Georgia Southern 74, Western Carolina 61
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - As the snow accumulated to seven inches outside the confines of the Ramsey Activity Center, the Lady Eagles and Western Carolina Catamounts battled it out for a Southern Conference victory inside Saturday afternoon (Jan. 30). Moving the game up one hour to escape the second round of weather, the Lady Eagles shot 10-of-12 from the free throw line down the stretch to defeat the Catamounts, 74-61. GS improved to 12-9 overall and 7-5 in league play. WCU, meanwhile, dropped to 3-17, 2-9.
"The team's focus was far better than expected with the adversity of the trip," said Lady Eagle head coach Rusty Cram. "I thought the team excelled when they had every excuse not to.
"I thought Carolyn [Whitney] played outstanding as did Jamie [Navarro] and Krista [Tate]. It was really a team effort this afternoon and it's a great day to be a Lady Eagle."
A combined offensive effort from several Lady Eagles, including three in double figures, secured the win. Carolyn Whitney (Duluth, Ga.) led all scorers with 17 points. Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) and Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) followed with 13 and 12 points, respectively, for GS. The Lady Eagles won the rebounding edge, 37-30, led by J'Lisia Ogburn's (Dublin, Ga.) eight. Navarro picked up three of Georgia Southern's six steals in the game, while also tallying a block. Tate dished out four helpers, tying her career-high in assists.
Kaila'Shea Menendez paced the Catamount offense, chipping in 15 points, while Emily Clarke, who averages 18 points per game, followed with 13. Clarke, the Catamounts leading scorer on the season, was held scoreless in the first half.
WCU evenly distributed its defensive effort with Janae McKinney leading with five rebounds and three players tying with four each.
Both teams struggled offensively to start the game as the lead was tossed back and forth before a Navarro three-pointer and Tate jumper gave the Lady Eagles a 9-6 lead with 15:39 in the first. Two Georgia Southern buckets between the first and second media timeouts would be the only points scored in the three minute period as the Lady Eagles took a 14-8 lead with 11:37 on the clock. Caitlin Hollifield connected on an old-fashioned three-point play for the Catamounts, bringing the score to five points, 16-11, before Menendez pulled the tally to three, 16-13.
Tate and Ogburn combined for five points for a 23-15 GS lead as time wound down in the opening frame. Whitney nailed her second trey of the contest at the 5:18 marker pushing the score out to 26-17 GS as Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) closed out the half with a two consecutive buckets for 32-21 halftime score.
To start the final 20 minutes, a pair of free throws from Navarro extended GS's lead to 38-26 with 16:03 on the clock before Whitney gave the Lady Eagles their largest lead of the game, 41-28, draining her third trey of the game. Menendez put together a personal 5-0 run with a three-point play on a Janay Wilson (Warner Robins, Ga.) foul and fastbreak lay-up, pulling Western Carolina to 51-40 with 10:45 left in the game.
Janae McKinney would cut the lead to single digits with a pair of free throws with just over 10 minutes to play. The Catamounts sliced the lead to seven, but GS strengthened its offensive effort, widening its lead back out to 13 (59-46) with a Tate visit to the charity stripe. WCU kept close, closing in to single digits and getting as close as seven again, but GS went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe in the closing two minutes for a final score of 74-61.
With a bye on Monday night, Georgia Southern returns to the court playing host to Western Carolina, Wednesday, February 3 at 5 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. Head coach Rusty Cram and Georgia Southern Radio Network's Ryan Chambers will broadcast "Inside Georgia Southern Lady Eagle Basketball" live from Locos Grill & Pub Tuesday night, February 2 at 6 p.m.
College of Charleston 67, Furman 52
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Senior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) led all scorers with 19 points and senior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) notched a career-high 14 rebounds as the College of Charleston (16-6, 10-3) defeated Furman (6-16, 4-9) by a score of 67-52 in a Southern Conference women's basketball game at the Carolina First Arena.
