Georgia Southern 66, Chattanooga 65
STATESBORO, Ga. - Chattanooga led by one point with 21 seconds left in the game, but a jumper from the wing by Jamie Navarro put the Eagles back on top, 66-65. Back-to-back turnovers followed giving UTC the possession with four seconds left, but the Eagles outlasted the Mocs and closed out the win Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) at Hanner Fieldhouse. The win snapped a 27-game Southern Conference win streak by Chattanooga as Georgia Southern recorded its first win over the Mocs since January 4, 2005 in Statesboro.
The Eagles handed Chattanooga its first conference loss of the year, as the Mocs dropped to 9-6, 5-1. Georgia Southern improved its record to 9-5, 4-1 with the victory.
“To win the first game of the New Year is wonderful, especially when it is over Chattanooga,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “Chattanooga is a great ball club.”
Senior Ashley Rivens (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Eagles in their 53.2 shooting percentage on the game, chipping in 17 points and clearing away five rebounds. Rivens was paramount in the win, connecting on 7 of 10 from the floor, 3 of 4 from beyond the three-point arc. The Eagles won the rebounding battle over the Mocs, 33-25, with J'Lisia Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) and Navarro (Naples, Fla.) both pulling down a team-high six boards apiece.
Georgia Southern trailed in the first half until the 7:24 mark when it was tied 18-all. A 3-pointer from Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) put the Eagles in the lead with 7:09 left in the opening stanza. The Mocs managed to tie the game one more time before Georgia Southern broke away and led by as many as seven points by the fourth media timeout. The Eagles headed to the locker room with a 35-27 advantage.
Rivens led all scorers at the half with nine points, but Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) followed right behind with eight; Williams nailed 2 of 3 field goals from three-point land in the first 20 minutes. Georgia Southern kept a close handle on the Southern Conference’s leading scorer, Shanara Hollinquest, who managed to tip in only eight points in the first half for Chattanooga.
The Lady Eagles quickly pushed their lead to double digits in the second half, but the Mocs would slowly chip away at Georgia Southern’s comfortable lead. An 11-4 Chattanooga run forced a :30 second timeout from Georgia Southern as the Mocs trailed by just one at the 9:02 mark.
The timeout sparked a Georgia Southern run and the Eagles led 57-48 after Rivens nailed a long three at the 5:28 mark. But the Mocs would outscore the Eagles 17-7 over the next 5:07 and would take the lead, 65-64, off a lay-up and free throw from Hollinquest with 20 seconds left.
Chattanooga tightened the pressure on Georgia Southern, but Navarro managed to down a jumper with seven seconds left in the game, giving the Eagles their final 66-65 score.
Chattanooga forced only three turnovers from Georgia Southern in the second half as the Eagles shot 54.5 percent in the final 20 minutes and 53.2 percent for the game. The Eagles shot well from behind the three-point arc in the game, hitting 8 of 12 (66.7 percent); the Mocs attempted 24 from three-point land, but only made nine (37.5 percent).
Jenaya Wade-Fray led Chattanooga with a team-high 21 points, followed by Hollinquest who added 20. Hollinquest also led the rebounding battle for the Mocs, clearing away a team-high nine. Chattanooga shot 46.2 percent from the floor, 50 percent in the second half.
The loss was UTC’s first league setback since a 76-55 defeat at the hands of Western Carolina on Feb. 10, 2007.
Georgia Southern will look to defend its home court again when they host conference foe Samford on Monday, January 5. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm at Hanner Fieldhouse. Chattanooga looks to bounce back Monday night when it visits College of Charleston for a 7 p.m. tip.
Samford 64, College of Charleston 58
Charleston, S.C. -- Savannah Hill scored a game-high 26 points to lead Samford (9-3, 4-1) over the College of Charleston (8-4, 2-3) in Southern Conference women’s basketball action at the Carolina First Arena on Saturday.
Trailing 43-37 with 10:38 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs used a 15-4 run, fueled by a pair of three-pointers by sophomore guard Emily London and seven points from Hill, to retake the lead at 52-47 with 3:19 to play. A three-pointer by Charleston junior guard Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) on the next possession quickly narrowed the gap to 52-50 before a layup by London and a trey from redshirt-junior guard Monica Maxwell pushed the lead back to 57-50 at the 1:30 mark.
With the score at 62-55 and 26 seconds to play, sophomore guard Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) drew the Cougars to within 62-58, but it would be as close as they would get as Maxwell sunk a pair of free throws to stave off an impressive Charleston rally and escape with a 64-58 victory.
It was much different game in the first half as Samford dominated the first 14 minutes of play. After jumping out to a 9-3 advantage at the 15:03 mark, the Bulldogs weathered a Charleston rally that narrowed the gap to 14-9 with 10:07 remaining in the half. From there, back-to-back three-pointers from London and Hill sparked an 8-0 run that left the score at 22-9. Samford would continue to build on that lead, eventually extending to a 29-15 advantage with 5:54 until the break.
