ELON, N.C. - UNC Greensboro's Amanda Leigh knocked down six three-pointers on her way to a career-high 28 points and also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds as the Spartans knocked off backyard-rival Elon, 77-71, in Southern Conference women's basketball action at Alumni Gym on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, UNCG finished the regular season 9-19 overall, 6-14 in Southern Conference play. The Spartans will face Western Carolina as either the No. 8 or 9 seed in next week's Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, to be played in Charlotte, N.C.
Elon dropped to 11-18, 6-14 in SoCon play. Western Carolina lost in overtime at Wofford on Saturday afternoon, creating a four-way tie at 6-14. Wofford is 5-1 against the tied teams, so its gains the No. 7 seed and will see Elon in a first-round game. UNCG and Western Carolina will await to see who the No. 1 seed is to break the tie for Nos. 8 and 9, but know that they will face each other at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Leigh's six three-pointers were one shy of the UNCG single-game record set by Micky Haywood at Campbell back on February 13, 1993. The redshirt junior was 10-for-17 from the floor, including 6-for-11 from three-point range.
Elon got 24 points from Ali Ford. Ford, who came into the game averaging 15.9 points per game, made her average by halftime with 17 points. But the Spartans did a better job against for most of the second half, holding her to just two points in the first 14 minutes of the half.
Monique Floyd added 16 points off the bench for UNCG, going 5-for-5 from the floor and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Lakiah Hyson added 10 points, and Sarah Folwell chipped in with nine, including two key three-pointers late in the game.
Elon was within a point, 65-64, with 3:24 to play after Tiffany Davis' three-pointer. But Floyd scored on a drive to the basket and Folwell knocked down a three-pointer with two minutes to go to extend the lead back to six. The Spartans then hit 7-of-10 from the line in the final two minutes to record their first road win since December 29. UNCG had lost seven straight on the road.
Leigh was a spark early for the Spartans, scoring 11 points in the first 10 minutes. Neither team got much separation for most of the opening half. Elon led by six a little over six minutes in, but UNCG came back to make it a one-possession game until a late Elon run.
Lakiah Hyson's short jumper from the right baseline gave the Spartans their first lead, 27-25, with four minutes left before the break. But Elon responded with 10 straight points as part of a 14-4 run that closed out the first half and provided the Phoenix a 39-31 lead at the intermission.
UNCG cut the deficit to four a couple of times early in the second half, but the Phoenix seemed to have an answer and kept it from becoming a one-possession game. The Spartans broke through, however, with a 13-2 run, including 10 straight, to take a 56-52 lead.
A three-pointer by Leigh to put her at 20 points on the day and a pair of Amy Clapper free throws got UNCG back to within a bucket finally, 50-48, with 10:30 to play. Another three-pointer by Leigh gave her a new career-high and a the lead with 10 minutes to go that UNCG would not surrender.
Meanwhile, the Spartans were shutting down Ford. She had just two points in the second half before she converted a conventional three-point play with 5:19 to play to go, pulling Elon to within 59-57. But Leigh had an answer on the ensuing possession - her sixth three-pointer of the day, this one from the right corner.
Elon cut it to one a couple of times down the stretch. But Folwell's three-pointer from the left corner with two minutes to play sealed it for the Spartans, who swept their backyard rivals for the first time since 2006-07. UNCG has now won 19 of the last 24 meetings with the Phoenix.
Davidson 65, Furman 52
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Shooting guard Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) finished one point off her career-high, dropping in a game-best 24 points and Davidson used a 19-4 run in the second half to open up a 20-point lead to close out the regular season with a 65-52 win vs. Furman on Senior Day in women's Southern Conference basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
Lax drained a career-best seven three-balls, getting six of them in the first half when she helped the Wildcats turn a 19-12 lead into a 30-12 advantage with 2:18 left in the half. The junior nailed three of her six treys in a five-minute stretch in which Davidson went on an 11-0 run. She finished 8-of-14 overall from the floor and 7-of-10 from behind the arc.
