Indiana State 62, Furman 47
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Kelsey Luna scored a game high 17 points to propel visiting Indiana State to a 62-47 victory over Furman in women's basketball action Thursday evening on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.
Coming off a 37-point performance in Indiana State's season opening 77-73 victory over Kansas State last Saturday, Luna canned 5-of-8 field goal attempts, including 3-of-6 3-pointers, and 4-of-4 free throws in pacing the Sycamores (2-0) to the victory. The triumph made 10-year Indiana State head coach Jim Wiedie the winningest coach in school history.
Luna, a 5-foot-5 senior guard, also claimed a game high eight rebounds, eight steals, and six assists. Deja Mattox added 14 points, and Shannon Thomas rounded out the double figure scorers for Indiana State with 11 points to go along with seven assists and four blocks.
Furman (0-3) was paced by senior guard Kali Holtfreter and Raegan Thompson with nine points apiece.
For the third straight game Furman struggled from the field, shooting just 26.3 percentage (15x57).
The teams battled to a 39-39 draw on the boards, but Indiana State took advantage of poor Furman shooting in the first half (20.7 percent) to build a 34-18 halftime advantage.
The Paladins scored the first five points in the second half on a 3-pointer by Kaitlin Murphy and two free throws by Lakyn Ledford to make it 34-23. The Sycamores, however, answered with an 11-0 run over the next three and half minutes to take total command. A 3-pointer by Chelsea Buher with 15:09 to go stretched the advantage to 45-23.
Furman plays at South Carolina State this Saturday in a 6:00 p.m. game.
No. 11 Duke 69, Georgia Southern 42
DURHAM, N.C. - The Georgia Southern women's basketball team held the No. 11 Duke Blue Devils to their lowest scoring total this season and 20 points below their scoring average Thursday (November 19) on their home court. J'Lisia Ogburn led the Lady Eagles with 11 points, but could not lead Georgia Southern past Duke as the Blue Devils captured a 69-42 inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The loss dropped Georgia Southern to 1-1 on the year, while Duke improved to 2-1 overall. Duke was held to 43.5 percent shooting from the floor in the win as the Lady Eagles shot 34.0 percent. Pulling down only 19 offensive rebounds to an average of 25 entering the game, Duke recorded 46 total boards, 27 defensive.
"I can't tell you the last time I've been this proud of the team," said head coach Rusty Cram. "We just held Duke to 69 points on their floor for a team that averages 90.5 points a game. It was an incredible effort from our team. We were pressed for a full 40 minutes and I thought we handled their pressure pretty well. The team didn't quit and I'm extremely proud of that."
A trio of treys from three different Lady Eagles opened the second half for Georgia Southern as Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.), Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Jessica Geiger (Stone Mountain, Ga.) each hit one from beyond the arc. A 9-0 run early in the second half closed the score to 58-35 over a three minute span that culminated with Frye's second trey of the stanza.
A three-pointer from Jasmine Thomas ended a seven minute Blue Devil scoring drought before Duke widened its lead back to 30-points at 69-39 with two minutes remaining. Senior Carolyn Whitney (Duluth, Ga.) recorded the final field goal of the game, nailing a three-pointer for the final score of 69-42.
Six rebounds from Geiger led the Lady Eagles for the game, while Ogburn's 11 points followed by Frye's eight points guided Georgia Southern. Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) paced the Eagles with three of their 12 assists. The Lady Eagles recorded 10 steals in the game, led by Krista Tate's (Atlanta, Ga.) three.
The Blue Devils had five players in double-digits. Thomas led with 12, while three Blue Devils tied for second adding 11 each. Bridgette Mitchell picked up a team-high eight boards, six offensive, of Duke's 46.
Foul trouble early in the first half hindered the Lady Eagles as Duke entered the double bonus with 7:30 remaining. A trio of treys from Navarro and Kayla Dayton (two) (Monroe, N.C.) highlighted the opening stanza for Georgia Southern. Ogburn and Dayton led the Lady Eagles, who shot 29.2 percent for the half, with six points each. Duke, meanwhile, hit 50.0 percent from the floor led by Joy Cheek's 10 points and five boards.
