College of Charleston 54, UNC Greensboro 51
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro staged an 11-2 rally in the last 1:32 to set up a thrilling finish, but Lakiah Hyson's last-second 3-point attempt rimmed out as College of Charleston survived with a 54-51 win at Fleming Gymnasium on Saturday.
With the Spartans (7-12, 4-7 Southern Conference) trailing by three and inbounding the ball with just one second left on the clock, Monique Floyd found Hyson alone in front of UNCG's bench for the potential game-tying 3. Hyson got the shot off in time, but the ball kissed off the glass, rolled around the rim and spun out as time expired to give the Cougars (13-6, 8-3 SoCon) the win.
UNCG trailed 52-40 with 1:46 to play, but a Sarah Folwell 3-pointer got UNCG's run started. After a UNCG timeout and a stop on the other end, Hyson converted a fastbreak layup that cut the deficit to seven points.
Forced to foul to stop the clock, the Spartans put College of Charleston's Jade Hughes on the line for a pair of free throws, and Hughes missed the second shot. Kendra Smith hit a 3 on UNCG's next possession to get it to five points, and after a College of Charleston turnover, Hyson hit a 3 of her own to make it a two-point game at 53-51 with 29.6 seconds left.
Tonia Gerty was fouled in the backcourt as UNCG continued to press, and Gerty missed the front end of her two-shot foul to give UNCG life.
The Spartans had 27.2 seconds left, and Amanda Leigh and Hyson both got off 3-point tries that fell short. UNCG ended up with the ball out of bounds after a scramble for the rebound, giving Hyson and the Spartans one last chance at the tie with just one tick of the clock left. Hyson's eighth 3-point try of the day went begging as UNCG lost its third game this season when it had the ball and the chance to win or tie on the game's last possession.
Hyson finished with a game-high 23 points, giving her 20-plus in back-to-back home games after her 29-point effort against Appalachian State on Jan. 16.
Smith and Folwell finished with 10 points each for UNCG. Deidra Jones had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the game's lone double-double, while Hughes and Gerty had 10 each as the Cougars also put three players in double figures.
UNCG's shot 27.8 percent for the game (15-for-54) and was outrebounded by College of Charleston, 47-29.
The Spartans compensated for those numbers with good defense and solid ball control, forcing 19 Cougar turnovers while committing just a season-low eight of their own.
College of Charleston shot 21 second-half free throws, and was 17-for-26 from the line for the game. Jones had half of those attempts, including the Cougars' first 11.
The Cougars led 24-22 at halftime, but steadily built its lead in the second half, keeping it in the eight- to 10-point range for the majority of the second frame.
College of Charleston completed the season sweep of the Spartans. The Cougars won 71-60 in Charleston, S.C., on Dec. 5.
UNCG returns to action at 7 p.m. Monday, when it hosts Georgia Southern. The Spartans will be looking for the season sweep after taking the first game from the Lady Eagles in Statesboro, Ga., 45-42, on Dec. 29.
Appalachian State 72, Davidson 61
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State put four scorers in double figures and used a 10-2 run in the final three minutes to send Davidson to a 72-61 defeat on Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center in women's Southern Conference basketball action.
Catherine Williams led the way for the Mountaineers (10-9, 6-4 SoCon) with a double-double (11 points/11 rebounds) and had eight of ASU's 11 blocks on the afternoon. Williams also led four players who had at least seven rebounds as the Mountaineers held a 46-28 edge off the glass. Of those 46 rebounds, 17 were on the offensive side, which they converted into 23 second-chance points.
Sam Ramirez had a game-high 17 points, followed by Anna and Courtney Freeman with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Davidson (9-10, 7-4 SoCon) put two players in double digits. Senior Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.) matched her career-high in three-pointers with five on her way 16 points, while junior Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) netted 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, hitting three of her five field goals from downtown.
The Wildcats as a team tied their season-best with nine treys, going 9-for-23, but shot just 35.6 percent overall from the field. ASU closed out at 44.3 percent, getting 34 of their 72 total points in the paint.
After ASU scored 10 of the first 13 points to start the second half for a 40-28 lead, Davidson used a 15-6 run over the next five minutes to bring itself within three at 46-43 with 11:32 remaining.
A Ramirez bucket later with 5:40 on the clock pushed Appalachian State¹s lead back to double digits at 60-48, but the Wildcats mounted one last charge to come within three-points with a little over three minutes left.
