Davidson 67, UNC Greensboro 45
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson opened up the New Year by putting four players in double figures in points, with Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) recording her second straight double-double, and the Wildcats held UNC Greensboro to 21.3 percent shooting in rolling to a 67-45 Southern Conference win on Saturday afternoon at John M. Belk Arena in women's basketball action.
The four double-figure scorers was the third time this year the Wildcats accomplished the feat as they kept their winning ways going. They won their third straight, and fifth in the past six games, to improve to 5-7 overall and 4-1 in league play.
A 15-0 run in the final 7:46 of the first half broke up a 15-all tie to give Davidson control of the game and it would push its lead out to as many as 27 points in the second half in cruising to the 22-point win.
The Spartans (5-8, 2-3 SoCon) went ice cold during that time, missing all seven of their shot attempts, including a pair of free throws, and turned the ball over four times. UNCG shots just 19 percent (6-31) overall in the half and hit just one of its 11 three-point attempts.
Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.), who started the game-changing run with a trey and would score nine of the 'Cats last 15 points in the half, led all scorers with 15 points. She went 5-of-11 from the field and hauled in seven rebounds. Lax also finished 3-of-7 from behind the arc as Davidson drained seven treys as a team, one off its season-high.
Aleksandravicius, fresh off her third double-double in a win on Tuesday vs. Newberry, picked up yet another one with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. She added three blocks to push her team-leading total to 21.
Aleksandravicius was not alone down on the blocks as senior Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) and sophomore Kristen Johnsen (Wayne, Pa.) combined for 21 points and 13 rebounds. Paquette, who finished with 11 rebounds seven of them coming on the offensive end gave Davidson its first pair of double-figure rebounders since last season when Mandy Halbersleben and Mercedes Robinson reached the double-digit mark at Wofford, Jan. 31.
Davidson had its best game in the rebounding department, pulling down season highs of 16 offensive rebounds and 51 boards overall.
Johnsen topped her career-best in points, set just a game ago, with 14 off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting and picked up four more points at the charity stripe. During a four-minute stretch in the middle of the second half, she scored eight of the 'Cats 10 points to help Davidson push its lead out to 26 at 60-34 with 7:06 remaining.
Rounding out the double-figure scorers was senior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) with an even 10 points, while she also filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Fellow Senior Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.) nearly clipped the double-figure mark with nine points, while dishing out a game-high five assists.
Brey Dorsett was the lone Spartan to reach double figures with 11 points off the bench. UNCG got 30 of its 45 total points from its bench.
Davidson, currently sitting in second place in the SoCon, hunts for its fifth league win on Monday, Jan. 4. The Wildcats travel to Elon for a 7 p.m. contest.
Game Notes: Head Coach Annette Watts is now six SoCon wins away from reaching 100 for her career ... Thompson has now scored in double figures in nine of the Wildcats' 12 games ... Aleksandravicius has registered three of her four double doubles at home ... during the last six games, the freshman is averaging a double-double at 19 ppg and 10.3 rpg ... the 22-point win tied a season-high as Davidson earlier this season defeated Wofford, 90-68 ... Davidson has now won five of its last seven games vs. UNCG.
Western Carolina 66, Furman 58
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Junior Emily Clarke lit up the court with a career-high 27 points to help lead Western Carolina women's basketball to a 66-58 win over Furman (4-11, 2-4 SoCon) Saturday in the Ramsey Center. The Catamount victory over the Paladins halts a five-game losing streak, and evens Western Carolina's Southern Conference record to 2-2, pushing its overall record to 3-10.
Clarke has led Western Carolina in scoring in five of the last six games and also hit double figure scoring in five of the last six games. Her first five field goals in the game were three-pointers and she ended the contest with a career-high six three-pointers. Her nine total field goals were also a career-high.
Western Carolina led by one point, 23-22, at halftime in the nip and tuck contest. With 4:04 left in the first half, the score was tied at 20 after Kaila'Shea Menendez hit a lay-up. Furman answered with a jumper by Susan Troutman to give the Paladin's a two-point advantage.
A three-pointer by Jessica Jackson, with 1:09 left, gave the Catamounts a slim one-point advantage headed into the locker room. Western Carolina shot just 32.1 percent from the field in the first half.
In contrast to the first half, Western Carolina shot a scorching 54.5 percent from the field in the second half. The Catamounts went on a 12-3 run in the first seven minutes of the second half to build its largest lead of the game, eight points, to make the score 35-27. It was then time for Furman to go on a run of its own, answering with a 14-4 run to re-take the lead at 41-39 with 8:35 remaining.
