Chattanooga 58, Georgia Southern 48
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- On an afternoon when the Lady Mocs welcomed back some of their all-time greats, UTC (18-6, 14-1 SoCon) needed a late flurry against Georgia Southern (14-9, 9-5 SoCon) to remain undefeated at home in Southern Conference action. Chattanooga used a 16-4 run over the last five minutes to secure a 58-48 win at The McKenzie Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Mocs wanted to put on a show for ?Reunion Weekend’ but may have pressed too hard to impress their distinguished guests. Chattanooga shot a season-low 28.6% (14-49) from the floor, including 5-24 (20.8%) from 3-pt. range.
Tough defense and minimal turnovers kept the Lady Mocs in the game. The Lady Mocs held the Eagles to just 29.3% from the floor, a season-low for a UTC opponent. Chattanooga committed a season-low nine turnovers.
Georgia Southern handed the Lady Mocs their only loss in SoCon play this season, 66-65 on Jan. 3, snapping UTC’s 27-game league winning streak. The Eagles looked poised to snap Chattanooga’s 22-game SoCon home winning streak today.
After trailing 24-20 in a first half that saw both teams combined to shoot 13-59 (22%) from the floor, GSU remained close throughout most of the second period. The Eagles cut the Lady Mocs’ lead to 44-42, following a layup by Ashley Nelson with 5:13 left in the game.
Chattanooga’s offense finally woke up when senior Erin Ogan answered with a 3-pointer a minute later. Georgia Southern would get back to within one point, 47-46, on two free-throws by Ashley Rivens. The Lady Mocs responded to close the game on an 11-2 run, fueled by consecutive 3-pointers from juniors Tagan Hatchett and Jenaya Wade-Fray to close out the win.
The Lady Mocs were just 2-19 from 3-pt. range before Ogan’s basket sparked their game-clinching run.
Chattanooga was led by Wade-Fray’s 15 points and six rebounds. Junior Shanara Hollinquest recorded her seventh double-double of the season, and second straight, with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ogan added 12 points while Hatchett had a game-high five assists, matching her career-best.
Chattanooga wrapped up its celebration of “Moore in McKenzie, a Decade of Dominance”, with a halftime presentation welcoming players from all of Chattanooga’s eras and recognizing Wes Moore’s Top 10 players.
The Lady Mocs return to action on Monday, Feb. 9, when they host the College of Charleston at 7:00 p.m. in The McKenzie Arena. Georgia Southern concludes its road trip with a 6:30 p.m. ET contest Monday night at Samford.
Furman 69, Wofford 60
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Junior Lee Stephens recorded 26 points to lead the Furman Paladins to a 69-60 victory over the Wofford women’s basketball team in Southern Conference action on Saturday, February 7.
In the first half, the visiting Paladins opened with a 7-0 run, but the Terriers worked their way back in the game to take a 15-14 lead at the 10:45 mark. Wofford could not hold on for long however, and Furman regained the lead off a three-point shot from Melissa Liebschwager. The Terriers got within one off a three-pointer of their own from Kelly Dwyer, but could not contain the Paladins as they went on to take a seven-point lead heading into halftime.
Furman’s Lee Stephens led all players in the first half with 17 points, while Wofford’s Natalie Gramblin recorded 13 points in the opening half.
The Paladins maintained their lead to start the second half, stretching it into the double digits and leading by 14 with 10:13 remaining. The Terriers answered with an 11-0 run to cut the Paladin lead to three points with four and a half minutes left, but a string of missed shots allowed Furman to regain a double-digit lead and earn the 69-60 win.
Furman was led by Lee Stephens, who turned in her fourth 20+ point game performance this season with 26 total points. Stephens was one of three players to lead the Paladins in rebounds, grabbing seven. Sarah Baker and Shana Booker also notched seven boards. Senior Melissa Liebschwager added 17 points in the winning effort.
