UNCG 71, Furman 61
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Monique Floyd scored a career-high 23 points and UNCG won its third straight game to even its record and move to 2-0 in the Southern Conference with a 71-61 win over Furman on Monday.
Floyd continued to be a force for the first-place Spartans (5-5, 2-0 SoCon), scoring in double digits for the ninth time in 10 tries this season and pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. Kendra Smith added a season-high 14 points, while Amanda Leigh had 12.
Kelly O'Connor had 16 points to lead the Paladins (6-4, 2-1 SoCon), but she didn't score after the 7:46 mark in the first half. Kaitlin Murphy and Raegan Thompson had 11 each for Furman, while Kendra Berry shared game-high honors with eight rebounds.
The Spartans couldn't contain O'Connor in the opening minutes, as she had 16 of Furman's first 24 points. She hit a layup and back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Paladins on top 24-21 with 7:46 to play, but coming out of the next media timeout, Floyd was draped all over O'Connor, and the 2008-09 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year held O'Connor scoreless the rest of the way.
Floyd's offense certainly didn't suffer as a result of her stellar defense, as she went 8-for-14 from the floor to better her previous career high by one point.
The senior from Fairmont, N.C., countered O'Connor's last basket with a layup and Leigh added a jumper out of the timeout to put UNCG back on top. A Lakyn Ledford layup gave Furman the lead at 26-25, but that was the last time the Paladins would lead.
Freshman Janae' Stevenson, who finished with eight points, six boards and three blocked shots, hit a layup with 5:24 left in the first to put the Spartans on top for good. Kendra Smith would add a three-point play and a jumper and Floyd hit the front end of a two-shot foul to cap an 8-0 UNCG run that made it 33-26.
The Spartans would take a 36-30 lead into halftime, and quickly pushed their lead to 10 after intermission on a Smith 3-pointer that made it 44-34.
Furman would gradually chip away at the UNCG lead, however, getting within three points at 56-53 on Thompson's free throw with 7:19 left. Four straight UNCG points opened up a bit of breathing room, but Furman again got it down to three at 64-61 on Murphy's 3-pointer with 1:17 to play.
Floyd caught the Furman defense napping on the ensuing possession, firing a long pass down to a wide-open Stevenson underneath the UNCG basket, and Stevenson hit the uncontested layup to make it a two-possession game again.
Stevenson then came up with a steal under Furman's basket on the other end and returned the favor to Floyd, who hit a layup to make it 68-61 with 44 seconds to play.
The Paladins came up empty on their next trip down the court and were forced to foul from there on out. The Spartans went 3-for-4 from the line in the last 21 seconds to put the game away.
UNCG turned the ball over just 10 times on the afternoon and forced 24 turnovers by Furman. The Spartans took full advantage, scoring 26 points off those Paladin miscues.
The Spartans, who are 2-0 in the conference for the second time in the last three seasons, will have plenty of time to savor the victory, as they are idle until Dec. 31, when they will hit the road to face Davidson at 2 p.m.
NOTE: Leigh went 1-for-8 from 3-point range, moving into sole possession of third place on UNCG's career 3-pointers list. She now has 136, one ahead of fourth-place Sam Ferguson (1995-98).
Elon 61, Davidson 60
ELON, N.C. - An old-fashioned three-point play by Shon Redmond with 18.7 seconds remaining in the game lifted the Elon University women's basketball team to its first Southern Conference victory of the season on Monday night, Dec. 20, as the Phoenix topped the Davidson Wildcats, 61-60, inside Alumni Gym.
Elon improves to 6-4 and 1-2 in league play, while Davidson falls to 4-4 (0-1 SoCon) with the loss. Elon is off to its best start since the 1990-00 team also began the season with a 6-4 record.
With the scored tied for the 10th time in the game at 58-all, Davidson's Sophia Aleksandravicius sunk a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left to give the Wildcats a two-point lead, 60-58, and momentum.
