Samford 64, South Florida 47
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team used a hot-shooting second half to earn a 64-47, come-from-behind win over the South Florida Bulls on the final day of the Samford Thanksgiving Classic Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
In the second half of Saturday's game, Samford hit 60.9 percent of its shots and 85.7 percent of its three-pointers to overcome a six-point halftime deficit for the win. Samford outscored South Florida, 41-18, in the second half.
"I can't say enough about our players," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "South Florida is a quality Big East team and to win the way we did, with a 41-18 second half, was very impressive. I can't say enough about our players' execution. We shot the ball well, we defended well and we only had seven turnovers. This was a great team effort."
With the win, Samford goes 2-0 in the Samford Thanksgiving Classic. The Bulldogs earn the tournament championship, with South Florida and UAB both finishing with 1-1 records in the tournament, while Alabama State went 0-2 in the two-day event.
Samford was led by Tournament Most Valuable Player Emily London with 20 points. Savannah Hill, who was also named to the All-Tournament Team, had 14 points. Hannah Dawson added 11 points, while Ruth Ketcham contributed eight points for the Bulldogs.
For South Florida, Andrea Smith, who joined London and Hill on the All-Tournament Team, led the way with 16 points. Leondra Doomes-Stephens had 13 points and five rebounds. Kaneisha Saunders, who was also named to the All-Tournament Team, added seven points and six rebounds
Samford took an early 3-0 lead on a three-pointer by Paige Anderson, but South Florida scored 14 of the next 19 points to take a 14-8 lead with 12:57 to go in the first half. Samford scored the next five points to cut the lead to one at 14-13 with 12:01 to go in the half after a layup by London.
South Florida then went on an 8-2 run to take a 22-15 lead with 7:33 to go in the half. The Bulls led by as much as eight in the second half, and they took a 29-23 lead into halftime.
After an early South Florida basket pushed its lead to 31-23, Samford answered with a 9-0 run to take a 32-31 lead with 15:14 to go after a layup by Hill. With the game tied, 39-39, Samford went on an 8-0 run to take a 47-39 lead with 6:02 to go in the game following a layup by London.
After South Florida cut the Samford lead to six with a basket with 5:25 to go, Samford went on a 15-4 run to push its lead to 17 at 62-45 with 1:14 to go after a pair of free throws by Ketcham. Samford maintained its lead the rest of the way to come away with the 64-47 win.
The win is the third-straight for Samford, and the Bulldogs improve to 3-2 on the season. South Florida drops to 4-3 with the loss.
As a team, Samford committed just seven turnovers, while forcing South Florida into 17 turnovers. The Bulldogs shot 46.8 percent from the floor, including a 50-percent effort from three-point range. Samford held South Florida to just 34.6 percent overall and 30 percent from beyond the arc.
Samford will return to action on Monday, when the Bulldogs open Southern Conference play at Western Carolina. The game is set for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Cullowhee, N.C. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
2010 SAMFORD THANKSGIVING CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Emily London, Samford
Savannah Hill, Samford
Kaneisha Saunders, South Florida
Amanda Peterson, UAB
Tanika Jackson, Alabama State
Andrea Smith, South Florida
Davidson 70, UTSA 55
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -
Chattanooga 74, Cal State Northridge 68
Junior Whitney Hood knocked down a career-high tying 27 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double at UTC. She scored 10 of the last 12 points for the Lady Mocs down the stretch.
Sophomore Kylie Lambert was perfect from the floor with a 7-for-7 performance and tied her career-best with four 3-pointers for a career-high 21 points.
The Lady Mocs improve to 2-4 overall with the win and the Matadors remain winless on the year at 0-6.
Chattanooga got out to a 6-2 lead to start the game with the back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Kiara Smith (Rome, Ga.) who made her first career start. Northridge cut the lead to 6-5 with a free throw from Janelle Nomura who ended the game with a team-high 20 points.
