougars notched an 11-game win streak from November 14 through December 10.
The Cougars return to the court on Saturday, January 31 when they host Western Carolina at the Carolina First Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. The Spartans, meanwhile, return home to entertain Chattanooga at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.