Samford 69, Evansville 66
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Samford women's basketball team overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half to earn a win in its first road game of the season Sunday at Evansville, 69-66, at Roberts Gym.
"I am extremely proud of our team for coming back and not giving up," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "It is a testament to our kids to not give up and find a way to win. I am also proud of our bench (reserve players), they made a big difference, especially in the second half. Even though we won, we have to learn a lesson from this game, because we were both very good and very bad at times during this game."
Monica Maxwell led Samford with 17 points, while Emily London and Savannah Hill scored 16 points each. London made 6-of-9 shots from the floor, and was the team's leading rebounder with six. Megan Wilderotter led the team in assists with four. Wilderotter and freshman Hannah Dawson added seven points apiece to the winning effort.
Evansville was led by Chelsea Falkenstein with 14 points and nine rebounds. Samantha Heck scored 13 points, while Amy Gallagher and Chelsea Hawkins added 11 points each.
The Bulldogs trailed, 52-34 with 13:21 to go in the game and 56-39 with just 9:42 left. Samford, however, went on a 22-5 run over a nearly six-minute period to tie the score at 61-61 with 3:47 to play in the game. In Samford's run, Maxwell and London scored nine points each to lead the comeback.
Samford took its first lead of the second half when Hill hit a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 66-64 lead with 1:48 to go in the game. After Evansville tied the game with a pair of free throws, three free throws by Maxwell down the stretch gave Samford the 69-66 win.
Evansville held a six-point lead at halftime, 35-29. The Purple Aces opened the second half with an 11-1 run to push their lead to 14 at 46-32 with 15:27 to go in the game. After Samford cut the lead to 12 at 46-34, Evansville scored the next four points to grab their largest lead at 52-34 with 13:21 to go.
Samford cut the lead to 14 at 53-39 with 11:12 to go, but a jumper and a free throw by Falkenstein pushed the lead to 17 at 56-39 with 9:42 to go, setting the stage for the Bulldogs' comeback.
For the game, Samford shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the floor and 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from three-point range. Evansville made 42.2 percent (19-of-45) of its shots and 42.9 percent (6-of-14) of its three-pointers.
Samford committed just 10 turnovers, while forcing Evansville into 16 turnovers. Evansville won the rebounding battle, pulling down 38 boards to Samford's 28.
With the win, Samford improves to 2-0 on the season, while Evansville drops to 0-2 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 21, when the Bulldogs play at McNeese State. The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. tip-off.
Chattanooga 76, Austin Peay 66
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Shanara Hollinquest had a team-high 21 points to lead the Lady Mocs to a 76-66 win over Austin Peay Sunday afternoon at the Dave Aaron Arena.
The Lady Mocs even their record at 1-1 overall while the Lady Govs (0-1) drop their season opener.
Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) poured in 17 second half points to keep the Lady Mocs on top throughout the second period as Austin Peay only managed a one-point lead once in the frame.
The Lady Mocs jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, but that lead quickly dwindled as Austin Peay reeled off nine straight points. Sophomore Kori Penland (Chickamauga, Ga.) hit a jumper with 10:27 to play in the first half to put Chattanooga on top 20-13 before the Lady Govs would storm back to take the lead.
Nicole Jamen hit a pair of free throws to give Austin Peay a 24-22 lead with 7:49 to play and the Lady Govs would extend that lead to 28-24.
That lead would be short-lived as freshman Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) went on an 8-0 run to put the Lady Mocs on top 32-24 with just 2:09 to play before the half. UTC led at the half 36-31.
In the second half, Austin Peay's Whitney Hanley exploded for 17 points with eight to start the period giving the Lady Govs their first lead in more than nine minutes of play at 45-44 with 14:30 to play in the game.
Hollinquest hit back-to-back layups to give Chattanooga the lead for good just 30 seconds later. She would get 13 more points in the half to lead Chattanooga to its first win of the season.
Christopher had a season-high 13 points in the game with five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and just one turnover. Senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) had 14 points and was 2-for-2 from the 3-point line and six rebounds.
The Lady Mocs shot 61.9 percent in the first half from the floor and was 4-for-5 from the 3-point line and shot 53.8 percent in the second half making 4-of-7 from the arc. However, the free throw line saw the Lady Mocs struggle making just 14-of-25 (58.0%) attempts.
