Chattanooga 71, Austin Peay 61
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team got its first win of the season with a 71-61 victory over Austin Peay in the McKenzie Arena Tuesday night. The Lady Mocs (1-3) faced their fourth straight NCAA Tournament team to start the 2010-11 season, and got a career-high 27 points from junior Whitney Hood.
Hood led the way, shooting 12-of-21 from the floor and 3-for-8 from the foul line. APSU (1-4) was paced by 19 points from Whitney Hanley. She played all 40 minutes and hit 7-of-11 from the floor and went 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
The Lady Mocs came out on fire, nailing their first eight shots from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and both attempts from the charity stripe. UTC would push to a 25-10 lead on a layup inside from Hood with 11:45 left in the first half. Freshman Alex Black made her first start of the year and led the opening run with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
The Lady Govs came roaring back with a 13-0 charge on five straight baskets, including three quick 3-pointers. In just over two minutes of action, Austin Peay had all but dissolved the Chattanooga lead to 25-23. Hanley hit back-to-back threes in that run to close the gap.
The Lady Mocs shooting touch disappeared for the rest of the half as they hit only one of their last eight attempts from 3-point range. However, junior Tenisha Townsend kept the Lady Govs at bay with six points down the stretch. UTC 's 38-33 halftime lead was its first of the season.
Chattanooga went ahead 45-37 to start the second half after a free throw from Black at the 16:40 mark. Austin Peay scored the next five points to pull to within three 45-42, but that was as close as they would get for the rest of the game.
Hood scored twice inside, then two more baskets by sophomore Kylie Lambert gave the Lady Mocs an 8-0 run and a 53-42 cushion with 12:44 on the clock. Chattanooga played a very clean game in the second half, only committing one foul in the final 20 minutes. The Lady Govs were whistled 13 times in the second period. UTC went 16-of-24 from the free throw line while Austin Peay was just 4-for-8.
Three-point shooting kept Austin Peay in the game as they knocked down 7-of-14 from behind the arc. UTC, on the other hand, remained cold from deep, managing just one three in its last 14 attempts.
Townsend finished with excellent numbers, including 14 points, a career-high seven assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes of action. Lambert scored six points and grabbed a game-high and career-high 10 rebounds. Black ended with a season-high 13 points while Hood added five boards and three steals to her totals.
Chattanooga will hit the road for its fifth-straight game against a 2010 postseason team. The Lady Mocs travel to Northridge, Calif., for the Cal State Northridge Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Tournament. UTC opens with Wyoming on Friday, Nov. 26 at 8:00 p.m. (EST). The Cowgirls are coming off a third round appearance in the WNIT last season. Chattanooga will then face the winner of either the host Matadors or Wichita State. WSU was also in the 2010 postseason, advancing to the second round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational.
Friday's game with Wyoming can be heard on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM. Saturday's contest will air on 106.9 FM regardless of time or opponent. Live stats and live audio will be available at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga's next home contest is the second game of a televised doubleheader with the men's team on Saturday, Dec. 4. The Mocs host Western Carolina at 1:00 p.m. and the Lady Mocs face Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern at 3:30 p.m.
Elon 80, Virginia Intermont 55
ELON, N.C. - In its final contest before Thanksgiving, the Elon University women's basketball team overcame an early deficit to register an 80-55 victory over the visiting Lady Cobras from Virginia Intermont on Tuesday night, Nov. 23, at Alumni Gym.
Elon (4-1) is off to its best start since the 1995-96 team began the season with a 6-0 record.
"Virginia Intermont was a very physical team and didn't make anything easy for us all night long," said Elon head coach Karen Barefoot. "I'm happy with the way our team responded in the second half and it's good to go into league play on a high note."
Sophomore guard Ali Ford tied a game-high with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, while grabbing a career-high six rebounds.
Junior guard Shon Redmond had a stellar game for the Phoenix, as her eight steals in the win tie for the fourth most in a single game in Elon women's basketball history. The last Phoenix player to register eight steals in a game was Tiffany Davis on Jan. 24, 2007. Redmond also dished out six assists for Elon.
Sophomore forward Kelsey Evans recorded her second straight double-double in the victory, going a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line and finishing with 16 points, while also grabbing a game-high 12 boards.
The Phoenix forced 36 turnovers in the win and limited Virginia Intermont (5-3) to 32.7 shooting from the field.
Elon found itself in a battle with the Lady Cobras in the first half, as Virginia Intermont's Megan Fanney knocked down a pair of free throws with 8:37 remaining after a Phoenix timeout to take a 21-19 lead.
But the Phoenix clawed back to take a 10-point lead (39-29) into the locker room at intermission after going on a 20-5 run over the final
7:26 of the half.
