UNCG 73, Radford 58
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Amanda Leigh scored a season- and game-high 23 points and Monique Floyd added season-high 19 and scored her 800th career point as UNCG downed Radford in nonconference action on Saturday, 73-58.
Kendra Smith finished with 10 points for UNCG (3-5), while Sidnei Harmon had eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Kahealani Vick had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Radford (3-6) for the game's lone double-double, while Brooke McElroy pulled down a career-best 15 rebounds.
"I thought it was a well-rounded team performance," UNCG coach Lynne Agee said. "We did a lot of good things, so we're really pleased with the win."
The Spartans led by just three at 51-48 with just over six minutes to play, but turned in a 19-4 run over the next 4:17 to turn a tight game into a rout. Freshman Breonna Patterson had seven of her career-high nine points in the run, while Leigh had six.
Earlier in the half, Radford tied it at 37 on a three-point play from Vick with 13:49 to go, but Floyd was about to put the Spartans on her back. The senior from Fairmont, N.C., scored 12 straight points for UNCG, drawing fouls on made buckets on three straight possessions in the spurt and converting a pair of the three-point plays.
"Wow, what can you say about Mo?" Agee said. "Mo has just been laying it all out there in the second half. She stepped up when we let it get away from us a little bit. We were still ahead but let them back into the game. Mo just turned the game around with four or five transition baskets and getting fouled. She played so well."
A pair of Ciara Hayes layups and a 3-pointer from Erica Rivera kept the Highlanders close during Floyd's run, but a Leigh layup put the Spartans up 51-44 with 8:28 to go.
Radford's Da'Naria Erwin Spencer hit a pair of free throws and Denay Wood drained a jumper to cut it to three, but UNCG was just about to make its game-changing run.
The Spartans shot 62.1 percent from the floor in the second half, hitting 18 of their 29 attempts.
UNCG held Radford to just 25.9 percent shooting for the game, including a field goal drought of 8:41 in the opening frame. The Highlanders opened the game just 3-for-19 from the floor as UNCG jumped out to a 19-9 lead.
Floyd entered the contest needing just four points to reach 800 for her career and surpassed the mark with a layup with 1:20 to go in the first half.
She also finished with a season-high seven assists, one shy of her career high.
Leigh went 5-for-8 from 3-point range, hitting five 3s for the third time this season and third time in the last four games. She continued her march up UNCG's career 3-pointers list, as she now sits just one back of third-place Sam Ferguson (1995-98) with 134 for her career.
"Amanda Leigh just really played well today," Agee said. "She was shooting it with a lot of confidence. She obviously is our shooter, and she's got the green light from me to let it go. I thought she played a great game. She actually rebounded and was into a lot of things. She had a well-rounded ballgame, handled the basketball well. I was really pleased with her performance."
UNCG will now get a week off to prepare for its Southern Conference opener, as the Spartans will host Wofford at Fleming Gym on Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.
Western Carolina 51, Georgia State 37
ATLANTA, Ga. - Western Carolina women's basketball (2-6) picked up its second road win of the season with a 51-37 win at Georgia State (3-4) Saturday in the GSU Sports Arena.
Junior guard Kaila'Shea Menendez led all scorers with 12 points, scoring six of her points from the free throw line. Menendez was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the second half, to combat the Catamounts' 23.8 percent shooting from the floor in the final 20 minutes.
Emily Clarke and Diamond Hunnicutt also scored in double figures for Western Carolina with 11 points a piece. Junior forward Caitlin Hollifield ripped down 10 rebounds for WCU and redshirt sophomore Janae' McKinney swipped a career-high five steals.
Leading by nine at the half, 27-16, Western Carolina went almost six minutes in the second half before scoring a bucket. Freshman guard Rena Wakama ended the streak when she drained a three-pointer with 14:16 left in the game.
Overall, the Catamounts hit just five field goals in the second half. However, WCU benefited from its trips to the free throw line, keeping Georgia State at bay, hitting 12-of-14 in the second half and 17-of-22 overall.
The Catamounts relied on their defense as their shooting grew cold in the second half. Georgia State matched Western Carolina in buckets with five as well, but the Catamounts relied on a nine point lead the team amassed at half time to cool the heels of the Panthers.
In the first half, Western Carolina was spurred by Clarke who hit three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Her three-pointer at the 14:14 mark gave Western Carolina the lead after the game was tied at six. Clarke now moves to fourth place for three-pointers in a career in the Catamount record books with 123.
Georgia State opened the game with two field goals for an early 4-0 lead. Western Carolina roared back with a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Panthers tied the game at six off a lay-up by Kendra Long.
Clarke's three-pointer spurred an 11-0 run for the Catamounts and built a 17-8 lead for WCU. Long ended the scoring drought for Georgia State hitting a field goal with 7:05 left, it was one of just three field goals the Panthers would hit the rest of the half.
Western Carolina held Georgia State, but couldn't seem to build a huge lead over Georgia State. In the final seven minutes of the half, the Catamounts were 4-of-6 from the free throw line and hit just two field goals. The final field goal of the half, for Western Carolina, was a three-pointer by Clarke.
For the game, Western Carolina shot 34.1 percent from the field and held Georgia State to 21.1 percent. The Catamounts won the rebounding advantage 42-31, with 32 of the boards on the defensive end. Western Carolina's 15 steals was a season-high.
Western Carolina will take a week off for finals before opening a two-game Southern Conference road swing Saturday, Dec. 18, at Elon. Tip time is set for 2 p.m.