Hanley led all scorers with 22 points and had five rebounds. Nicole Jamen had a double-double for the Lady Govs with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
It's a Gold Rush Thursday, Nov. 19 when the Lady Mocs return home to take on the 21st-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs at the McKenzie Arena. Log onto the official website of UTC athletics at www.GoMocs.com to purchase tickets or call the McKenzie Arena box office at 423-266-MOCS (6627) to get your tickets today.
Creighton 77, Davidson 58
OMAHA, Neb. - Senior Julia Paquette turned in a double-double performance, including a career-high 14 rebounds, but Creighton used 15 three-pointers to defeat the Davidson Wildcat women's basketball team, 77-58, Sunday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Paquette finished with 13 points, all in the second half, on 6-of-11 shooting and 14 rebounds to lead Davidson (0-2). She scored five straight points, including converting an and-one play with 12 minutes to play in the second half, to cut the Bluejays' lead to 10, but that's as close as the 'Cats would get.
Creighton (2-0) stiffled the Wildcats' momentum with an 11-2 run to push the margin to 17 points, 53-36, with just under 10 minutes remaining en route to their second win of the season.
Senior Alex Thompson finished with 12 points, including two of Davidson's five three-pointers, and sophomore Kristen Johnsen added 10 points and five rebounds.
Creighton's Chevelle Herring led all scorers with 20 points, shooting 7-of-15 from the field and making her only pair of free throws. Herring also connected on four of seven attempts from behind the arc, as the Bluejays shot 50 percent (15-for-30) as a team from deep.
MVC Preseason Player of the Year Megan Neuvirth and Sam Schuette also scored in double figures for Creighton, adding 17 and 10 points, respectively.
The Wildcats shot 45 percent from the field (23-of-51) and won the rebound battle, 37-32. But Davidson committed 27 turnovers to just 16 for the Bluejays, who scored 29 points in exchange. Creighton finished 27-of-64 (42 percent) from the field and made just eight of 14 free throw attempts (57 percent), but overcame its struggles at the line with 15 treys.
Freshman Barbara Sitton scored the first basket of the game for Davidson, but it is the only time the Wildcats would lead in the contest. Schuett's layup tied the game, and Kelsey Woodard hit the first three to give Creighton a 5-2 edge.
Thompson countered for Davidson, knotting the score at five, but the MVC preseason favorite would build a double-digit lead behind a 10-run and five-minute Wildcat scoring drought.
Thompson's second trey cut the Creighton lead to nine with 7:20 remaining in the half, but the Bluejays connected on three threes as part of an 11-4 run to pull ahead 16, 32-16, with under three in the period. Senior Monica Laune's jumper with 36 seconds sent Davidson into the locker room trailing 33-20 at the break.
Schuett opened the second half with the Bluejays' first of 10 second-half treys, as Creighton built a 17-point advantage with 14 minutes left to play. Paquette's bucket and subsequent and-one play came as part of a 7-0 Davidson run to cut the lead to 44-34 with just under 12 minutes to go but Creighton would push the margin to 22 on Neuvirth's trey with 5:42 on the clock and go on for the 77-58 victory.
Davidson returns to action with a 7 p.m. contest at NC State (1-1) Friday night. The Wolfpack split contests at the Sheraton Wolfpack Invitational this weekend, picking up an 87-71 win over Florida International Friday night and falling 47-52 to Vermont Saturday evening.
East Carolina 70, Western Carolina 59
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball completed its two-game road swing with a 70-59 loss at East Carolina Sunday in Minges Coliseum. The Catamounts fall to 0-2 to start the season while ECU improves to 2-0.
The first half was a struggle for Western Carolina, as the club found itself in a 15-point (31-16) deficit with 3 minutes left. A jumper by Emily Clarke with 2:41 remaining started a 10-4 run by the Catamounts to close out the first half. Back-to-back jumpers by junior Kendra Carroll in the final 30 seconds cut the Pirate lead to single-digits, 35-26, heading into the locker room.