Turnovers plagued both squads in the opening frame, as the Lady Cobras committed 19 to the Phoenix's 15. Virginia Intermont's Teonika Webb led all scorers with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-5 performance from beyond the arc. Webb tied for a game-high with
17 points.
Elon opened its lead to 15 points with 16:22 remaining, as a cross-court pass from Ford to Tiara Gause following a Lady Cobra miss led to an easy layup and a 47-32 lead.
The Phoenix would go up by 21 points early in the second half after a Julie Taylor jumper and made free throw gave Elon a 59-38 advantage with
11:47 remaining in the game.
Elon managed to keep a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, moving its record to 4-1 going into league play next week.
The Phoenix opens up Southern Conference action on Monday night, Nov. 29, with a trip to Boone, N.C. to face Appalachian State at 7 p.m. at the Holmes Center.
Samford 66, Jacksonville State 52
JACKSONVILLE, Ala.-The Samford women's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to earn its first win of the season with a 66-52 victory at Jacksonville State Tuesday evening.
Samford trailed, 32-27 at halftime, but outscored the Gamecocks, 39-20 in the second half.
"We were not very pretty in the first half," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "Jacksonville State was ready to play, they have some veteran players and Coach Watts does a great job.
"But I thought we really picked it up defensively in the second half," Morris said. "I was very pleased with our defensive effort, and it's funny how the harder you play on the defensive end, the more shots fall for you. I was pleased with how we responded to adversity."
Samford was led in scoring by senior guard Emily London with 21 points, making 7-of-9 shots, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. London also dished out six assists in the game. With her performance, London moved into second place on Samford's all-time scoring list. London now has 1,267 career points and she is 336 points behind Samford's all-time leading scorer, Alex Munday with 1,603 points.
Behind London for Samford, Paige Anderson scored 10 points. Ruth Ketcham scored nine points, while Savannah Hill had eight points and seven rebounds.
Jacksonville State was led by Danielle Vaughn with 13 points. Brittany Wiley added 10 points for the Gamecocks.
Samford jumped out to an early 6-2 lead with 18:05 to go in the first half after back-to-back three-pointers by Hannah Dawson and London. With Samford leading, 11-6, Jacksonville State went on an 11-2 run to take a 17-13 lead with 8:30 left in the opening period.
Samford cut the JSU lead to one at 19-18 with 5:05 to go after a basket by Alex Crow. The Gamecocks then went on an 11-3 run to push its lead to nine at 30-21 with 1:17 to go in the half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Samford's Hill and London cut the JSU lead to three at 30-27 with 10 seconds to go, but a basket by JSU's Danielle Beneby at the buzzer gave the Gamecocks a 32-27 lead at halftime.
Samford opened the second half with a 14-0 run to take the lead for good at 41-32 with 14:33 to go after a three-pointer by London. JSU fought back to cut the Samford lead to five at 43-38 with 11:49 left in the game. Samford then went on an 18-1 run to push its lead to 22 at 61-39 with 6:39 to go after a three-pointer by Anderson.
With Samford leading, 64-43, Jacksonville State went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 12 at 64-52, but that was as close as the Gamecocks could get as Samford came away with the 66-52 win.
With the win, Samford improves to 1-2 on the young season. Jacksonville State drops to 2-2 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs play host to the Samford Thanksgiving Classic. In the tournament, Samford will take on Alabama State on Friday and South Florida on Saturday.
Clemson 62, Furman 53
CLEMSON, S.C. - Sthefany Thomas scored a game high 16 points to lead Clemson past Furman, 62-53, in women's basketball action Tuesday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Thomas connected on 7-of-15 shots and teamed with Kelia Shelton and Jasmine Tate, who contributed 10 points each, in helping Clemson break a 39-39 deadlock midway through the second half en route the win.
The victory improves Clemson to 4-1 on the season while Furman, which falls to 1-2.
Kendra Berry led Furman with 12 points following, and Raegan Thompson registered 11. Lakyn Ledford netted 10 points for the Paladins and claimed a team high nine rebounds.
The Paladins trailed 27-22 at intermission but rallied to tie the game at 36-36 on a Ledford layup with 14:50 remaining.
Kirstyn Wright's 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 39-36 advantage but a Ledford layup and free throw knotted it at 39-39 at the 12:04 mark.
Clemson's Shaniqua Pauldo then delivered two layups and a free throw to give the Tigers a 44-39 lead, which they later padded with baskets by Thomas and Shelton for a 50-43 advantage with 6:50 to go.
A Kaitlin Murphy layup pulled the Paladins to within five at 50-45, but Clemson quickly answered with a basket and free throw by Thomas for a 53-45 lead,
Clemson shot 38.3 percent from the field (23x60) and Furman 35.8 percent (19x53)
The Tigers claimed a 42-34 rebounding advantage in the contest.
Furman opens its home season on Saturday when it entertains Presbyterian in a 2:00 p.m. game.