The first half saw Lax can 6-of-10, with all six made field goals coming from three-land as Davidson led from beginning to the end on its way to a 37-20 lead.
Freshman Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) reached double figures for the 16th time this year, getting 12 points to go along with eight boards and a pair of blocks.
The trio of Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.), Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) and Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.) were honored prior to the game and finished out their final career home game in solid style. They combined for 15 points, led by Thompson's seven, hauled in 17 rebounds, a game-high tying eight by Paquette, and teamed to dish out 11 of Davidson's 16 assists for the game. Laune and Thompson each had a game-high four.
Furman's Lee Stephens reached the 20-point mark with 21, while Kali Holtfreter got 10 points.
Leading 37-20 after one half, the Wildcats (14-14, 12-8 SoCon) saw their lead get cut down to nine, 39-30, with five minutes gone off the clock to start the second half after Furman went a 10-2 run.
Davidson pushed it back to double digits on a Thompson three-pointer, but shortly thereafter, Furman (6-23, 4-16 SoCon) came right back with another run, this time rattling off 7-0 stretch to bring the score to 42-37 and 12:42 left on the clock.
Furman kept it under single digits until Chloe Woodington (Honolulu, Hawaii) hit a running layup to trigger a 10-0 run to give Davidson a 61-41 lead with 7:16 remaining in the half. Woodington added a couple of free throws in the run and finished with seven points off the bench.
The Wildcats then rolled to their 14th win by allowing the Paladins to get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Davidson held a 41-29 edge on the boards, its 13th game of the year with over 40 boards. Twelve of those rebounds came on the offensive side, led by Aleksandravicius' game-high five.
Furman was forced into shooting just 30 percent from the floor, marking the 13th time this year the 'Cats defense has held an opponent to under 36 percent for a game.
Davidson now awaits its seeding for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament, Mar. 4-8, in Charlotte, N.C.
Game Notes: Davidson has now won the last four meetings and 13 of the past 15 overall ... Aleksandravicius' two blocks pushed her season total to 47, good for fourth-most in the Wildcats' single-season record books ... Davidson improved to 9-4 on the year when out-rebounding the opposition ... The Wildcats' 12-8 SoCon record is the sixth straight season they have had a winning mark in league play ... Davidson earned its fourth season-series sweep in SoCon play ... the 'Cats finished 8-4 at home, the sixth time in the past seven seasons they have won at least eight games.
Wofford 75, Western Carolina 71 (OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Junior Mahagony Williams led three Terriers in double-digit points as the Wofford women's basketball team held on for a key overtime Southern Conference win over Western Carolina, 75-71.
The Terriers scored a quick five points to open the game, but Western Carolina answered and tied the score at 5 at the 15:21 mark. From there, the Catamounts went on a 9-0 run and stretched their lead to as many as 10 points before Wofford responded. A good jumper from senior Kristin Bradley was the spark the Terriers needed, and the team scored nine straight points before the run was stopped.
Western Carolina sank a two-pointer and then a three to claim a five-point lead with 4:42 remaining in the half, but the Terriers had an answer in the form of freshman Daniella Motley, who scored four straight points to cut the Catamount lead to one. Two made Terrier free throws gave Wofford the one-point advantage, but the Catamounts were able to sneak in two jumpers before the buzzer, giving them a 27-24 lead at halftime.
A jumper from Caitlin Hollifield to open the second half gave Western Carolina a five-point lead, the largest either team would see for the remainder of the second half. Senior Kelly Dwyer connected on two straight three-pointers to put the Terriers up by one, and over the next three minutes of play, the teams were deadlocked with tied scores on three occasions.
With the score knotted at 34 with 15:20 remaining, two Terrier layups gave Wofford its largest lead of the half at four points, but Western Carolina's Feemster answered with two of her own. The teams traded baskets and two made free throws for the Catamounts tied the score again at 42 with 8:39 left to play in regulation.