After building a 49-38 lead with 10:15 to play in the game, the Cougars saw that advantage trimmed to 51-45 by the 7:03 mark as the Paladins closed the gap with a 7-2 run. They would get no closer as CofC erupted with a 14-1 run over the next 4:35 to stretch their lead to a commanding 65-46.
A pair of three-pointers by junior guard Jades Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) and back-to-back jumpers from Williams keyed the run and allowed the Cougars a comfortable lead as they closed out the 15-point victory, 67-52.
"We're glad to get a win today" said head coach Nancy Wilson. "Furman is just such a strong offensive team and they are tough to beat, tough to put away. I felt like we were taking good shots but we weren't able to hold them. We cut back on their production and we got really good production from every body that played".
It was a far different game in the first half as the two teams traded baskets over the first five minutes before the College of Charleston eventually took a 17-12 lead at the 11:51 mark. They would extend that to 23-15 with 7:09 to play before Furman responded with a quick 5-0 run to make it 23-20.
Hughes then keyed 7-0 run with a pair of free throws and one of her four three-pointers on the day to push the lead to double-figures at 30-20. The Paladins closed the half with a 6-2 run to send it to the break with the Cougars leading 32-26.
Charleston stretched their lead back to ten points at 40-30 shortly after coming out of the half and eventually pushed to an 11-point advantage, 45-34, with 12:11 to play before Furman notched consecutive buckets to pull to within 45-38 and set the stage for the Cougars game-deciding run.
Freshman center Lakyn Ledford led the attack for the Paladins as she posted a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds while leading scorer Lee Stephens was held to only nine points. She was joined there by senior forward Kali Holtfreter with nine points and freshman guard Raegan Thompson with seven.
Ericka Williams posted a game-high 19 points along with seven rebound to lead the College of Charleston while Jade Hughes drilled four of her five three-point attempts and finished with 16 points. Brooke Kotcella pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds and added seven points while senior center Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) contributed 10 points and six boards.
For Kotcella, not only is the 14 rebounds a career-high but it also marks the third game in the last four that she has recorded double-figure rebounds. She notched 10 at UNC Greensboro on January 23 and followed that with a then career-high tying 12 boards at Elon on January 25.
The College of Charleston returns to action when they travel to Cullowhee, N.C. for a 7 p.m. game with the Western Carolina Catamounts on Monday, February 1.
Chattanooga 83, Elon 64
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Redshirt freshman Michelle Davis posted a career night and led three Chattanooga players in double-doubles as the Lady Mocs gained their revenge on Elon with an 83-64 win Saturday at the McKenzie Arena in women's basketball action.
The Lady Mocs won their 11th consecutive game, tied for sixth best in school history, and improved to 16-6 overall and 11-2 in conference play. The Phoenix fall to 8-14 overall and 3-10 in the SoCon. Chattanooga's last loss was on Dec. 17 at Elon.
Davis (Cleveland, Tenn.), who had 12 boards by halftime, had 20 points and 19 rebounds, both career-highs. Senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) had a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double this season. She drained a trio of 3-pointers to move to fourth all-time in the Southern Conference with 194 career made treys. Senior Shanara Hollinquest was the Lady Mocs' third player with a double-double recording her 11th this season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The game started with neither team able to gain the advantage. The game knotted up for the fourth and final time in a 12-12 tie with 14:11 to play in the half. Davis got the Lady Mocs started on a 10-0 run with a pair of free throws capped off with a fast break layup from Wade-Fray putting UTC up 22-12 with 10:17 to play until the half.
Elon tried cutting into the lead getting as close as 30-24 at the 6:38 mark, but the Lady Mocs pulled away with a 42-26 halftime advantage.
