UNCG 66, Eastern Illinois 58
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - UNCG got a career-high 15 points from Dayshaun Richbow and freshman Janae' Stevenson's first career double-double as the Spartans rallied past Eastern Illinois on Friday, 66-58, in the first game of the Mayfair Hotel and Spa Thanksgiving Classic at the University of Miami's BankUnited Center.
The Spartans (1-3) will face Miami, an 89-48 winner over Florida Atlantic on Friday, in the championship game Saturday at 7 p.m.
Stevenson finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, both career highs. Amanda Leigh was also in double figures with 12 points on the evening.
Chantelle Pressley led the Panthers (1-4) with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double, as well. Mariah King also had 15 points, while Kelsey Wyss had 14.
The Spartans trailed by 14 at the half but used an aggressive full-court press and a solid shooting effort in the second half to rally for the win.
After King's layup to open the second half put UNCG down 35-19, the Spartans rattled off a 19-6 run to cut it to three on a Richbow jumper that made it 41-38.
A Pressley layup and a Wyss 3 opened it back up to an eight-point game, but the Spartans turned up the defensive pressure and forced turnovers after three straight made baskets to take its first lead of the game.
A Jazz Weaver 3 made it 46-41, and a Sidnei Harmon steal led to a Stevenson layup that made it a three-point game. A Leigh steal led to a Richbow jumper that cut it to one, and Kendra Smith turned a Pilar Walker turnover into a layup for the Spartans' first lead of the night at 47-46 with 8:07 left.
Pressley answered with a three-point play on the other end to put the Panthers back up by two, but Monique Floyd hit a pair of free throws with just under seven minutes to play to forge a 49-all tie.
A pair of Richbow free throws put UNCG back on top briefly, but a King layup tied it again. Leigh put UNCG on top to stay at the 4:03 mark, bouncing in a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 54-51.
The Spartans would push their lead to nine points on a pair of Richbow free throws with 32 seconds left and held on for the eight-point win.
UNCG was clutch at the free throw line all night, going 16-for-19 (84.2 percent). The Spartans were 8-for-8 from the stripe in the final 3:34.
EIU threatened to turn this one into a blowout early, running out to an 11-0 lead in the contest. An Amy Clapper 3-pointer from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down got UNCG on the board, and the Spartans chipped away at the lead from there.
A pair of Floyd free throws with 7:25 left in the opening frame tied the contest at 17, giving the Spartans a fresh start, but the Panthers responded emphatically, turning in a 12-0 run over the next five and a half minutes to build their biggest lead of the game to that point.
UNCG shot just 22.6 percent from the floor in the first half, including a 1-for-11 mark from 3-point range.
For the game, UNCG's bench outscored EIU's 28-7. Thirteen of the 14 UNCG players that dressed saw action.
Davidson 70, North Texas 55
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -Forwards Kristen Johnsen and Sophia Aleksandravicius combined for 43 points, with Johnsen tallying a double-double and Aleksandravicius setting a school-record for blocks, and Davidson shot a season-best 50 percent in opening the UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament in winning fashion, 70-55, over North Texas on Friday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
The 'Cats (2-3) shot 57.7 percent alone in the second half and were a season-best 28-of-56 for the game on their way to their first road win of the campaign. North Texas fell to 1-4, dropping its fourth straight.
Johnsen earned her third career double-double, finishing with a career-high 20 points and matching a personal-best with 14 rebounds. Her last three points of the game came on her third career make from behind the arc.
Aleksandravicius was just as solid on the blocks, finishing a career-best 11-of-17 from the floor for a team season-high 23 points and she added nine boards. The sophomore also set the single-game school mark for blocks when she swatted away a career-high seven shots. She has 21 blocks, 20 of them in the last four games, on the year.
San Antonio native Chloe Woodington in front of friends and family, had an outstanding game. She closed just two points off her career-best, finishing with nine, including a pair of three-balls. She also dished out a new personal-best five assists and Davidson as a team dished out a season-best 20 assists on its 28 field goals.