Laune helped spark an 11-2 run with a pair of treys, her second one of the run, and final of the game, made the score 62-59 before the final break in the action.
Davidson though, missed on its next four attempts coming out of the media timeout, while Appalachian State was able to add five points during that time and went on to ice the game by going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the last minute for the nine-point win.
Davidson opened up the game by grabbing a quick 10-4 lead on a Lax jumper, but ASU's Ramirez hit for nine of 11 Mountaineer points in one stretch that helped give her squad a 19-15 advantage with 7:38 on the clock.
The duo of Lax and Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) countered Ramirez by netting a combined 18 first-half points with Lax going for 10 of those points, including a pair free throws that gave the Wildcats a brief 23-21 lead with 3:38 left.
After tying it up on a running layup by Chakeitha Weldon, ASU would force two bad Wildcat throw-ins off made buckets and used a 7-2 run to close out the half for a 30-25 lead. The Mountaineers scored 11 points off nine Wildcat miscues in the half and also connected for 16 points in the paint.
Davidson turns around and heads home to play Western Carolina on Monday at 7 p.m. in John M. Belk Arena. The Wildcats took the first meeting against the Catamounts in December, 62-51.
Game Notes: Coach Annette Watts remains three SoCon wins away from reaching 100 for her career ... Thompson saw her nine-game streak of scoring in double figures come to an end, just the fourth time all year she has been held under 10 points ... Thompson dished out a game-high seven assists ... it's just the second time in the last 10 games Davidson has been outrebounded ... Laune has led the team in scoring the past three games, having scored 50 total points in that stretch with 36 of them coming from behind the arc (12 three-pointers).
Georgia Southern 71, Elon 66
ELON, N.C. - The Elon women's basketball teams fast and furious second half comeback against Georgia Southern fell short as the Eagles came away with a 71-66 win in Southern Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in Alumni Gym. Down 19 at the half, the Phoenix more than doubled its first half offensive production in the second 20 minutes, outscoring Georgia Southern 48-34 to come within one with under a minute to play.
Julie Taylor knocked down a three with 4:19 left to play that began Elon's late surge. Elon went on a 16-1 run and cut the Eagle lead to one, 67-66 with under a minute to play. Georgia Southern staved off the Phoenix attack as Krista Tate scored to put GSU up three with 15 seconds to play. Ford got a three-point shot off with 11 ticks remaining but it rimmed out, forcing Elon to foul. Jamie Navarro drained a pair of shots from the line to seal the win.
Elon fell to 7-12 overall and 3-9 in SoCon action while Georgia Southern improved to 10-9 on the season and 5-5 in league play.
Elon's Ali Ford posted her seventh 20-point game of the season with a 23-point performance that led all scorers. Kelsey Evans scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds, three on the offensive glass. Urysla Cotton and Kallie Hovatter each finished with eight points and Cotton pulled down a team-best eight boards.
Tate led Georgia Southern with 15 points and was one of three Eagles in double figures. Carolyn Whitney tallied 14 points, while Jamie Navarro earned 11 points. Jessica Geiger led the team defensively with eight rebounds.
The Phoenix shot 58.1 percent from the floor in the second half, compared to its dismal 25 percent in the first 20 minutes. Ford scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half and dished three assists.
Georgia Southern got off to a strong start as Candice Williams capped a 16-6 run that spanned the opening eight minutes of the first half with a three-pointer. Courtney Medley hit a jumper with 11:46 on the clock to cut the lead to six, 16-10. Georgia Southern's lead hovered around 11 points over the next four-and-a-half minutes until the Eagles ended the half on a 14-2 streak to hold a 37-18 lead at the half.
Elon made its presence known inside, outscoring the Eagles 44-18 in the paint. The Phoenix scored 21 points off of 18 GSU turnovers and finished with 7.8 fewer turnovers than its season average. The Phoenix edged Georgia Southern 39-38 on the glass, including 17 offensive boards.
Elon returns to action on Monday evening when it hosts College of Charleston at 7 p.m. CofC won the first meeting between the teams this season, 63-50.
Chattanooga 58, Furman 52
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Chattanooga fought off a late game comeback attempt by Furman to hang on to win 58-52 in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
The Lady Mocs saw a 23-point second half lead slip away as Furman outscored Chattanooga 26-9 over the final five minutes of play. UTC held on, however, and claimed its ninth consecutive win of the year and 18th straight win over the Lady Paladins.