In the second half, the Lady Mocs turned to its outside game, but couldn't match the seven made 3-pointers of the first half. Hollinquest hit a layup, grabbed a defensive rebound and dropped in a 3-pointer on the other end to put Chattanooga up 47-30 just less than two minutes into the second half. After that, the Lady Mocs' 3-point shooting disintegrated as they missed their next four attempts before Davis hit a layup at the 14:16 mark. Wade-Fray and Davis followed with a pair of layups and UTC's lead stretched to 53-34 with 13:20 to play in the game.
Elon, however, would not be quieted as they put together a 14-4 run to cut Chattanooga's lead to a slim nine points with 9:46 to go. With the lead at 59-50 for the Lady Mocs at the 8:30 mark, Chattanooga put together its greatest run of the game outscoring the Phoenix 20-3 and grabbing its largest lead of the game at 79-53 with 3:18 to go.
Freshman Kayla Christopher was the fourth Chattanooga player in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds. Wade-Fray recorded a season-high in assists with five on the night and added four more steals to season total. Sophomore Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) just missed double-figures with nine points going 6-for-7 from the free throw line and had three assists.
The Lady Mocs outrebounded Elon 58-44 and scored 25 points off 16 Phoenix miscues. Chattanooga had 11 steals to Elon's five and had 14 assists.
Elon's Ali Ford had a team-high 20 points and the league-leader for made 3-pointers, hit just one of her nine attempts from the arc. Lei Lei Hairston had 12 points and nine rebounds, just missing a double-double of her own and Kelsey Evans had eight points, six boards and three blocked shots. Courtney Medley had six points a team-high 10 rebounds for Elon while Urysla Cotton had five points, eight boards and a pair of blocked shots on the night.
Larry Ward, "the Voice of the Lady Mocs" resumed his duties behind the mic after suffering a mini stroke two weeks ago prior to the Lady Mocs' game at Davidson.
Chattanooga will host UNC Greensboro Monday night at the Roundhouse. All the action will be broadcast live on the flagship station of Chattanooga athletics, ESPN Radio 105.1 FM. Live stats, streaming video and audio is available, as always, on the official website of UTC athletics, GoMocs.com.
Samford 54, UNC Greensboro 51
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team held off a late UNC Greensboro rally to earn a 54-51 Southern Conference win Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
"UNC Greensboro is a good team," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "They give us a hard time and they do a good job defensively. I was pleased that we found a way to win the game. We made a lot of mistakes and didn't play well, but we found a way to win the basketball game."
Samford was led in scoring by Savannah Hill with 18 points, all in the first half. Hill made 7-of-10 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Hill also led the team in rebounding with nine and assists with four.
Following Hill for Samford, Monica Maxwell scored eight points, while Alex Crow added six points. Hannah Dawson pulled down seven rebounds in the win.
UNC Greensboro was led by Kendra Smith with 13 points. Brey Dorsett scored 10 points and Sarah Folwell added nine points and seven rebounds for the Spartans.
Samford jumped out to an early 7-1 lead with 16:23 to go in the first half after a layup by Dawson. UNC Greensboro scored the next five points to cut the lead to one at 7-6 with 14:56 left in the first half.
With Samford leading, 11-10, the Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run to push their lead out to 13 at 23-10 with 10:21 to go in the half following a layup by Paige Anderson. UNC Greensboro answered with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to five at 23-18 with 6:25 to go in the opening period.
Samford scored the next six points to make the score 29-18 with 4:24 to go after a three-pointer by Hill. UNC Greensboro fought back to cut the lead to five at 29-24 with a minute left in the half. Samford took a 34-26 lead into halftime.
Samford pushed its lead out to 13 early in the second half at 41-28 with 15:48 to go in the game after a layup by Crow. With Samford leading, 48-37, UNC Greensboro went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four at 48-44 with 8:08 to go in the game.
After a three-pointer by Emily London made the score 51-44, UNC Greensboro went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 51-51 with 1:01 to go after a three-pointer by Dorsett. Two free throws by London with 34 seconds left and one by Crow with four seconds to go gave Samford the 54-51 win.