Chattanooga would answer as Hood scored six points in a 9-2 run along with a 3-pointer from Lambert to give the Lady Mocs their largest lead of the first half at 15-7 with 12:24 to play. Northridge shot 52 percent in the first half, making 13-of-25 but the Lady Mocs held its lead on the strength of six first-half treys and led 34-29 at intermission.
CSUN came out in the second half and tied the game at 45-45 with 14:49 to play getting 16 points from six different players. Sophomore Tenisha Townsend hit a 3-pointer to put UTC back up followed by a bucket from Hood, but Nomura hit a pair of layups and drew a foul to tie it up for the second and final time at 50-50 with 12:41 to play.
Lambert followed with a long-ranger to put the Lady Mocs up for good and Hood put Chattanooga on her shoulders and scored 10 of the Lady Mocs final 12 points in the final 4:13 of the game.
The Lady Mocs return home next Saturday to open Southern Conference play with a 3:30 p.m. matchup against Georgia Southern at the Roundhouse.
Furman 73, Presbyterian 60
GREENVILLE, S.C.
Kansas State 56, College of Charleston 46
CHARLESTON, S.C. -
Charleston (2-4) and Kansas State (5-0) played tight the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Wildcats led by five, 41-36, with 12:07 remaining before a three-pointer by Megan Fischer cut the margin to two at the 11:46 mark. Two free throws by Branshea Brown were followed by two free throws by Fischer at 9:33 as the Cougars trailed by just two, 43-41. That would be as close as Charleston would get as Brittany Chambers scored five of the Wildcats' next seven unanswered points and Kansas State built a quick nine-point, 50-41 lead, with 6:06 to go.
Both team traded baskets the next four minutes and with 2:30 remaining, Kansas State capped off 13-4 run with a jumper by Jalena Childs led 56-45. Tonia Gerty hit a free throw at 1:53 to cut the margin to 10 but that would the final points as Kansas State left with the 10-point, 56-46 win.
In the first half each team traded baskets with no one leading by more than four. The lead changed seven times and there were six ties in the first 20 minutes of action. There were 11 three-pointers in the first with Kansas State connecting on a season-high seven of them to lead by four, 33-29, at intermission. Alyssa Frye connected on a career-high three three-pointers in the first half en route to her career-high and team-leading nine points.
Charleston shot 41.7 percent from the field in the first half but struggled in the second with 23.1 to end the game with 32.0 percent. Kansas State was 39.3 percent from the field, including an eight-for-21 effort from beyond the three-point arc. Charleston was six-for-11 from the arc.
The Cougars out-rebounded the Wildcats 41-23, including a 27-24 advantage on the defensive boards. Charleston turned the ball over a season-low 17 times, while Kansas State coughed it up just 12.
Following Frye and her nine points was Janae Smith and Fischer with eight apiece. Deidre Ramer led the team with seven rebounds.
Three Wildcats were in double-figures with Brittany Chambers leading the way with 17. Taelor Karr followed with 16. Kansas State had three players with a team-leading seven rebounds.
Charleston starts Southern Conference play with a 7 p.m. contest at Furman Nov. 29.
Arkansas State 49, Georgia Southern 37
DALLAS -
Over a four-and-a-half-minute stretch in the second period, Tate, MiMi DuBose and Meredyth Frye combined to spark a 8-2 run to pull Georgia Southern back into the game. The Red Wolves, however, took advantage of missed shots and turnovers by the Lady Eagles to hold off the threat.
Arkansas State built a quick nine-point lead midway through the first half, depending on a three pointer from Quinishia McDowell to start the game and back-to-back baskets from Jasmine Taylor. The Lady Eagles committed 13 turnovers in the first half, leading to 12 Red Wolves points.
Tate scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half, going 4-7 from the floor and adding a three pointer and two points from the free throw line.
The Lady Eagles continue their skein of games away from Hanner Fieldhouse and will play at Wofford at 6 p.m. Wednesday, December 1st, and then at Chattanooga Saturday, December 4th at 3:30 p.m. in a SportSouth televised game.
