Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Monday's Women's Basketball Recap

Appalachian State 58, Furman 53

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Sam Ramirez scored 16 points and keyed a late surge by Appalachian State that clipped Furman, 58-53, in Southern Conference women's basketball action Monday evening on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.

The win was the fifth straight for Appalachian State (12-9, 8-4 SoCon) and gave the Mountaineers the season series split with Furman (6-17, 4-10 SoCon), which dropped its fourth in a row.

With the Mountaineers trailing 53-49, Ramirez drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with a minute left in the game to help Appalachian State finish the contest on a 9-0 run to secure the victory.

After Ramirez's bucket, ASU's Kelsey Sharkey stole the ball on Furman's ensuing possession and converted a layup to give the Mountaineers a 54-53 lead with 53 seconds remaining.

After another Paladin turnover, Ramirez drew a foul and drained a pair of free throws with 29 seconds to go to stretch the advantage to 56-53.

Anna Freeman added two more free throws with nine seconds remaining to complete the decisive run.

Furman scored its final points with 2:43 to go on a jump shot by Kendra Berry for a 53-49 lead, but the Paladins went scoreless the rest of the way, missing five shots and turning the ball over twice in their final seven possessions.

Lee Stephens paced Furman with 16 points.  Kali Holtfreter and Kendra Berry followed with 11 points each for the Paladins.

Freeman had 14 points for Appalachian State, and Ashlen Dewart tallied 10 points in only 11 minutes of action.

Berry claimed a game high 10 rebounds for Furman, which forged a 38-31 advantage on the boards, but the Paladins shot just 31.7 percent for the game (19x60).

Appalachian State led 26-24 at intermission and stretched its lead to 38-30 following a Freeman layup with 15:01 remaining, but Furman fashioned a 10-0 run behind a 3-pointer and two free throws by Holtfreter to take a 40-38 lead following a Stephens trey with 12:58 to go.

The game remained tight until Berry's jump shot with under three minutes to go gave the Paladins their biggest lead of the second half, 53-49.

Furman entertains Western Carolina this Saturday in a 5:30 p.m. game that will be televised by WMYA (My40).

College of Charleston 74, Western Carolina 71

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Senior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) scored 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and junior guard Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) matched that production and added eight assists as the College of Charleston (17-6, 11-3) defeated Western Carolina (3-18, 2-10) by a score of 74-71 in a Southern Conference women's basketball game on February 1, 2010.

The victory gives the Cougars a season sweep of the Catamounts, with a 68-61 victory on December 21, 2009, and marks the first time in the Division I era that WCU has lost back-to-back games to the College of Charleston. CofC last claimed consecutive victories in the series when they notched six straight from February 9, 1979 to February 11, 1982.

Leading 61-57 with 5:07 to play in the game, the Cougars used a 8-3 run that featured consecutive baskets by Williams, to push their lead to 69-60 with 1:13 to go.The Catamounts would not go quietly as they capitalized on a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from junior guard Emily Clarke to close to within 69-65 at the 49-second mark.

CofC pushed their lead to 72-65 behind a three-of-four performance at the foul line but Western Carolina continued to claw their way back, inching to within 74-71 with six seconds to play but with the ball in the Cougars' possession. A turnover on the ensuing inbound changed that as WCU had one last chance to tie the game. Emily Clarke, who led all scorers with 21 points, launched from straight away as time expired but watched as the shot clanged off the rim to give CofC a thrilling three-point victory.

Early on it looked like anything but two teams heading in opposite directions as both clubs were separated by no more than four points for the better part of the first half. Trailing 14-13 at the 11:45 mark, CofC changed that as they used a 7-1 run to take a 20-15 lead with 8:31 to play in the half. The Catamounts then answered back with an impressive 13-0 run over the next 5:01 to retake the lead at 28-20.

WCU held the Cougars scoreless for a total of 5:48 before back-to-back baskets ended the drought and made it 28-24 with 2:01 to go. CofC then took advantage of a jumper from senior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) and a Gerty three-pointer to narrow the gap to 32-29 at the break.

