Samford 72, Elon 63
ELON, N.C. - Samford sophomore guard Paige Anderson scored a career-high 19 points to lead four players in double figures as the Bulldog women's basketball team claimed a 72-63 Southern Conference win at Elon Saturday afternoon.
"This is a very good win for us," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I thought, defensively we really set the tone. Even when they scored, they had to work for it, and that is the mark of a team that can win conference games on the road by being unselfish."
Anderson made 5-of-7 shots from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Behind Anderson for Samford, junior guard Emily London scored 18 points, junior forward Savannah Hill scored 16 points and freshman forward Hannah Dawson added 11 points.
Samford senior guard Monica Maxwell had a career-high 12 rebounds in the win. Dawson also had a career-high in rebounds with eight.
For Elon, Ali Ford led the way with 25 points. Urysla Cotton and Lei Lei Hairston added 14 points each for the Phoenix.
Samford jumped out to an early 8-2 lead with 18:20 to go in the first half after a three-point play by Dawson. Elon scored the next six points to tie the score at 8-8 with 14:59 to go in the half.
With Samford leading, 11-10, the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 18-10 with 12:19 to go in the half after a three-pointer by London. Elon answered with an 11-0 run to take a 21-18 lead with 5:06 to go in the first half.
Samford came back with a 13-2 run to take a 31-23 lead with just under a minute to play in the half. Samford took a 31-25 lead into halftime.
In the second half, with Samford leading, 33-30, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to push their lead to 12 at 44-32 with 14:27 to go after a layup by Hill. With Samford leading, 46-35, Elon went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four at 46-42 with 12:01 to go in the game.
Samford pushed its lead back out to 11 at 55-44 with 9:07 left after a three-pointer by Dawson. After Elon cut the lead to nine at 55-46, Samford scored the next four points for its biggest lead of the game of 13 points at 59-46 with 7:21 left after a layup by Dawson.
With Samford leading, 64-51, Elon went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to six at 64-58 with 1:34 to go in the game. However, that was as close at the Phoenix could get as Samford came away with the 72-63 win.
With the win, Samford improves to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in SoCon play. Elon drops to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in league play. Samford shot 42.3 percent from the floor, including a 32.0 percent effort from three-point range. Elon shot 35.0 percent overall and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Dec. 21, when the Bulldogs play at SoCon foe UNC Greensboro. The game is scheduled for an 11 a.m. (CT) start from Greensboro, N.C., and it can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
Chattanooga 67, UNC Greensboro 54
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team defeated UNC Greensboro 67-54 Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gym in Southern Conference action.
The Lady Mocs improve to 6-6 overall and 3-2 in SoCon action. UNC Greensboro falls to 3-7 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Seniors Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) and Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) led the Lady Mocs attack with a pair of double-doubles. For the third time in four games, Wade-Fray led the scoring with 19 points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds while Hollinquest again came on strong in the second half and closed out the game with 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
Chattanooga got on the board first and never trailed but the Spartans fought to stay in the game getting as close as two points late in the game several times as time was running out.
Senior Tagan Hatchett (Acworth, Ga.) got the scoring started with a 3-pointer from the right side with Wade-Fray and senior Megan Rollins (Monteagle, Tenn.) following suit with one each to give the Lady Mocs a 10-2 lead less than six minutes into the game.
Freshman Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs,Tenn.) erupted for a trio of first half 3-pointers to keep the Lady Mocs on top in the first half. Chattanooga held a 35-30 advantage at halftime.
Hollinquest started the second half with a jumper and she and Rollins combined for a 10-2 run to stretch the Lady Mocs' lead to 45-32 with 13:31 to play in the game. The Spartans, however, put together a 15-4 run to cut the lead to 49-47 with 8:20 to play.
The advantage would bounce back Chattanooga's way with a 12-3 run by the Lady Mocs pushing the lead to 61-50 with 3:51 to play. Freshman Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) and Wade-Fray hit another pair of 3-pointers to give the Lady Mocs' their largest lead of the game at 67-52.
Three Spartan players reached double figures led by Lakiah Hyson and Amanda Leigh's 14 points. Sarah Folwell had 11 points and Hyson led UNCG with eight boards and four steals.