The duo of Johnsen and Aleksandravicius took turns dominating each half, with Johnsen starting things off in the first period.
The first half saw Davidson jump out to a 13-4 advantage when Woodington drained a three-ball with 13:41 left in the half. The defense did its part, holding North Texas to just 1-of-10 shooting to start and 20 percent overall for the half.
Another Woodington long jumper made it 22-12 with a little over six minutes remaining, and shortly thereafter, Johnsen scored the next four Wildcat points for a 26-14 lead. Two of her points, her 10th and 11th of the half, came on a put-back off her 10th rebound to give her a double-double in the first half.
Davidson went into the break with a 34-19 advantage.
The second half started with North Texas' Denetra Kellum scoring eight of the Mean Green's first 10 points to cut the deficit to 38-29. Then Aleksandravicius took over, scoring eight straight in sparking a 16-6 run to push the Wildcats' lead out to 54-35 at the 10 minute mark and forcing North Texas to burn a timeout. Woodington and Laura Murray capped the run off with back-to-back buckets.
Aleksandravicius went on to score 11 more points in the half for 19 of her 23 total points and Davidson maintained at least an eight-point lead the rest of the way in taking home the 15-point victory.
North Texas was led by Jasmine Godbolt's 18 points, 14 of those coming in the second half, and a game-high 16 rebounds. Kellum also clipped the double-digit mark with 10 points.
Davidson wraps up the UTSA Tournament with a 6 p.m. contest against host UTSA tomorrow. The 'Cats last played the Roadrunners in the 2005-06 season at the Rice Tournament, dropping a 75-69 decision.
GAME NOTES: The win was Davidson's first-ever vs. North Texas ... five players in all dished out at least three helpers in guiding the 'Cats to a season-high in assists ... Of the Wildcats' 70 points, 42 of them came in the paint, a season-high ... Murray also matched Johnsen in double figures for rebounds, hauling in a season-high 11 boards ... it's the second game in a row two 'Cats have had as least 10 or more boards in a game ... Davidson had its third game of the season with over 40 boards, getting 45, one off the team season-high ... it was Johnsen's first career 20-point game, while it was Aleksandravicius' fifth of her short career.
Samford 71, Alabama State 55
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Savannah Hill scored 21 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as the Bulldog women's basketball team defeated Alabama State, 71-55, on the first day of the Samford Thanksgiving Classic Friday at the Pete Hanna Center.
In the other opening-day game, South Florida defeated UAB, 59-38. On Saturday, UAB will take on Alabama State at 1 p.m., and Samford will play host to South Florida at 3 p.m.
Samford built a big lead in the first half, but a late comeback by Alabama State cut the lead to just four at halftime. Samford, however, outscored Alabama State, 40-28, in the second half to pull away for the win.
"I was pleased with the way we responded coming out of the locker room," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "What we need to work on is when we get a lead and are playing well we have to have more minutes when we sustain that effort."
Behind Hill for Samford, Emily London scored 17 points and dished out five assists. Ruth Ketcham scored 11 points, while Paige Anderson added eight points. In addition to her 21 points, Hill had five rebounds and five assists in the win.
Alabama State was led by Tanika Jackson with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Tamara Waldington scored 10 points, while Millicent Jones and Nikel White added eight points apiece.
Samford grabbed an early 9-4 lead with 15:08 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Ketcham. ASU fought back to cut the lead to one at 9-8 with 13:56 to go in the first half. Samford then went on an 11-2 run to push its lead out to 10 at 20-10 with 9:13 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Hill.
Samford eventually pushed its lead out to 13 at 25-12 with 6:14 left in the half after a three-pointer by Hill. With Samford leading, 31-20, Alabama State closed the half with a 7-0 run to cut the Bulldogs' lead to four at 31-27 heading into halftime.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 16-4 run to push their lead out to 16 at 47-31 following back-to-back three-pointers by London and Hill. Samford pushed its lead out to 17 at 52-35 with 12:20 to go after a pair of free throws by London.