The remaining time would see three additional tied scores, as the teams battled for any advantage. A jumper from Rachel Brittenham put the score at 57-57 with 17 seconds remaining, but a foul called on the Terriers gave Western Carolina's Jessica Jackson a chance to seal the win at the line. Jackson missed both free throws, sending the game into overtime.
The Terriers came out strong in the overtime period, scoring eight unanswered points in the first two and a half minutes. A three-pointer from Jackson with 43 seconds remaining put the Catamounts within three, but senior Kelly Dwyer sank three free throws to give the Terriers a more comfortable six-point lead.
Jackson sank another three-pointer with four seconds on the clock, bringing the score within two and giving the Catamounts a chance to send the game to a second overtime, but Wofford's Kristin Bradley knocked down both free throws to seal the 75-71 win for the Terriers.
Five Catamounts notched double-digit points in the loss, with Kristen Feemster leading the way with 14 points. Emily Clarke added 13, Kaila'Shea Menendez and Caitlin Hollifield each contributed 12 and Jessica Jackson added 10. Feemster also led the team in rebounds with seven.
The Terriers' were led by Mahagony Williams, who notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while also adding four blocks. Seniors Kelly Dwyer and Natalie Gramblin added 14 and 13 points, respectively. As a team, the Terriers went 23-52 from the field for a .442 field goal percentage.
With the win, Wofford improves to 8-20 overall and 6-14 in the Southern Conference while Western Carolina falls to 7-22 on the season and 6-14 in league play. The Terriers will take the court next in the 2010 Southern Conference Championship, held March 4-8 in Charlotte, N.C. Wofford will face an opponent yet to be determined on Thursday, March 4.
Georgia Southern 77, Appalachian State 73
STATESBORO, Ga. - J'Lisia Ogburn made her senior night a memorable one, draining a career-high 22 points leading the Lady Eagles to a 77-73 Southern Conference win over Appalachian State (Feb. 27) in Hanner Fieldhouse. The win secured a first-round bye for Georgia Southern in the upcoming SoCon Tournament and completed a regular season record of 18-11 and 13-7 in league play. The win snapped a four-game win streak for ASU, as the Mountaineers fell to 18-11, 14-6.
Heading into tournament play, Georgia Southern has already tallied the most season wins since the 2002-03 season (20-10).
Entering the game winning 11 of its past 12 outings, ASU struggled from the floor with two Mountaineers fouling out, sending GS to the charity stripe 23 times where it connected on 22. The only missed free throw by a Lady Eagle occurred with 1:36 left to play in the game. Meanwhile, ASU hit 61 percent of its free throw attempts going 14-of-23 from the line.
Ogburn (Dublin, Ga.) was the game's leading scorer at the break with 12 points, adding 10 in the second half to finish with 22 in the game. The senior went 8-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-6 at the free throw line while adding one block and one steal.
Three other Lady Eagles scored double-figures in the game with Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) adding 14 - with three '3s' - to Jessica Geiger's (Stone Mountain, Ga.) 12. Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) recorded her second double-digit performance of the month rounding out the game with 10 points, including two treys.
"The seniors had a great night tonight," said Lady Eagle head coach Rusty Cram. "You look at J'Lisia's [Ogburn] 22 points and [Jessica] Geiger's 12 points, you couldn't ask for more. They did a good job of keeping Carolyn [Whitney] down, but she had seven assists which is remarkable. She wasn't able to get the buckets to fall tonight, so she distributed them and made sure other people got them."
Ashlen Dewart led the Mountaineers with 21 points followed by Chakeitha Weldon with 19 and Sam Ramirez with 11.
Anna Freeman opened the contest draining a three-pointer right out of the gate as ASU took an early 8-3 lead. Navarro connected on her second basket beyond the arc in a minute-and-a-half stretch to bring the Eagles to within two points, 8-6, with 17:54 in the opening frame. Navarro's third trey in the opening five minutes gave GS its first lead of the contest, 9-8, before Dewart returned control to the Mountaineers with a pair of free throws.