As a team, the Terriers set a new school record in blocks with 14 total. Senior Natalie Gramblin led the Terriers with 13 points, while Kate Dempsey added 12, and Mahagony Williams recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 12 points and a season-high 14 rebounds while also turning in five blocks. The Terriers out-rebounded the Paladins 49-38 and also turned in a solid performance from the free-throw line, making 13 of 17 attempts for a 76.5 percentage.
With the win, Furman improves to 11-13 on the season and 5-10 in the Southern Conference while Wofford falls to 4-18 overall and 2-12 in league play. The Terriers will travel to Boone, N.C. on Wednesday, February 11 to take on Appalachian State in a 7:00 p.m. contest.
Furman travels to Western Carolina Monday night at 7:00 p.m.
Samford 61, College of Charleston 41
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team outscored the College of Charleston by 19 points in the second half to break open a close game on its way to a 61-41 Southern Conference win Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford held a 25-24 lead at halftime, and the Bulldogs outscored the Cougars, 36-17, in the second half. Samford shot 41.7 percent from the floor for the game, and 52.4 percent in the second half. From three-point range, Samford made 48.1 percent for the game, including 81.8 percent (9-for-11) in the second half.
Entering the game, College of Charleston had won nine-straight games overall, including eight in a row in SoCon play. Samford's defense forced the Cougars into 20 turnovers, while the Bulldogs committed just 11 turnovers. Charleston shot just 20 percent from three-point range, including a 16.7 percent performance in the second half.
"This was a big win for us," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Especially with Charleston playing the way they've been playing, winning eight league games in a row, and us coming back from a loss.
"I was very pleased with our team defense," Morris said. "We hadn't shot of the ball well in the last game and we didn't shoot well for part of this game, but I thought our team set the tone defensively. We really guarded and held them to 17 points in the second half."
Samford was led in scoring by Emily London with 19 points. London made 6-of-9 shots from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Savannah Hill scored 16 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Bulldogs. Megan Wilderotter dished out six assists in the game for Samford.
Charleston was led by Tonia Gerty with 10 points. Nikki Williams scored nine points and Deidra Jones and Ericka Williams added eight points each for the Cougars.
The game was close throughout the first half. In the half, the game was tied five times and the lead changed hands three times. The largest lead of the half was six points by Samford at 19-13, but Charleston answered with a 9-0 run to take a 22-19 lead with 3:10 to play in the half. Samford scored six of the final eight points of the half to take a 25-24 lead into halftime.
The score remained close through the first part of the second half until, with Samford leading 35-34, the Bulldogs went on a 15-2 run to push their lead to 50-36 with 4:44 to go after a three-pointer by Karmen Smith.
After Charleston cut the lead to 12 at 50-38, Samford closed the game with an 11-3 run to come away with the 61-41 win.
With the win, Samford improves to 18-4 overall and 13-2 in SoCon play. College of Charleston drops to 17-6 overall and 10-5 in league play. Samford currently sits in second place in the conference, just one game behind Chattanooga.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Feb. 9, when the Bulldogs play host to Georgia Southern. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. CT start from the Pete Hanna Center. The Cougars visit first-place Chattanooga Monday night at 7 p.m. ET.
Davidson 79, Elon 65
ELON, N.C. ? Mercedes Robinson posted a trio of game highs with 28 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, propelling Davidson to a 79-65 Southern Conference women’s basketball triumph over Elon Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym in front of a SportSouth SoCon Saturday television audience.
Ashley Lax (17 points) and Alex Thompson (14 points, four steals) also contributed with key performances for the Wildcats (9-14 overall, 8-6 SoCon). Davidson outscored the Phoenix (2-22, 0-15) 42-28 in the paint, 25-19 off turnovers and 17-8 off second chances. The Wildcats also out-rebounded Elon 42-36, but committed 20 turnovers. The Phoenix yielded 21 turnovers.