The College of Charleston wasted little time coming out of the half as they scored the first four points to retake the lead at 33-32 but would see the lead change hands five times over the next 5:31 before the Catamounts took a 49-45 advantage. At that point, sophomore forward Ariel Hatcher (Monroe Mich.) keyed a 10-0 run with a jumper and conventional three-point play on a put back to give the Cougars a 55-49 lead with 10:22 to play. Western Carolina would close to within four points twice but would get no closer until their late rally.

Clarke led all scorers with 21 points, 15 of that coming from beyond the arc, while redshirt-freshman Janae' McKinney added 13 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Caitlin Hollifield nearly had a double-double as she finished with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds and junior guard Kendra Carroll chipped in with 10 points. Senior guard Jessica Jackson fueled the offense with six points and a team-best seven assists.

Ericka Williams' 16 points and six rebounds, along with 16 points and eight assists from Tonia Gerty, led the College of Charleston. Senior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) finished with 14 points while senior center Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Junior guard Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Ariel Hatcher each contributed seven points.

The College of Charleston is off until Saturday, February 6 when they begin a three-game homestand that will help determine the Southern Conference regular season champion. The Cougars host Samford (16-6, 10-3) at 1 p.m. on SportSouth before facing perrenial contender Chattanooga (16-6, 11-2) at 12 p.m. on Monday, February 8.

NOTES

The victory over Western Carolina marks the first time in the program's Divison I history that they have won consecutive games against the Catamounts ... the Cougars five-game winning streak matches their season-high.

Chattanooga 82, UNC Greensboro 63

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Senior Shanara Hollinquest and freshman Michelle Davis combined for 45 points and 14 rebounds Monday night and led the Lady Mocs to an 82-63 Southern Conference women's basketball win over UNC Greensboro at the McKenzie Arena.

Hollinquest's (Sylacauga, Ala.) 24 points and seven boards paced the Lady Mocs who claimed their 12th consecutive win of the year, sixth best in school history while Davis (Cleveland, Tenn.) had a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Chattanooga improves to 17-6 overall and 12-2 in SoCon play while the Spartans drop to 7-15 and 4-10 in the conference.

The Lady Mocs opened the game with a 21-5 run that included four long-range bombs with 12:38 to play until the break. UNC Greensboro's Amanda Leigh followed the quick start with a pair of 3-pointers to get the Spartans to within eight at 21-13 at the 11:55 mark, but that was as close as it would get. The Lady Mocs continued to run its offense and led 50-31 at halftime.

Chattanooga maintained its double-digit lead throughout the second half getting up by as much as 25 points less than halfway through the latter period. The Spartans put a slight dent into Chattanooga's lead getting to within 19 by the end of regulation.

The Lady Mocs tied their season-high with 12 from beyond the 3-point line, making 12-of-22 (54.5%) and shot 50 percent from the floor. Chattanooga tied its season-high with 18 assists and missed a season high in steals by one with 14.

The Lady Mocs held the Spartans to just 23-of-59 (39 %) shooting from the field with seven from the 3-point line. UNCG did not have a single free throw attempt until the 15:28 mark of the second half and went on to shoot 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Led by senior Jenaya Wade-Fray's (Madison, Ala.), five steals, the Lady Mocs scored 21 points off 15 Spartan turnovers and gave up just nine points to UNCG on 11 miscues. UTC edged the Spartans on the boards 34-33.

Freshman Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) reached double digits again with 12 points on a 4-of-6 3-point shooting performance and six assists while Wade-Fray chipped in 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals.

Leigh led the Spartans with 19 points and four rebounds and was the lone UNCG player in double figures. Lakiah Hyson, the Spartans leading scorer, was held to nine points and three assists. Sarah Folwell and Monique Floyd each tossed in eight points and Floyd pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.