Clarke answered, as she did all game, nailing a three-pointer to give Western Carolina a one-point lead, 42-41, with 8:15 left. Although Furman cut Western Carolina's lead to one point four more times, in a five minute span, the Paladin's never led again.
Western Carolina's narrow lead of one point was pushed to four points when Clarke hit her sixth three-pointer of the game with 4:08 remaining. After struggling for most of the game at the free throw line, Western Carolina went 8-for-8 in the final 35 seconds of the game to keep Furman at bay. Overall, the Catamounts were 15-of-24 from the charity stripe for 62.5 percent.
The Catamounts committed 18 turnovers in the game against Furman and the Paladins converted those miscues into 21 points. Western Carolina converted just nine points from Furman's 12 turnovers. WCU also won the rebounding battle pulling down 41 boards as opposed to Furman's 29.
Western Carolina had two other players record double figure scoring performances against Furman as Kendra Carroll added 12 points and Menendez poured in 10 points. Jackson dished out seven assists and sophomore forward TT Belcher ripped down a career-high nine rebounds.
The Catamounts continue their three-game home stand by hosting Appalachian State on Monday. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.
Samford 74, Georgia Southern 49
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to take a 74-49 Southern Conference win over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
"This was a complete team effort," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "A lot of people played and contributed. I thought we set the tone defensively, forcing them into 27 turnovers and only committing 12 ourselves. I thought our approach and our toughness were great today."
For Samford, junior forward Savannah Hill led the team with 14 points and six rebounds. Sophomore guard Paige Anderson had 13 points and senior guard Monica Maxwell added 10 points.
Junior guard Emily London scored seven points, and in the process became just the fourth player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career. London now has 1,002 career points. She ranks fourth on the school's all-time scoring list, just six points behind third-place Chelsee Insell. The program's all-time leading scorer is Alex Munday, who scored 1,603 points from 2003-04 to 2007-08.
Georgia Southern was led by Carolyn Whitney with eight points. J'Lisia Ogburn and Briana Scott added seven points apiece for the Eagles.
In the first half, Georgia Southern jumped out to an early 5-2 lead. Samford, however, answered with an 11-0 run to take a 13-5 lead with 16:05 to go in the first half after a layup by Hannah Dawson.
With Samford leading, 15-10, the Bulldogs went on a 15-3 run to push its lead out to 17 at 30-13 with 8:08 to go in the half after a jumper by Anderson. Samford pushed its lead out to as much as 22 in the first half, and the Bulldogs took a 44-24 lead into halftime.
Samford pushed its lead out to 25 at 52-27 early in the second half. With Samford leading, 52-29, the Bulldogs went on a 9-1 run to increase its lead to 31 at 61-30 with 11:13 to go after a three-pointer by Anderson.
Georgia Southern scored the next eight points to cut the lead to 23 at 61-38 with 7:27 left in the game. The Eagles could get no closer than 23 the rest of the game as the Bulldogs came away with the 74-49 win.
For the game, Samford shot 50 percent (29-of-58) from the floor, and the Bulldogs made 44 percent (11-of-25) from three-point range. Samford forced Georgia Southern into 27 turnovers in the game. Georgia Southern out-rebounded Samford, 30-27.
With the win, Samford improves to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in Southern Conference play. Georgia Southern drops to 7-6 overall and 2-2 in league play with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 4, when the Bulldogs play host to College of Charleston. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
Appalachian State 85, Elon 66
BOONE, N.C. - A second-half surge lifted Appalachian State University women's basketball over Elon Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center, as the Apps downed their league foe, winning 85-66. With the win, the Mountaineers improve to an even 6-6 on the season and 2-2 in the SoCon, while the Phoenix drop to 5-8 overall and 1-4 in conference action.
The outcome appeared to be grim, as the Black and Gold headed into halftime down by 14 points after Elon closed out first half action on a 13-4 run. The Apps were struggling, shooting just 32 percent from the field and a dismal ten percent from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
Appalachian however, would not go away quietly and came storming back in the second period.
After Urysla Cotten hit a layup to open up the second half, the Mountaineers responded, going on an 18-0 streak that Elon could not answer. Chakeitha Weldon (Atlanta, Ga./Kansas) paced ASU's vicious offensive assault, as the Atlanta, Ga. native scored eight points during the Apps run. Anna Freeman (Thomasville, N.C./East Davidson) and Sam Ramirez (Fayetteville, N.C./Southview) chipped in as well, drilling treys, helping ASU grab the 51-47 advantage.