But the Phoenix had other ideas, as Redmond, who started for the first time in her career tonight, slashed to the basket on the right side of the lane for the layup and foul, making it a tie game at 60-all. Redmond hit the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play and give Elon a 61-60 advantage, one it would not relinquish in the final moments after Davidson's Laura Murray missed a jumper on her team's final possession.
Redmond finished with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, as well as a 3-for-3 performance from the free throw line. Redmond also dished out five assists for Elon.
Elon had two more players score in double figures, as Lei Lei Hairston poured in a team-high 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with seven boards, while Ali Ford pitched in 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The Elon defense had a stellar performance in tonight's win, limiting Davidson to 36.7 percent shooting from the field to go along with 10 total blocks. Kelsey Evans led the way with a game-high four blocked shots, while Lisa Archie, who also made her first career start tonight, swatted three shots by the Wildcats. Elon limited Aleksandravicius, who ranked third in the league in scoring (18.7 ppg) going into tonight's game, to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field.
After both squads jockeyed for position for most of the first half, the Phoenix went into the locker room with an eight-point lead after a 10-2 run in the final 3:33 gave Elon a 31-23 advantage at intermission.
The Phoenix shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first half, while limiting Davidson to a 34.5 percent (10-of-29) clip from the field in the first 20 minutes.
But Murray helped Davidson climb back into the game early in the second half, scoring eight points in a 10-2 run by the Wildcats to knot the game at 36-apiece with 14:40 remaining. Murray finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-6 clip from beyond the arc.
The two squads battled back-and-forth to an eventual 58-all tie with 31 second remaining, but Elon's stingy defense and Redmond's key play in the final moments allowed the Phoenix to earn its first conference victory of the season.
Elon returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 30, when it heads to Huntington, W. Va. to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd at 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern 67, Samford 66
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern regained a one-point lead 67-66 with 19 seconds left to play and then held off a final Samford attempt to defeat the Southern Conference's preseason favorite. The Lady Eagles broke the Lady Bulldogs' seven-game winning streak, dropping Samford to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the SoCon. Georgia Southern improved to 4-8 overall and 2-2 in the SoCon.
Junior Krista Tate scored the winning basket, her only two points of the second half, then promptly went down to defend on the other side of the court to preserve the win for the Lady Eagles. Junior Meredyth Frye registered a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds and redshirt freshman MiMi DuBose led the Lady Eagles with 17points. DuBose nailed a critical three pointer at the 2:33 mark that gave GSU its first lead in the game since the 17:40 mark of the second half.
Two straight turnovers by Samford after DuBose's trey gave the Lady Eagles two possessions but neither resulted in a score. A Savannah Hill turnaround jumper with 46 seconds remaining gave the Lady Bulldogs their first field goal in five minutes and a brief one-point lead until Tate's final field goal for the one-point advantage, 67-66.
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a five-point lead, 50-45, as Hill scored Samford's first 13 points of the second half. Samantha Williams hit a jumper in the lane and then Frye hit two of her eight free throws to get Georgia Southern back within three points, 52-49.
Georgia Southern's Jamie Navarro hit a three-pointer at the 11-minute mark, which would be the Lady Eagle's last field goal for nearly seven minutes. Five free throws would keep Georgia Southern within striking distance as the Lady Bulldogs hit only three jumpers and three free throws in the same time period.
With just over four minutes remaining, Williams fed Frye the ball in the lane and Frye laid it in off the glass for the basket and the foul shot to move the Lady Eagles within one. Briana Scott went up for a basket and was fouled by Hill, sending her to the line for two free throws. Scott tied the game at 62 with her second free throw attempt, but a foul on a defensive rebound by Ruth Ketcham would put her at the line for two. She hit both to put Samford up 64-62 at the 2:55 mark.
DuBose's three-pointer marked the sixth lead change of the game with Hill giving the Lady Bulldogs their final lead at 66-65 before Tate's winning basket put the final score in the Lady Eagles' favor 67-66.