The Lady Mocs start a two-game road swing Saturday, Feb. 6 in Statesboro, Ga., against the Georgia Southern Eagles. That game will tip off at 3 p.m. From there, Chattanooga will travel up the coast to the College of Charleston for a noon matchup on Monday, Feb. 8 at the Carolina First Coliseum.

Larry Ward, "the Voice of the Lady Mocs" will call all the action live on the flagship station of Chattanooga athletics, ESPN Radio 105.1 FM. Live stats, streaming video and audio is available at the official website of UTC athletics, GoMocs.com.

Elon 60, Samford 59

SAMFORD, Ala. - With 38 seconds in the game, Lei Lei Hairston drained a free throw that sealed Elon’s 60-59 win over the Samford Bulldogs in Southern Conference women’s basketball action in Birmingham, Ala. Ali Ford set up the play with four ticks left on the shot clock as she inbounded the ball to Hairston. Hairston drew a foul that sent her to the free throw line where she drained the go-ahead basket. It was Elon’s first-ever win over the Bulldogs. The Phoenix is now 9-14 on the season and improved to 4-10 in league play. Samford dropped to 16-7 overall and 10-4 in the SoCon.
 
“This was a huge win for our program against a solid team that is very welled coached,” Elon head coach Karen Barefoot said. “This is by far one of our best defensive efforts this season. We showed our will to win in the closing minutes and demonstrated a lot of poise when Samford tied it up. I’m proud of the way we executed in the final 38 seconds.  We set up a big play for Lei Lei (Hairston) and then came back to make a defensive stop to end the game. We definitely got better tonight.”
 
Hairston went 5-for-7 from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown to lead the team with 15 points. Ford was Elon’s other double-figure scorer with 13 points. Urysla Cotton pulled down a team-best eight rebounds and added two blocks. Kelsey Evans totaled eight points and eight boards while posting a game-high three blocks.
 
Samford’s Savannah Hill scored 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Paige Anderson added 13 points, followed by Megan Wilderotter with nine. Hannah Dawson and Hill grabbed seven boards each.
 
Trailing 11-9 early in the first half, Aiesha Harper made a pair of jumpers and hit a free throw that sent Elon on a 10-0 run that ended with a three-pointer by Hairston with 10:51 on the clock. Samford’s Anderson hit a shot from downtown with 8:40 left in the half that pulled Samford within one at 19-18.
 
Tiara Gause answered with a bucket of her own that allowed the Phoenix to extend its lead to three, 21-18, with 7:33 remaining on the clock. The Bulldogs’ Monica Maxwell connected on a pair of shots from the charity stripe with just under two minutes left in the half that tied the score at 25. Hairston then ended the half with her second bucket from behind the arc that gave Elon a 28-25 going into the break.
 
The Phoenix opened the second half with a 9-2 run that included a long trey by Ford that put Elon back up by 10, 37-27. Samford cut the lead to 39-36 on a three by Megan Wilderotter with 14:51 on the clock.  With its lead hovering around three points over the next four minutes, Hairston turned a three-point play that put the Phoenix up seven, 49-42, with 9:18 left in the game.
 
Samford’s Wilderotter hit a layup with 8:35 on the clock that cut the lead to two, 49-47. Down six with 3:17 on the clock, Samford went on a 6-0 run that tied the game at 57. The score knotted again at 59 before Hairston’s free throw allowed Elon to come away with the win.
 
The Phoenix shot 43.7 percent from the field and made 50 percent of its shots from behind the arc. Elon’s defensive effort limited Samford, who entered the game ranked eighth nationally in three-point shots, to just five three-pointers.
 
“We played like champions tonight and were rewarded like champions,” Hairston said. “We played with intensity and had positive energy all around us. It feels good to come away with this win.”
 
Elon returns to the friendly confines of Alumni Gym on Saturday, February 6 when it welcomes Appalachian State for a 2 p.m., contest. The Phoenix hopes to avenge an 85-66 loss from earlier this season.