At that point, consecutive jumpers by senior forward Nikki Williams (North, S.C.) and a three-point play by junior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) keyed a 7-2 Cougars rally that left the score at 31-24 heading into the half.
Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs managed to extend their lead to 37-29 before the Cougars again flashed the strong play they had showed at the end of the first half. Trailing by eight, Charleston went on a 14-0 run that included seven straight points from Williams and took its first lead of the game at 43-37 with 10:38 to play. All told, the Cougars went on a 28-8 run from 5:54 remaining in the first half to 10:38 of the second half, a span of 15:16. From there, Samford then battled back to earn the 64-58 victory.
Hill’s career-high 26 points, on 10-of-13 shooting and 4-of-5 marksmanship from beyond the three-point arc, led the way for the Bulldogs while Emily London notched 15 points, nine of which came on three three-pointers. She also added five rebounds and a team-high four assists while Monica Maxwell rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points.
For Charleston, Williams scored a team-high 12 points and added six rebounds and Gerty finished with 11 points, four rebounds and a game-high five assists. Brooke Kotcella added eight points and five rebounds while Hughes totaled seven points. Senior forward Sarah Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) chipped in with six points and six rebounds while junior center Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) added six points and five boards.
The Cougars continue through the most difficult portion of their schedule when they host defending Southern Conference Champion Chattanooga on Monday, January 5. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in the Carolina First Arena. Samford continues its road trip at Georgia Southern Monday night, as the two one-loss teams square off at 7 p.m.
Furman 70, Wofford 69
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Lashana Booker’s layup with four seconds left in the game lifted Furman to a 70-69 victory over Wofford in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.
Booker’s game winning shot came after Melissa Liebschwager took the inbounds pass with nine seconds to go and drove down the lane before passing to Booker, who touched the ball off the glass and through the net to give Furman the lead.
Wofford’s Natalie Gramblin’s 3-point shot from just inside half court in the final second tickled the net underneath the rim as time expired.
The Lady Paladins moved into position to win on the strength of two free throws by Baker with 12 seconds to go and a steal by Baker on an ensuing errant Wofford inbounds pass with nine seconds left in the game.
The victory was the fifth in six games for Furman (8-6, 2-3 SoCon) and 17th straight over Wofford (1-11, 0-5 SoCon) in Greenville, where the Terriers have never won.
Liebschwager and Kali Hotfreter paced Furman with 14 points each, and Katie Johnson and Lee Stephens followed with 13 points apiece. Baker rounded out the Paladins’ five-player double-figure scoring effort with 10 points. Furman’s starting lineup accounted for 64 of its 70 points, with Booker, a product of Spartanburg’s Dorman High School, scoring the other six. Johnson’s eight rebounds led Furman on the boards.
Wofford was paced by Mahagony Williams, who scored 11 points and claimed a game-high 10 rebounds. Kate Dempsey had 10 for the Terriers.
Wofford shot 43.4 percent from the field for the game, making good on 23-of-53 attempts, but the Lady Terriers, who claimed a 47-40 rebounding advantage, were hurt by 26 turnovers.
Furman managed only a 34.3 shooting percentage in the contest and struggled at the line, converting only 16-of-30 free throws (53.3 percent) after entering the game as the SoCon’s top free throw shooting team (78.0 percent).
The game was close from start to finish. Holding a slim 34-33 halftime lead Wofford stretched its advantage to 44-38 on a Kelly Dwyer 3-pointer with 13:43 to go. Furman, however, answered with back-to-back Liebschwager 3-pointers to tie the game at 44-44 a little over two minutes later.
A Holtfreter layup with 9:11 remaining put Furman ahead 50-48, but Maddie Helms’ 3-pointer a half minute later put the Terriers back in front.
From that point Wofford was able to build four-point leads on five occasions, but each time the Paladins clawed back.
Two free throws by Williams with 1:04 to go gave the Terriers a 68-64 advantage, but Liebschwager cut it two with a layup with 22 remaining. Maddie Helms converted one of two free throws a second later to give Wofford a 69-66 lead. Baker was fouled on Furman’s ensuing possession and sank both free throws to pull the Paladins to within a point with 12 seconds to go. Baker then picked off the Wofford inbounds pass, and following a timeout Liebschwager’s dribble penetration set up Booker for the game winning basket.
Furman plays its fourth game in eight days on Monday when it entertains Western Carolina, with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. Wofford returns home to face Southern Virginia Monday at 6:00 p.m.
Western Carolina 92, Appalachian State 55
Boone, N.C.- Appalachian State University (1-11, 0-4) women’s basketball was unable to comeback from a 44-25 halftime deficit and fell to SoCon rival Western Carolina (7-6, 3-2) 92-55 on Saturday afternoon. Poor shooting and turnovers hindered the Apps, shooting 38 percent and turning the ball over 30 times in the contest.