UNC Asheville 86, Furman 75
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Lindsey Montgomery scored 25 points and combined with Kelli Riles for a pair of double-doubles to lead UNC Asheville past Furman, 86-75, in women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Justice Center.
Montgomery, who also claimed 10 rebounds, connected on 11-of-18 shots for her 25 points while Riles added 21 points and a game high 15 boards to help the Bulldogs (4-3) break open a close game midway through the second half en route to the victory.
Furman (5-3), which was led by Raegan Thompson's career high 27 points, had its four-game winning streak snapped. Kaitlin Murphy tallied 21 points and a career best 10 assists for the Paladins, who also got 11 points from Kelly O'Connor.
Thompson's performance featured 8-of-14 shooting from 3-point range, which led a strong Paladin effort from beyond the arc.(13-of-32, 40.6 percent).
The Bulldogs shot 44.6 percent from the field for the game (29-for-65), including 48.5 percent in the decisive second half. UNCA also knocked down 23-of-28 free throw opportunities (82.1 percent), outscoring Furman by 15 points at the line.
With Furman leading 49-47, the Bulldogs' Dana Wagner sparked an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer to give UNCA a 50-49 lead with 12:47 remaining.
Two Riles free throws at the 9:52 mark completed the run and gave UNCA a 55-49 lead.
Thompson sliced the margin in half with a 3-pointer that made it 55-52 with 9:07 to go, but a 12-5 UNCA spurt over the next five minutes, capped by a Montgomery layup with 4:26 remaining, gave the Bulldogs a 67-57 advantage.
The Paladins twice cut the lead to single digits but could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Furman, which managed to slight 41-40 advantage on the boards, was paced by Lakyn Ledford's eight caroms.
Kentucky 79, Chattanooga 64
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team continued its run through arguably one of the toughest early season schedules in the country when it hosted No. 14 Kentucky Saturday night. The Lady Mocs put up a solid effort in front of a big crowd at McKenzie Arena before falling 79-64.
This was the third ranked opponent from the Southeastern Conference for the Lady Mocs this season. Chattanooga (3-5, 1-0 SoCon) had already traveled to No. 4 Tennessee and No. 18 Georgia. Coming off an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight, Kentucky (7-1, 0-0 SEC) was the sixth team on Chattanooga's schedule that advanced to the postseason in 2009-10.
Kentucky came into the game leading the SEC with 13.4 steals per game and was No. 5 in the country with a +10/game turnover margin. They used their speed to frustrate the Lady Mocs all night. The Wildcats extended their defense well beyond the three-point line and made it tough for UTC to get into an offensive rhythm.
Despite the tough defense, Chattanooga only trailed 15-11 midway through the first half. However, Kentucky went on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to temporarily take control. The Wildcats got back-to-back 3-pointers from Samantha Drake and Bernisha Pinkett to grab a 27-13 lead at the 7:40 mark.
That was Kentucky's biggest advantage in the half as they hit 4-of-9 from deep in the first 20 minutes. The Lady Mocs were able to cut into the deficit thanks to three straight baskets by junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.). Her strong move inside with 1:05 left in the first closed the gap to 33-26. Hood put up 14 points in the first frame to keep the Lady Mocs close.
The Wildcats shot 15-of-31 (48.4%) from the field in the opening stanza. Chattanooga was forced into eight turnovers and shot just 13-of-31 (41.9%) in the opening half.
Kentucky's Victoria Dunlap was relatively quiet in the first 20 minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing two boards after getting two quick fouls early and making a brief exit. The reigning SEC Player of the Year came into the game leading the league in both categories with 18.2 ppg and 11.8 ppg.
Chattanooga head coach Wes Moore, who was looking for his 494th career win, made some adjustments at the break and started throwing the ball over the top to beat the Wildcat pressure. That led to some breakaway chances for the Lady Mocs and got them back in the game.
Chattanooga came out on fire to start the second, hitting their first six shots from the field. Most of the 3,139 fans who made it out for the Mocs Basketball Doubleheader stuck around for the women's game and made their presence heard during that stretch.
UTC took the lead on back-to-back baskets from sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.). Her three-pointer from the left wing gave Chattanooga a 42-41 advantage with 17:40 on the clock and sent the Lady Moc faithful into a frenzy.
After a score inside by Dunlap, Christopher nailed another three for a 45-43 Chattanooga advantage with 15:35 left in the game. That basket was the highlight of the night as UTC went cold for the rest of the game. The Wildcats to put together a 17-4 run, capped by Dunlap's inside score for a 60-49 cushion with 10 minutes left.
That was as close as Chattanooga would get for the remainder of the game as Kentucky cruised to the win. Dunlap finished with a game-high 26 points, 18 in the second half, to go with nine rebounds and three steals.
Hood, the leading scorer in the Southern Conference, held her own against another tough team. She finished with 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting and a team-high eight boards. Christopher added 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting, 2-for-5 from 3-point range. Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) was also in double-figure for Chattanooga, adding 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 3-for-6 from behind the arc.
Chattanooga actually handled the Wildcat pressure relatively well. UTC's 16 turnovers were the fewest Kentucky has forced all season. Kentucky's eight steals were its second-lowest total on the year.
The Lady Mocs will hit the road for the rest of the calendar year, starting a four-game trip away from McKenzie Arena at the College of Charleston on Dec. 16. UTC's next home game is set for Jan. 2 when it hosts Wofford at 3:00 p.m. (EST).