The win was Samford's fifth-straight, improving the team's record to 16-6 overall and 10-3 in Southern Conference play. UNC Greensboro drops to 7-14 overall and 4-9 in league play.
For the game, Samford shot 43.2 percent from the floor, including a 39.1 percent effort from three-point range. UNC Greensboro shot 30.6 percent overall and 27.3 percent from three-point range. Samford committed 12 turnovers, while the Spartans turned the ball over just three times.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Feb. 1, when the Bulldogs play host to Elon at 7 p.m. at the Pete Hanna Center. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
Appalachian State 62, Wofford 54
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball erased a four-point halftime deficit to eek out a 62-54 win over Southern Conference foe Wofford Saturday evening at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The victory gives ASU its fourth straight of the season and improves the Mountaineers to 11-9 overall and 7-4 in league action, while Wofford drops to 4-16 on the season and 2-10 in the SoCon.
In a contest that saw seven ties and seven lead changes, it was the final lead change that proved to be the difference-maker, as the game was knotted the last time at 39 all and from there Appalachian would maintain the lead. Seven consecutive Black and Gold points, led by Sam Ramirez (Fayetteville, N.C./Southview), scoring four of them earned the Apps a 46-39 advantage with 9:40 to play.
Extending its lead to nine points, the largest of the contest for the Mountaineers, it appeared as though ASU would take the win, but the Terriers would not go away quietly, continuing to claw back as Wofford drilled two three pointers to pull within one point. Not wanting its spotless conference road record to have a blemish, ASU produced offensively when it counted, with Catherine Williams (Chattanooga, Tenn./Howard), Kelsey Sharkey (Cincinatti, Ohio/St. Ursula) and Ramirez all converting on the offensive front.
Williams was yet again a spark for the Black and Gold, tallying her second double-double of her career in as many contests, hauling in 11 rebounds and totaling ten points to go along with four blocks.
A consistent performer the entire contest as well, Anna Freeman (Thomasville, N.C./East Davidson) also had a double-double, pouring in a game-high 14 points, along with grabbing 11 rebounds and also tallying four blocks. The four swatted Wofford shots, earned Freeman the single season block record, as she now has a total of 64 on the 2009-10 campaign.
Despite the win, sluggish and sloppy play was difficult to overcome in the early goings of the contest, as Wofford took the lead in the opening minutes and never relinquished it during the first half.
The Mountaineers fell behind 12-4 early on, with April Moorehouse pacing the Terrier attack, tallying six of their first 12 points. Moorehouse finished the game as the Terrier's leading scorer with 14 points as well.
After Wofford came out strong, an 8-0 Appalachian streak, topped off by an Anna Freeman trey tied the game at 14 all with a little over eight minutes remaining until the break.
Unable to find the bottom of the basket, ASU went into intermission down 26-22.
The Apps were able to come up big when it counted in the second half and were able to hang on for the win.
Keeping with its stout defensive effort, Wofford ended the contest shooting 29.8 percent, the lowest an opponent has shot against the Mountaineers since ASU held the Catamounts to a 26 percent field goal percentage, back on January 4.
Continuing its road stint, Appalachian heads to Greenville, S.C. to face Furman, Monday February 1, with the contest set to begin at 7 p.m. in the Paladins' Timmons Arena.
Notes: The 11 wins in a season are the most since the 2006-07 campaign (finishing that season 13-18 overall) ... the four-game winning streak is the longest winning streak since the 2005-06 season when ASU won five in a row ... the win was Appalachian's fifth-straight over Wofford ... the victory keeps ASU spotless on the road against conference opponents (5-0) ... ASU remains in fifth place in the SoCon standings ... Darcie Vincent coached teams are 3-0 against Wofford ... Appalachian finishes the month of January with a 6-3 record, the most wins in the month since the 1999-2000 season (7 victories).