ASU pulled its lead out to nine points with 10:21 remaining off a Canesha Edwards jumper before Ogburn sparked a 6-0 run in which the senior scored four points to cut the score to 22-19 at 8:23. The conference foes tossed two points back-and-forth before Williams nailed two consecutive three-pointers within 50 seconds giving Appalachian State a two-point advantage, 29-27, with 3:06 in the first half. Ogburn tied the contest for only the third time in the half with a jumper at 1:34, sparking another 6-0 run to close out the half with a 35-31 Lady Eagle advantage.
An immediate 7-0 Mountaineer run jumpstarted the second frame, returning the advantage to ASU, but Ogburn converted a fastbreak layup to knot the score at 39-apiece at the 16:42 mark. Appalachian State pulled in front by four points before Williams and Geiger set the score at 53-50 in favor of the home squad.
After the seventh tie of the contest, 56-56 with 8:10 remaining, Georgia Southern took the final lead with Ogburn at the free throw line. Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) converted for an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Lady Eagles out in front, 62-57. The lead was cut to one point, 64-63, with a Dewart layup, but GS responded with another 6-0 run to widen its lead back out to a seven-point advantage, 70-63, with 2:29 left to play.
But ASU went on a 7-1 scoring run over the next minute to make it a 71-70 ballgame with 1:36. Navarro hit two free throws before Ogburn nailed her final bucket of the contest and Geiger closed out the game with two free throws. Ramirez finalized the 77-73 tally with a three-pointer at eight seconds.
The win completed the regular season sweep of Appalachian State - a feat accomplished by only Georgia Southern and Chattanooga this season.
Georgia Southern will now await final seedings for the Southern Conference Tournament to take place March 4-8 in Charlotte, N.C.
"The team has found that pride factor right now and do not doubt themselves on the court," stated Cram. "Instead, they're staying composed, limiting their mistakes and are consistently handling the business. They are playing hard and fighting back.
"They are taking over on the court and that is a wonderful thing for a coach."
Chattanooga 92, Samford 62
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team wrapped up the No. 1 seed at next week's Southern Conference Tournament with a 92-62 win against Samford at the McKenzie Arena in front of 2,396 fans.
It is the 11th consecutive SoCon regular season title for UTC who improved to 21-8 on the year and 16-4 in SoCon action. Samford finishes second in the league with a 20-9 overall record and 14-6 SoCon mark.
It may have been senior night, but it was a pair of freshman who came off the bench to put the Lady Mocs in the lead in the opening half. Erin Helton (Cookeville, Tenn.) scored 10 points while Michelle Davis (Cleveland, Tenn.) added four in the first 20 minutes.
Samford's Alex Crow hit a layup with just under 11 minutes in the half to give Samford an 18-16 lead. The Lady Mocs then turned on the offense, putting together a quick 9-0 run over the next three minutes to go up 25-18 on a Davis jumper.
Helton scored six straight points late in the first to help Chattanooga outscore the Bulldogs 20-7 in the final 10 minutes of the period. She also grabbed five, first-half boards to help put UTC up 36-25 at the break.
Senior Megan Rollins (Monteagle, Tenn.) stepped up after halftime and did her part in her final home game at McKenzie Arena. She scored five points in the first four minutes after the break to help extend the lead.
Samford cut the Lady Mocs' 17-point lead to eight on back-to-back 3-pointers from Savannah Hill, closing the score to 59-51 with 10:23 left in the game.
At that point, Helton led another 10-0 run to put UTC back in control. She called glass on a high-arcing three that banked in from the right wing. Following another 3-pointer from sophomore Tenisha Townsend, Helton and senior Shanara Hollinquest (Sylacauga, Ala.) each scored inside to push the lead to 69-51 with 8:12 left.
Hollinquest scored 11 second-half points on her way to 16 on the night. She broke her own UTC season record going 6-9 from the FT line. She now has 160 points from the foul line this season.
Rollins tied her career high with 13 points on 5-6 shooting and 3-4 from 3-pt. range. Fellow senior Jenaya Wade-Fray (Madison, Ala.) added eight points, seven boards and a career-high nine assists.