Chattanooga went 9-for-22 from beyond the 3-point line and outrebounded the Spartans 52-35. UTC scored 13 second chance points off 12 offensive boards and got 22 points from the bench. UNCG forced 26 Chattanooga turnovers and scored 22 points off the miscues.
The Lady Mocs will take a break for the holiday and return to action December 29 against the Richmond Spiders at 5 p.m. in the first game of the St. Peter's College Holiday Classic in Jersey City, N.J.
College of Charleston 77, Furman 74
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) scored a career-tying 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with 51 seconds remaining, to help the College of Charleston women's basketball team slip past Furman, 77-74, in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C..
Hughes converted 8-of-17 field goals, including 5-of-10 3-pointers, and a pair of free throws, but it was her driving layup with just under a minute to play that provided the College of Charleston (7-3, 3-0 SoCon) its winning points.
Furman (3-9, 1-3 SoCon) got a game high 27 points from Lee Stephens.
Trailing 74-73 after Furman's Raegan Thompson converted a pair of free throws with 1:12 remaining, Charleston worked the clock on the ensuing possession before Hughes drove down the lane past the Paladin defense for a layup to put the Cougars ahead 75-74 with 51 seconds left.
Both teams suffered turnovers on the next two possessions, leaving Furman with the ball with 21 seconds to go. Stephens had her driving layup attempt blocked, but Furman came up with the rebound. Following a timeout Furman's Kelly O'Connor missed a three-pointer from the left wing, and CofC's Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) secured the rebound. Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) was fouled with three seconds remaining and made the first of two free throws to give the Cougars a 76-74 lead. She missed her second attempt, but Jones claimed the carom and added another free throw for the final tally.
Hughes' performance, which included a game high eight assists, keyed a solid shooting effort by the Cougars, who canned 28-of-57 field goal attempts (49.1%), including 10-of-20 from 3-point range.
Furman also shot well, knocking down 48.0 percent (24-of-50) of its shots, including 8-of-18 treys. The Paladins made 18-of-21 free throws.
Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) followed Hughes in the scoring column with 19 points, and Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) had 13 points. Jones rounded out the Cougars' double figure scorers with 10 points to go along with a game high eight rebounds.
Lakyn Ledford scored 13 points for the Paladins, and Kendra Berry contributed 10 points.
Furman, which trailed 33-21, used a 12-5 run over the final four minutes of the first half to make it a 38-33 game at intermission.
Charleston returns home Monday, Dec. 21 to take on the Catamounts of Western Carolina in a 7:00 p.m. tip. It is a rematch from last year's Southern Conference Tournament Final. The Catamounts defeated the Cougars, 101-87, in triple overtime. It is also the "Habitat for Humanity Game." Any fan that brings in a children's book will receive free admission to the game. All books will be donated to Habitat for Humanity families.
Wake Forest 85, Wofford 55
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Lakevia Boykin led five players in double-digit scoring to pace Wake Forest to an 85-55 win over Wofford on Saturday.
The Demon Deacons opened the game with a quick three-pointer from Mykala Walker, but the Terriers tied the score at 4 off two straight layups from Natalie Gramblin. Wake Forest reclaimed the lead on another trey, this time from Camille Collier and built their lead to 10 points at 22-12. The Terriers responded with a 7-0 run to bring the score within three points at 19-22, but could not match the Demon Deacons, falling behind by as many as 13 points before heading into halftime down by 12 points at 31-43.
Wake Forest continued to build its lead in the second half. Wofford managed to keep its deficit to less than 20 points for the first five minutes, but a six minute scoring drought from the field hurt the Terriers and allowed the Demon Deacons to claim a 28 point advantage with 10 minutes remaining. Wake Forest would lead by as many as 36 points before recording the 85-55 win.
Boykin paced Wake Forest with 14 points, while Brittany Waters, Secily Ray, Patrice Johnson and Asia Williams each contributed 10 points in the win. Ray notched a double-double with 11 rebounds while Brooke Thomas led the Demon Deacons with seven assists.
The Terriers were led by senior Natalie Gramblin's 18 points, 15 of which she scored in the first half. Senior Kelly Dwyer added 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Freshman Daniella Motley led the Terriers with six boards and also added two steals.
With the win, Wake Forest improves to 8-3 on the season, while Wofford falls to 1-9 overall. The Terriers will play their last game of 2009 on Monday, December 21 when they travel to Clemson, S.C. to take on the Tigers. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.