Elon’s Tiara Gause poured in a career-high 22 points while Tiffany Davis dished out a career-high 12 assists ? tied for the fourth-best single-game performance in Phoenix history, falling a mere three assists shy of Jayme Chikos’ 15 set in 2003. Elon’s Julie Taylor canned all four of her three-point field goal attempts, marking her third 100-percent shooting performance from behind the arc this season.
Urysla Cotton and Amber Wall each put up 10 points and seven boards for the Phoenix. Elon shot 39.0 percent (23 of 59) from the field ? 45.2 percent (14 of 31) in the second half ? and 62.5 percent (15 of 24) from the free throw line. Davidson fired 47.6 percent (30 of 63) from the floor ? 50.0 percent (16 of 32) in the first half ? and 82.4 percent (14 of 17) from the charity stripe.
The first period witnessed a pair of ties and a pair of lead changes early on, but the Wildcats went on to seize a 22-12 advantage on a layup by Lax with 7:28 to play in the opening stanza. The Phoenix answered by reeling off the contest’s next nine points, drawing to within 22-21 on a charity shot by Davis with 4:31 to go before the intermission.
Davidson responded with an 18-7 run to fatten its lead to 40-28 on a bucket by Lax with 18:30 remaining in the contest. Elon then notched the next six markers, inching to within 40-34 on a fast-break basket by Davis at the 16:16 mark. The Wildcats replied with a 22-13 surge to stretch its lead to 62-47 on a jumper by Lax with 7:59 left to play.
The Phoenix put together one final run, using a 14-7 spurt to draw to within 69-61 on a shot in the paint by Wall with 2:42 to go. Davidson scored the next eight points to extend its edge to 77-61 with 1:11 remaining.
The Wildcats will host UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m. Monday. Elon visits Appalachian State at 7 p.m. Monday.
Western Carolina 75, Appalachian State 50
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina women’s basketball halted a three-game losing slide with a 75-50 win over arch-rival Appalachian State Saturday in the Ramsey Center. The Lady Catamounts improve to 12-11 and 8-6 in the Southern Conference while the Mountaineers fall to 6-16 and 5-8 in the SoCon.
Western Carolina had 11 of its 12 players make the scoring column in the contest. Brooke Johnson led the team with 12 points and also had four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Johnson picked up her first block in two games, giving her 108 in her career, and now she needs 20 to break the school record for blocks in a career.
Fellow senior Kendra Eaton had 10 points and six rebounds. Junior Kristen Feemster had a solid performance with eight points and six rebounds.
Brittney Spencer paced ASU with 13 points while Brittany Mixon added 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Lady Catamounts used an explosive first half to build a 23-point advantage at halftime, leading 46-23, after the opening 20 minutes of the game. Western Carolina went on a 21-4 run in a seven minutes span to build a 25 point advantage, its largest of the half. WCU shot a fiery 57.6 percent from the field, in the first half, and had 19 rebounds, 11 defensively.
Western Carolina built its largest lead of the game, 33 points, with a 20-10 run in the first 13 minutes of the second half. The scoring frenzy was highlighted by three consecutive three-pointers by Western Carolina, two by Lauren Powell off assists by Jessica Jackson, and one by Jackson herself.
Appalachian State benefited defensively from eight blocks in the game, five of them by the Mountaineers Brittany Mixon. ASU had 30 rebounds in the game, but Western Carolina won the rebounding battle with 35.
The Mountaineers had 27 turnovers in the game and Western Carolina scored 30 of its points off Appalachian State miscues thanks in part to a season-high 13 steals. Lady Catamount freshman Diamond Hunnicutt contributed with a career-high four steals.
The Lady Catamounts also got 37 points from its bench and 17 second chance points. Western Carolina hit seven three-pointers in the contest and Appalachian State connected on just one.
Appalachian State’s Brittany Spencer led all scorers with 13 points while Mixon followed with 12 points.
Western Carolina completes its three-game home stand Monday, February 9, hosting Furman. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. in the Ramsey Center.
Appalachian State returns home to host Elon Monday night at 7 p.m.