Helton led the way with team-high 17 points on 6-9 shooting, 1-1 from 3-pt. range and 4-4 from the FT line. She also grabbed a game-high nine boards. Sophomore Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) also tied her career-high with 13 points on 5-7 shooting, 3-5 from 3-pt. range. She also tied a season-high with six boards.
The Lady Mocs did not give Samford much of a chance in the second half, shooting 66.7% from the field and 8-11 (72.7%) from 3-pt. range in the final 20 minutes. They were also 16-18 from the FT line in the second half.
For the game, UTC shot a season-high 57.7% (30-52) from the floor and hit 12-22 from behind the arc. They also had a season-high 19 assists on their 30 field goals.
UTC will now turn its attention to the Southern Conference Tournament next week in Charlotte, N.C. The Lady Mocs will play the 8-9 winner in the second game of the morning session on Friday, March 5.
With the win, UNCG finished the regular season 9-19 overall, 6-14 in Southern Conference play. The Spartans will face Western Carolina as either the No. 8 or 9 seed in next week's Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, to be played in Charlotte, N.C.
Elon dropped to 11-18, 6-14 in SoCon play. Western Carolina lost in overtime at Wofford on Saturday afternoon, creating a four-way tie at 6-14. Wofford is 5-1 against the tied teams, so its gains the No. 7 seed and will see Elon in a first-round game. UNCG and Western Carolina will await to see who the No. 1 seed is to break the tie for Nos. 8 and 9, but know that they will face each other at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Leigh's six three-pointers were one shy of the UNCG single-game record set by Micky Haywood at Campbell back on February 13, 1993. The redshirt junior was 10-for-17 from the floor, including 6-for-11 from three-point range.
Elon got 24 points from Ali Ford. Ford, who came into the game averaging 15.9 points per game, made her average by halftime with 17 points. But the Spartans did a better job against for most of the second half, holding her to just two points in the first 14 minutes of the half.
Monique Floyd added 16 points off the bench for UNCG, going 5-for-5 from the floor and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Lakiah Hyson added 10 points, and Sarah Folwell chipped in with nine, including two key three-pointers late in the game.
Elon was within a point, 65-64, with 3:24 to play after Tiffany Davis' three-pointer. But Floyd scored on a drive to the basket and Folwell knocked down a three-pointer with two minutes to go to extend the lead back to six. The Spartans then hit 7-of-10 from the line in the final two minutes to record their first road win since December 29. UNCG had lost seven straight on the road.
Leigh was a spark early for the Spartans, scoring 11 points in the first 10 minutes. Neither team got much separation for most of the opening half. Elon led by six a little over six minutes in, but UNCG came back to make it a one-possession game until a late Elon run.
Lakiah Hyson's short jumper from the right baseline gave the Spartans their first lead, 27-25, with four minutes left before the break. But Elon responded with 10 straight points as part of a 14-4 run that closed out the first half and provided the Phoenix a 39-31 lead at the intermission.
UNCG cut the deficit to four a couple of times early in the second half, but the Phoenix seemed to have an answer and kept it from becoming a one-possession game. The Spartans broke through, however, with a 13-2 run, including 10 straight, to take a 56-52 lead.
A three-pointer by Leigh to put her at 20 points on the day and a pair of Amy Clapper free throws got UNCG back to within a bucket finally, 50-48, with 10:30 to play. Another three-pointer by Leigh gave her a new career-high and a the lead with 10 minutes to go that UNCG would not surrender.
Meanwhile, the Spartans were shutting down Ford. She had just two points in the second half before she converted a conventional three-point play with 5:19 to play to go, pulling Elon to within 59-57. But Leigh had an answer on the ensuing possession - her sixth three-pointer of the day, this one from the right corner.
Elon cut it to one a couple of times down the stretch. But Folwell's three-pointer from the left corner with two minutes to play sealed it for the Spartans, who swept their backyard rivals for the first time since 2006-07. UNCG has now won 19 of the last 24 meetings with the Phoenix.