Brittney Spencer scored the first points of the game, laying the ball in the bucket to give the Apps the early 2-0 advantage.
Western Carolina responded quickly as Lauren Powell hit a jumper to tie the game. Powell continued with her hot shooting in the early minutes of action, scoring eight of the Lady Catamounts first 11 points. A Haley Hackett and Spencer layup cut the deficit to just five, 11-6.
Spencer finished the game with seven points, two assists and one steal.
Western Carolina went on a 9-0 little over two and a half minute run to increase their lead to 18 points. Brittany Mixon ended Appalachian’s scoring drought, hitting a layup to make it 30-14. The senior had 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Frances Hernandez scored her first points of the contest hitting a baseline jumper with 4:48 to go in the first, while Charmene Means also notched her first points nailing a jumper, to make WCU’s advantage 20.
Appalachian would score seven more points over the last 2:30 while the Lady Catamounts scored six more , to close out the half and take a 44-25 lead into the break.
Canesha Edwards got the Mountaineers going offensively in the second half hitting a jumper off a Charmene Means assist. Edwards led the Black and Gold in rebounding with nine boards for the fifth time this season. The freshman also had three points and three blocks.
The Lady Catamounts took their largest lead at 12:05 going up by 33 points as Heather Swayne drilled a trey.
Sam Ramirez took over scoring duties for ASU for the remainder of the game as the sophomore scored 13 of her 14 points. She also finished the contest with two boards and one assist.
Appalachian could not cut the score to any closer than 22 points and the Lady Catamounts went on a 14-0 run to end the game and come out on top.
Kaila' Shea Menendez paced WCU, scoring a season-high 17 points, along with having three steals.
The Apps look to rebound from a tough loss as they hit the road Tuesday January 6, traveling to Burlington, N.C. to take on Elon at 7 p.m. Western Carolina visits Furman Monday at 7 p.m.
Davidson 72, Elon 58
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Led by four scorers in double figures, including two Wildcats who hit for double doubles, Davidson started 5-0 in Southern Conference play for the first time in school history after securing a 72-58 home win over Elon on Saturday evening in women's basketball action.
Behind Alex Thompson's (Asheville, N.C.) game-high 21 points, Davidson inched closer to .500 with an overall mark of 6-8, while picking up its seventh SoCon win in a row dating back to the end of last year. The Wildcats also moved into sole possession of first place after Chattanooga dropped their first league game of the year at Georgia Southern earlier in the day.
Elon dropped its 12th straight to fall to 1-12 overall and remained winless in SoCon action at 0-6. The Phoenix were paced by Courtney Medley and Tiara Gause, who each went off for 17 points apiece.
Joining Thompson, who hit four of her seven field goals from downtown, in double figures was the senior duo of Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) and Mandy Halbersleben (Cincinnati, Ohio). They tallied the Wildcats' second straight game with two players picking up double doubles. Robinson matched her season average with 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for her second double-double in a row, seventh of the season and 24th of her career. She has registered double doubles in four of the past six games.
Halbersleben, coming off a solid all-around game against Wofford on Tuesday, recorded her first career double-double by matching her personal-best with
12 points and adding 10 rebounds. Over the past three contests now, the senior forward has hauled in 27 total boards.
Rounding out the quartet of scorers was Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) with 10 points, and just nearly missed her second straight double-double with nine rebounds. Paquette was one of six 'Cats to hauled in at least four rebounds in leading Davidson to a 53-31 advantage on the boards.
Tied at 44-all the eighth and final tie of the game with 11:37 left, Davidson finally pulled away with a 13-1 run over the next four minutes to take a 57-45 advantage. The Wildcats used their inside play to grab the 12-point lead as Paquette hit for six of the 13 points, while Robinson and Halbersleben each hit layups in the paint during the run.
From there, Davidson pushed the lead out to as many as 16 points on a Kristen Johnsen (Wayne, Pa.) free throw, and easily secured the 72-58 triumph.
Elon was never able to counter the Wildcats run as it went cold from the field in the second half, hitting just 19.4 percent of its shots in the second stanza. The Phoenix shot 19 of their 36 total second-half field goals from three-land, but made just four of them.
Both teams were nearly identical in the stat sheet in the first half, which saw the Wildcats take a one-point lead (35-34) into halftime. Davidson and Elon each shot over 45 percent from the floor, scored 20 points apiece in the paint, hauled in 16 rebounds each and both had a player reach double digits in points.
Davidson held a four-point lead (21-17) in the early going after two Robinson free throws, but Elon countered with an 8-2 run that gave it a five-point lead at 25-20 and 7:31 remaining in the half.
Robinson then capped off the first half, which saw seven ties and five lead changes, with a driving layup and 11 ticks on the clock to give the Wildcats the one-point advantage at halftime.