Navarro scored eight of the Lady Eagles' 12 points early on as Georgia Southern took a 12-2 lead from the tip. Georgia Southern, fueled by Navarro's points and two three-pointers by DuBose, pulled out to a 17-3 lead, its largest lead of the game at 14.
The Lady Bulldogs' determination and three-pointers ate away at the GSU lead. A 13-3 Samford run over five minutes pulled the Lady Bulldogs within four, 20-16, but Georgia Southern would stretch the lead back out to double-digits at 26-16 as DuBose hit the second of her back-to-back threes from the right side. Tate would put the Lady Eagles back up by 11 with a jumper, but a 16-5 run over three-and-a-half minutes by the Lady Bulldogs would tie the score at 33.
The Lady Eagles worked the ball around for Candice Ivy who laid in the ball from the left side for a 35-33 lead, but Shelby Campbell answered back with a jumper from the lane.
The Lady Bulldogs' Paige Anderson hit two free throws to give Samford a 37-35 lead with 1:07 left in the half. The Samford lead was short-lived, though, as a left-side three-pointer by Logan Youngblood put the Lady Eagles back up by one, 38-37, to end the first half.
Samford picked up nearly half its points on the Lady Eagles' 18 turnovers, but Georgia Southern dominated on the boards, 38-20. Fourteen Lady Eagle points would come from second-chance points with a 14-3 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Lady Bulldogs' Hill went 10-11 from the floor and had a game-high 24 points while tying two other teammates with four rebounds. Campbell had 13 points, 12 in the first half.
Appalachian State 65, Western Carolina 50
BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University women's basketball overcame a sluggish first half and sloppy play to earn its 12th consecutive home win Monday evening, as the Apps defeated Western Carolina 65-50. The win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Mountaineers and improves the squad to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference action, while Western Carolina falls to 3-7 on the season and 1-2 in league play.
After displaying a lackluster effort for most of the contest, grasping a four-point lead, ASU picked up its pace at the right time, posting a 14-3 game-changing run with 10 minutes to play to put the Mountaineers on top 54-38.
Offensive contribution from junior Frances, who saw her first game-time action this season, in addition to aggressive and strong play by sophomore Courtney Freeman enabled the Apps to grab the 16-point advantage.
Freeman scored eight points during the streak, and ended the game with her first double-double of the season, hauling in a game-high 10 rebounds, while posting 11 points.
Three made free throws by Sam Ramirez and an Anna Freeman layup put Appalachian in front by 20 points, and the Black and Gold went on to pick up their third-straight win over their conference rival.
Freeman had a complete game against the Catamounts as well, scoring 11 points, grabbing eight rebounds, swiping six steals, while dishing out four assists.
First half play was knotted twice before an 8-2 Mountaineer run saw ASU jump out to a 21-13 lead. Anna Freeman propelled the Apps' run, as she poured in four points, while Ramirez and Ashlen Dewart contributed offensively as well.
Despite the eight-point cushion, five-straight Catamount points made it a contest once again, and a final Chakeitha Weldon layup saw ASU cling to a narrow 25-20 lead heading into intermission.
ASU was lethargic coming out of the break, and Janae McKinney was able keep Western Carolina hanging around, tying action at 25.
Fortunately, Ramirez found the bottom of the net at the right time, drilling back to back three-pointers to extend Appalachian's lead back out to six points, up 33-27.
Ramirez' offense sparked Appalachian's turnaround, and the Apps went on notch the double-digit victory.
Yet again stellar, the lone senior for ASU kept with her offensive brilliancy, pouring 22 points on 8-16 shooting, along with tying a career high six steals, recording six rebounds and totaling three assists.
Dominate defensively, the 50 points were the fewest Appalachian has allowed an opponent all season, and the dismal 27.3 field goal percentage by the Catamounts was the lowest an ASU opponent has shot this season as well.
Taking an eight-day reprieve for the holidays, Appalachian State returns to action, playing its final non-conference game, Wednesday, December 29 at Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Wake Forest. The game between the Mountaineers and Demon Deacons is slated to tip off at 2 p.m. from WFU's Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.