Miami (FL) 78, UNCG 60
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -
Leigh and freshman Janae' Stevenson were named to the all-tournament team for the Spartans (1-4). Stevenson finished with six points and nine rebounds, while Monique Floyd had 12 points for UNCG. Leigh was 5-for-10 from 3-point range for the contest.
Riquna Williams scored 18 points to pace five in double figures for the Hurricanes (5-1). Tournament MVP Morgan Stroman had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Shenise Johnson had 15 points and 10 boards. Sylvia Bullock had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Stefanie Yderstrom had 10 points as all five starters reached double digits.
UNCG trailed just 39-36 at the half thanks to Leigh's hot shooting from behind the arc, and the Spartans would tie the contest on a Leigh 3 that made it 41-all with 18:05 to play. The teams would trade buckets a couple of times, with Floyd's jumper knotting things at 45 with 16:51 to play, but Miami was about to pull away.
The Hurricanes rattled off a quick 8-0 run before layups from Floyd and Leigh cut it to four at 53-49 with 13:15 to play, but a 3-pointer from Johnson kicked off a 13-2 Miami run that put the Hurricanes on top 66-51 and ahead by double digits for the first time on the evening.
A free throw from Stevenson and a Brey Dorsett layup got it back to 13 points, but Miami would hold the Spartans scoreless for nearly three minutes as it continued to pull away. The Hurricanes led by as many as 22 late.
UNCG shot just 29 percent in the second half, going 9-for-31 from the floor.
The Spartans gave UM all it could handle in the first half, scoring the game's first points and never trailing by more than eight. UNCG would cut it back to two points three times late in the half, twice on Leigh 3-pointers, and a pair of Colleen Nosovitch free throws made it 39-36 heading into the break.
Leigh had six rebounds to round out a solid day, while Floyd dished out five assists.
UM held a massive advantage in the paint, outscoring the Spartans there, 42-14.
Leigh averaged 15.5 points in the two games to earn all-tournament honors, while Stevenson averaged 9.5 rebounds in the two games and turned in her first career double-double in Friday's win over Eastern Illinois.
UNCG held the Hurricanes more than eight points below their season scoring average on the night. UM came into the game scoring 86.2 points per game. The 78 points were a season low for Miami.
The Spartans return to action Wednesday at Morgan State in Baltimore, Md. Opening tip is set for 3 p.m.
Mayfair Hotel and Spa Thanksgiving Tournament All-Tournament Team
Norfolk State 66, Wofford 51
NORFOLK, VA. --
Norfolk State took a 34-21 lead at the half, as the Spartans cruised to a 66-51 win over the Wofford women's basketball team Saturday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall in a nonconference game.
Wofford took an early 6-0 lead with just under three minutes to play before, Norfolk State rallied to take their first lead of the game, 7-6, at the 15:00 minute mark.
Wofford retook the lead on the next possession with a three from Jessica Escorza, but a layup by the Spartan's Rae Corbo knotted the game at nine with 12:54 remaining in the half.
Wofford was never able to get back into the game as Norfolk State pushed the lead to 23-11 with 7:32 left in the half riding a 12-2 to that point. The Terriers cut the lead to six on two Mahagony Williams free throws, but the Spartans responded by ending the half with a 13-point lead, 34-21.
Norfolk State used 23 Wofford first half turnovers to score 25 points, as they Terriers only scored eight points off of 14 Spartan turnovers.
In the second half, Norfolk State pushed the lead to 16, 47-31, at the half way mark in the period, and held an 18-point lead, 58-40 with just over five minutes to play.
The lead hit its highest point, 21, 66-45, with 2:28 to play as Norfolk State closed out the contest with a 66-51 win.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 38 percent from the floor, 33 percent from three and 61 percent from the line, while Wofford was 36 percent overall, 50 percent from three, 4-of-8, and 64 percent from the charity stripe. Norfolk State outrebounded the Terriers 43-38 as they grabbed 22 offensive rebounds 17 second chance points. Wofford had 14 offensive rebounds and five second chance points.