Chattanooga improves to 14-6 overall and 9-2 in SoCon play while Furman falls to 6-14 overall and 4-7 in league action.
The game started with a sloppy offensive effort and good defensive efforts. Chattanooga's first eight points of the game came on fast breaks off defensive rebounds and forced turnovers. The Lady Mocs got up by as much as eight points in the first half but shot just 28.1 percent over the period to Furman's 22 percent shooting performance. Chattanooga led 19-12, the lowest scoring output in the first half by either UTC or its opponent this season.
Freshman Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) reeled off a pair of 3-pointers to start the second half followed by one from senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) to put the Lady Mocs up 28-14 at the 17:14 mark.
Sophomore Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) drained a pair of 3-pointers in the half pushing the lead up to 36-22 with 13:59 to play. Furman cut into the lead to get within 11 before UTC went on a 12-0 run to grab its largest lead of the game, 49-26, with 6:03 to play.
However, Furman would not go quietly outscoring the Lady Mocs 26-9 over the final five minutes of play. Raegan Thompson who was held scoreless the majority of the game, scored all 10 of her points in the effort including a pair of 3-pointers.
Chattanooga was led by Wade-Fray's 15 points and 10 rebounds, just her second career double-double and first of the year. Christopher had 13 points for UTC with five rebounds and three assists. Townsend chipped in eight points with four rebounds and had a game-high four assists.
In the second half, Chattanooga shot 50 percent (12-of-24) while Furman went 14-for-23 (60.9%) in the latter period. The Lady Mocs won the battle of the boards 38-27 and scored 14 second chance points off 15 offensive boards holding Furman to just four. Both teams turned the ball over 21 times while the Lady Mocs just missed a season-high team total with 14 steals.
Chattanooga will return to action at Wofford Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. in a road double-header with the Mocs who will take on the Terriers immediately following the women's game. With Larry Ward, the "Voice of the Lady Mocs" still on the bench, Jim Reynolds will fill in, calling both games.
All the action can be heard live on ESPN Radio 105.1 "The Zone". Live stats, video and audio streaming (where available) can be found at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.
Samford 65, Wofford 43
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Samford women's basketball team earned a 65-43 Southern Conference road win at Wofford Saturday afternoon at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Samford was led in scoring by junior Emily London with 15 points. Sophomore Alex Crow scored a career-high 12 points in the win. Monica Maxwell scored eight points, while Megan Wilderotter scored seven for the Bulldogs. Savannah Hill, Jazmine Powers and J'Quita Babineaux added six points each. Hill also dished out a career-high eight assists in the win.
Samford head coach Mike Morris said he liked his team's defensive performance in holding Wofford to just 43 points and the fact that several players stepped up offensively for the Bulldogs.
"In order to win games on the road in conference play, you have to play defense and I was very pleased with the way our defense performed all night, especially in the second half," Morris said. "This was definitely a team effort, we had a lot of people contribute off the bench today."
Wofford was led by April Moorhouse and Mahagony Williams with eight points each. Rachel Brittenham added six points for the Terriers.
In the first half, after Wofford took an early lead, Samford answered with a 15-2 run to take a 15-4 lead with 13:39 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by London. Wofford cut the lead to seven at 15-8 with 12:40 to go in the opening half.
Samford then went on an 8-2 run to push its lead out to 13 at 23-10 with 9:10 to go in the half after a pair of free throws by Crow. With Samford leading, 29-19, the Bulldogs went on a 7-2 run to push their lead to 15 at 36-21 with under a minute to play after a jumper by Crow. Samford took a 38-23 lead into halftime.
Samford opened the second half with a 9-0 run to push its lead out to 24 at 47-23 with 12:30 to go after a layup by Babineaux. Wofford scored the next five points to cut the lead to 19 at 47-28 with 10:30 left in the game.
Samford answered with a 6-0 run to take a game-high 25-point lead at 53-28 with 8:34 to go after a layup by Wilderotter. Wofford got no closer than 19 the rest of the way, as Samford came away with the 65-43 win.
Samford shot 48.9 percent for the game, while limiting Wofford to just 32.1 percent. Samford made 35.3 percent of its three-pointers, while the Terriers were 29.4 percent from beyond the arc.
With the win, Samford improves to 14-6 overall and 8-3 in SoCon play. Wofford drops to 3-14 overall and 2-8 in league play.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 25, when the Bulldogs play at Furman. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. (CT) start from Greenville, S.C. The contest can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.