Alabama State fought back to cut the lead to nine at 56-47 with 5:27 to go in the game. However, that was as close as the Lady Hornets could get and Samford pulled away for the 71-55 win.
With the win, Samford improves to 2-2 on the young season. Alabama State falls to 1-3 with the loss.
Akron 94, Georgia Southern 81 (OT)
DALLAS, Texas - Trailing by as many as 19 points midway through the second half, the Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team went on a 19-6 run over seven minutes to set the stage for overtime against Akron. The Lady Eagles tied the game at 70 with two layups in the waning seconds, but Akron shot 85 percent in the extra period to take the 94-81 win in the first round of the SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament. Georgia Southern will play in the consolation bracket against Arkansas State at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday at Moody Coliseum.
The Lady Eagles outscored Akron 47-33 and shot 67 percent from the field to assist in the second-half comeback, but still found themselves down one point, 66-67 with 52 seconds left in the game. Akrons's Carly Young hit a three pointer to help the Zips to a four-point margin with 27 seconds remaining in the game.
Georgia Southern guard MiMi DuBose scored a quick layup with only 19 ticks left on the clock before Coach Rusty Cram called a timeout. The Lady Eagles got the ball back after an Akron turnover and then Jamie Navarro fed Krista Tate for a layup to tie the game.
Tate, with a double-double, scored 16 of her 21 total points in the second half and the overtime period. Navarro finished with 16 points and Meredyth Frye 11 on the night. Akron's Rachel Tecca had a game-high 14 rebounds while Tate had 10. Akron's Taylor Ruper scored 19 of her game-high 26 points in the first half and finished with eight total field goals, including five three pointers.
The Zips used a 10-2 run to start the overtime period and take an 82-72 lead. Candice Ivy hit a basket at the 4:16 mark and nearly three minutes would pass before Meredyth Frye's layup broke the scoring drought. Akron rattled off eight more free throws and added a jumper while five points by Samantha Williams and a field goal by Ro-Ro Smith put the final at 94-81.
First-half shooting woes put the Lady Eagles behind from the start of the game. At the half, Georgia Southern had made only nine field goals while Akron had tallied eight three-point baskets. Up 16-11 at the 7:45 mark of the first half, the Zips used a 10-2 run to extend their lead to 26-11. Akron maintained the double-digit margin and took a 37-23 lead into the locker room.
Wyoming 66, Chattanooga 65
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team clawed its way back into the game but fell in the waning seconds 66-65 to Wyoming in Game One of the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic hosted by Cal State Northridge at the Matadome.
The Lady Mocs (1-4) started cold from the floor missing all of their first seven shots. Junior Whitney Hood got UTC going with seven straight points and Chattanooga closed the gap to 33-27 by halftime.
Down the stretch the Lady Mocs clawed their way back into the game shooting 54.5 percent (12-of-22) in the second half. Hood put together a traditional 3-point play on a made layup and was fouled to cut the lead to 65-62 with just 1:27 to play.
Wyoming missed a 3-point attempt and sophomore Kiara Smith got the defensive board and the Lady Mocs pushed the ball down the court where Smith drained a trey from the right wing to tie the game at 65-65 with 46.7 seconds to play.
Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver drove to the bucket and was fouled by UTC's Hood. She missed the back end of her two attempts for the go-ahead score.
With 28.5 seconds remaining, the Lady Mocs had a shot to put the game away but lost control of the ball as time was winding down and fell 66-65.
Hood led UTC with 22 points and sophomore Kayla Christopher had 13 points with three 3-pointers. Chattanooga was 17-of-19 from the charity stripe and connected on six long range bombs shooting 42 percent from the floor.
The Cowgirls (3-1) were led by 31 points from Vandiver on 10-of-19 shooting and 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
Chattanooga will play Wichita State or Cal State Northridge in the consolation game Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.