The Terriers, were led by Logan Morris with 11 points. She was 5-of-6 from the floor and made her only three-point attempt. Morris, a freshman, who missed the first three games, due to injury set a new career-high with her 11 points. Williams and Rachel Brittenham added ten points apiece. Williams made two of her four field goal attempts and knocked down six of her eight free throws. April Moorhouse grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Norfolk State was led by Corbo, who scored a game-high 13 points. Whitney Long and Sarah Daily added 12 and 11 points respectively.
Wofford will return to Ben Johnson Arena Wednesday, December 1 against Georgia Southern for their Southern Conference opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Lyrell Barfield, Florida Atlantic
Mariah King, Eastern Illinois
Amanda Leigh, UNCG
Janae' Stevenson, UNCG
Shenise Johnson, Miami
Morgan Stroman, Miami (MVP) UNCG got a season- and game-high 19 points from Amanda Leigh and put a scare into Miami for the first 30 minutes of play, but the Hurricanes pulled away midway through the second half to win the title game of their own Mayfair Hotel and Spa Thanksgiving Tournament on Saturday, 78-60. The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team fell to Arkansas State in the consolation game of the SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament Saturday, 49-37. Krista Tate led all scorers with 15 points and had six rebounds in her stat line. Tate was named to the All-Tournament team for her performances over the two games. She averaged 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor.
The Lady Eagles made a charge in the second half, cutting the Arkansas State margin to three points, 40-37, but the Red Wolves pieced together a 7-0 run over the final minutes of the contest. Despite shooting 22 percent from the field, Arkansas State went 12-18 in the second half from the free throw line for the difference. Kansas State outscored the College of Charleston women's basketball team 13-5 in the final nine-and-a-half minutes to break open a close game and take the 56-46 win this afternoon in front of 326 fans at the Carolina First Arena. -- Katilin Murphy scored a career high 25 points to power Furman to a 73-60 victory over Presbyterian in women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
The win marked a successful home season debut for Furman (2-2) and first year Paladin head coach Jackie Smith '00, who returned to her alma mater in April.
Presbyterian (2-3), coached by Furman graduate Ronny Fisher '90, was paced by Mariah Pietrowski with 15 points and a game high 11 rebounds.
Murphy's performance, which topped her previous best, a 15-point outing in a 76-60 triumph over Stetson last year, featured 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. The sophomore guard from Memphis, Tenn., also drained 7-of-8 free throw attempts and collected three assists in a contest the Paladins led from start to finish.
Raegan Thompson added 15 points, and Kelly O'Connor rounded out Furman's double figure scoring effort with 11 points. Kendra Berry chipped nine points and led the Paladins with seven rebounds.
The Paladins surged to a 42-30 halftime advantage behind Murphy, who tallied 16 points over the game's first 20 minutes.
Furman led 45-35 two minutes into the second half before putting together a 15-1 run to blow the game open. A layup by Laykyn Ledford and Thompson 3-pointer ignited the surge, and Brooke Keeton finished it with six consecutive points, capped by a three-point play that gave the Paladins a 60-36 advantage with 13:24 remaining.
The Paladins led 68-48 with five minutes to go before PC narrowed the margin to 11 points at 70-59 on a Sherece Smith layup.
Furman shot a solid 47.1 percent from the field in the contest, including a sizzling 60.0 percent (15x25) in the first half. PC, meanwhile, converted on just 34.4 percent of its shots (22x64).
The Blue Hose, who also got 14 points from Chelsea Wright, forged a 43-35 rebounding advantage.
Furman returns to action on Monday when it tips off Southern Conference play against the College of Charleston. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Timmons Arena. NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team claimed its second victory of the season with a 74-68 win over host Cal State Northridge Saturday night at the Matadome in Game Three of the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic.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.