Western Carolina continued to chip away at the ECU lead to start the second half. With 11 minutes remaining, the Catamounts forced the first tie of the game, at 42, thanks to a lay-up by senior forward Kristen Feemster. ECU answered with a jumper by Ashley Clarke to re-take the lead, but WCU answered with a bucket off a jumper by its own Clarke to tie the game for the second time at 44.
Kim Gay was fouled and hit one of two free throws to allow ECU to regain the lead and the Pirates never trailed again. The East Carolina advantage in scoring was just 16-15 in the final 10 minutes of the game for the Pirates.
Western Carolina had 20 turnovers in the game and ECU got 26 points off the Catamounts miscues. The Catamounts also had 20 turnovers and lost the rebounding advantage 37-29.
For the second consecutive game, junior guard Carroll paced the Catamounts scoring 16 points against ECU. She was one point shy of her career-high of 17 points in which she scored against Montana State in 2008-09.
Carroll was one of three Catamounts to score in double figures. Fellow junior Emily Clarke added 12 points and sophomore Kailia'Shea Menendez had 10. Clarke also led the club in rebound with eight.
Western Carolina will play its first home game of the 2009-10 at 7 p.m. Friday, hosting Southern Conference member Wofford. After the SoCon match-up, the Catamounts will head to Anchorage, Alaska to participate in The Great Alaska Shoot-out November 24-25.
UNC Wilmington 84, Wofford 53
WILMINGTON, N.C. - Junior Brittany Blackwell scored a game-high 18 points to lead UNC Wilmington to an 84-53 win over Wofford in women's basketball action Sunday at the Trask Coliseum.
The Seahawks jumped on top early and led wire-to-wire against the Terriers. With Blackwell providing the firepower, UNCW carved out an early 5-0 lead two minutes into the contest and maintained a multiple-possession lead the rest of the way. The Terriers fell in their largest deficit of the period at 33-20 with 2:14 left in the half.
The Seahawks carried the momentum into the beginning of the second period by outscoring the Terriers, 10-4, over the first five minutes to push the margin to 46-27. The lead would grow to as many as 35 points in the closing minutes as a layup by Blackwell gave the Seahawks a 79-44 lead with exactly four minutes remaining.
Blackwell scored 12 of her 18 points in the first half while grabbing 11 rebounds for the 17th double-double of her career. Blackwell also pitched in five assists and four steals in an all-around effort. Seniors Greta Luksyte and Casey Sawhook and freshman Jessica Freeman joined Blackwell in double figures as Luksyte pitched in 12 points while Sawhook and Freeman chipped in 11 points apiece.
Junior Mahagony Williams paced the Terriers with 12 points and eight rebounds while also adding two blocks. Seniro Kathlyn Varno grabbed seven boards and added an assist for Wofford. Seniors Natalie Gramblin Kelly Dwyer each added eight points for the Terriers while Dwyer led the team with three steals and added five rebounds.
With the loss the Terriers fall to 0-2 on the season while UNC Wilmington opens the season 1-0 with the victory. Wofford will return home for its only home game of 2009 when the Terriers host Norfolk State on Wednesday, November 18. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
Cincinnati 85, Furman 46
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Kahla Roudebush's 18 points paced a contingent of double figure scorers in Cincinnati's 85-46 win over Furman in women's basketball action Sunday evening at Fifth Third Arena.
Roudebush, a senior guard, canned 6-of-11 field goals, including 4-of-7 3-point attempts, and a pair of free throws to pace Cincinnati (1-0). Shareese Ulis scored 17 points, and Michelle Jones and Val Schuster followed with 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bearcats.
Furman (0-2) was paced by Kali Holtfreter's 13 points, and Kaitlin Murphy added 10 points for the Paladins.
Cincinnati shot a blistering 58.6 percent from the field (17-of-29) in the first half to race to a commanding 27-21 lead at the break. Furman, meanwhile, converted just 6-of-26 shots (23.1 percent) over the first 20 minutes.
The Bearcats were especially effective from 3-point range, knocking down 10-of-20 treys in the contest, and dominated the boards, posting a 46-33 rebounding advantage.
The Paladins open their home season on Thursday when they entertain Indiana State at Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena in a 7:00 p.m. game
All Paladin women's basketball home games and select away games will be broadcast via the internet through StretchAudio, also accessible through www.furmanpaladins.com.