The No. 11 Blue Devils opened the game with a 4-0 lead off jumpers from Keturah Jackson and Krystal Thomas before Ogburn put the Lady Eagles on the board with a field goal, 4-2. Navarro followed connecting on a three from beyond the arc to give Georgia Southern a 5-4 lead. Duke's offense erupted as the Blue Devils took a 20-point lead off a three-pointer from Kathleen Scheer, 31-11.
The Lady Eagles held the Blue Devils at 31 for three minutes while freshman Dayton hit her first three-pointer of the opening stanza pitting the score at 31-14. After a jumper from Vernerey, Dayton added her second three-pointer for a 33-17 score. A pair of free throws from Jasmine Thomas put the score at 35-17 at halftime.
Georgia Southern returns to the court traveling to Auburn, Tuesday, November 24. Tip off in Auburn, Ala. is slated for 6 p.m. (CT).
Georgia 74, Chattanooga 57
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team dropped a 74-57 contest to 16th ranked Georgia at the McKenzie Arena Thursday night. The Lady Mocs (1-2) had a strong first half but could not hold on against one of the top teams in the nation.
Senior Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) was impressive in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 4-for-4 from the free throw line, to go with nine boards and four assists. She led the Lady Mocs to a 36-33 halftime advantage.
Chattanooga fell behind 9-2 early thanks to just 1-of-4 shooting and six turnovers in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the game. Senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) hit Hollinquest with a bounce pass for a layup down the middle of the lane to settle the team down.
Chattanooga heated up from that point, going on a 17-5 run behind five three pointers. Wade-Fray hit three in the stretch and the Lady Mocs got one each from sophomores Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) and Kori Penland (Chickamauga, Ga.) to take a 19-14 lead at the 10 minute mark.
The Lady Bulldogs cut into the lead, tying the game at 21 on a pair of free throws by Angel Robinson at the 5:29 mark. Hollinquest hit two from the line to give UTC a 28-23 lead with 4:19 left in the period.
Georgia tied the game at 30 on a layup by Meredith Mitchell, but Chattanooga pulled ahead in the closing seconds for the 36-33 halftime lead.
The Lady Mocs started the second period, much like they did the first, only managing one field goal in the first eight minutes of the second half. UTC went 1-for-7 with eight turnovers, allowing Georgia to pull ahead on a 14-3 run. A pair of free throws by Porsha Phillips gave the Lady Bulldogs a 47-39 lead with 11:58 left to go.
Hollinquest stopped the run with a layup at the 11:55 mark as Chattanooga tried to climb back into the game. Three straight three-pointers by freshman Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) and another jumper by Hollinquest helped UTC cut the lead to 56-52 with 6:53 left in the game. Christopher's third three brought the 4,004 fans in attendance to their feet and electrified the crowd.
However, Georgia's Jasmine James responded with three three-pointers of her own in a 16-2 spurt to put the Lady Bulldogs up 70-54 with two minutes left.
Hollinquest only managed four points on 2-of-6 shooting after the break, but still had a solid outing with 20 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Wade-Fray added 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting, 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
Georgia was led by James' 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 6-for-10 from 3-point range. Ashley Houts added 21 points, game-high five assists and four steals.
The Lady Mocs hit the road for their next game at Kentucky on Sunday, Nov. 22. This will be the seventh meeting between the two schools with the Lady Mocs still seeking to put a mark in the win column. Last season, the Wildcats beat UTC in the first round of the WNIT after Erin Ogan nailed a three-pointer to send the game in the overtime.
Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. against the Wildcats. The game can be heard on WPLZ 95.3 The Pulse, in Chattanooga and online on GoMocs.com. UTC's next home game is the DoubleTree Classic at the McKenzie Arena on Nov. 27-28.
The Lady Mocs welcome Evansville, Villanova and Kennesaw State to the Scenic City for the two-day event. Check the women's basketball schedule on GoMocs.com for matchups and game times. For ticket, also visit GoMocs.com or call the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).