Elon tried to thwart Appalachian's offense, but was unsuccessful, as Ramirez came alive at the right time for ASU, draining two three pointers in less than a minute to increase the Apps lead to six points.
After scoring just six points in the first half, Ramirez finished the contest with 18, nailing all four of her three pointers in the second half.
Two points would be Elon's narrowest of deficits as Appalachian just dominated the Phoenix, and earned a commanding 85-66 win.
The contest was tied three times in the early goings of play, but Tiffany Davis hit a three and the Phoenix began to increase its lead, up by eight points with a little over eight minutes to play in the first.
ASU came within as close as five, thanks in part to strong play by Canesha Edwards (Newnan, Ga./Newnan) and Courtney Freeman (Carlton,Ga./Madison County), but Elon was too much, as Kelsey Evans anchored the Phoenix's attack, to put Elon up 14 at the break.
Courtney Freeman ended the game with a career and game-high 20 points, to go along with seven rebounds and four steals.
The Mountaineers rebounded, taking their first lead of the second half at the 14:55 mark off a Weldon jumper and never looked back. Despite Elon trying to rally, staging a 9-0 run, the Phoenix could never get past the nine point hump, and ASU grabbed the impressive win.
A record breaking day, Appalachian re-set ASU's single game block record and recorded a new Southern Conference single game blocks record, tallying a stout 17 blocks on the afternoon.
Appalachian looks to continue with its strong play, as the Mountaineers hit the road to take on Western Carolina, Monday January 4, with the contest set to begin at 7 p.m.
Chattanooga 64, College of Charleston 53
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team scored a big 64-53 win over league-leading College of Charleston at the McKenzie Arena Saturday night. UTC improved to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in league play to jump right back in the Southern Conference race. The Cougars fell to 9-4 overall while suffering their first SoCon loss in five games.
The Lady Mocs looked strong in the opening minutes, jumping out to a 9-1 lead behind five points from sophomore Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.). The Cougars stormed back to tie it at nine on a layup by Deidra Jones at the 13:34 mark. UTC locked down on defense after that score, only allowing two points over the next nine minutes of action.
The College of Charleston packed it in with a 2-3 zone defense trying to stop Lady Moc senior Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.). Hollinquest came into the game leading the SoCon in scoring, averaging 19.3 ppg this season.
That left the door open for Chattanooga to attack from outside. However, UTC only hit two of its first 11 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Fortunately for UTC, freshman Erin Helton (Cookeville, Tenn.) drilled a kick-out 3-pointer from fellow freshman Michelle Davis (Cleveland, Tenn.) and senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) dropped in her second three of the half to give the Lady Mocs a 27-11 lead with just under six minutes left.
That opened the middle up for Hollinquest who scored four of her eight first-half points in the closing minutes of the period. Chattanooga took a 33-24 lead into the locker room, despite only shooting 4-of-15 from outside and committing 10 turnovers.
Charleston quickly cut the halftime lead to six, 35-29 before the first media timeout in the second period. With Hollinquest taking a break, UTC's freshmen took over. Davis, Helton and Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) combined to score the Lady Mocs' next 14 points. Davis' jumper with 10:44 on the clock gave the Lady Mocs a 49-37 lead.
Wade-Fray and Hollinquest added to the margin on back-to-back scores in the paint to push the lead to 16 at the 8:52 mark. The Cougars would not go away and went on a 14-5 run over the next five minutes to cut the lead to seven at 58-51 with just under three minutes to play. The Lady Mocs held on down the stretch to pull out the win.
Despite being hounded by a tough Cougar defense, Hollinquest still managed 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and a game-high tying eight rebounds. Helton and Davis combined to provide a solid second-option in the post for the Lady Mocs tonight. Davis scored 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting while Helton added seven points and six rebounds. Davis reached double-figures for the first time in six games and the fourth time this season.
Wade-Fray led the Lady Mocs with 14 points and tied Hollinquest for game-high honors with eight boards. She also had a season-high four assists in the game.
The Lady Mocs are back in action on Monday, Jan. 4, when they host Georgia Southern (7-6, 2-2 SoCon) at the McKenzie Arena. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) and tickets are available at the UTC Ticket Office by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or online at GoMocs.com.
Follow all of the action online with live audio, video and stats on GoMocs.com. Larry Ward, "the Voice of the Lady Mocs", will have the call on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM in Chattanooga.