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Game 7: #3 Appalachian State 71, #11 Furman 53
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Sam Ramirez scored 17 points, including 12 in the last 3:40 of the contest, to lead Appalachian State to a 71-53 women's basketball victory over Furman in the Southern Conference Tournament at Bojangles Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
The third-seeded Mountaineers advance to take on second-seeded Samford in the semifinals Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Time Warner Cable Arena. The game will be televised live on SportsSouth.
Anna Freeman tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for App. State (19-11), and Ashlen Dewart recorded 12 points and six boards. Chakeitha Weldon added seven points, seven assists and 10 rebounds.
Lee Stephens led Furman (7-24) with 10 points, and Susan Troutman collected nine points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five blocked shots. Kendra Berry netted nine points.
Hanging on to a three-point lead, Appalachian State scored 12 straight points in a decisive run to open a 61-46 cushion, its largest of the game, with 2:11 remaining. Ramirez hit two triples, and the Paladins went 0-for-6 from the field during the spurt.
The Paladins were forced to foul to work their way back into the contest, but Ramirez netted six straight free throws, and Freeman followed that with four in a row to push the margin to 19 points with 52 seconds left and put the game away.
Appalachian State shot 42.4 percent from the field and 16-for-23 from the free-throw line. The Mountaineers used 17 offensive boards (52-32 rebounding edge overall) to score 22 second-chance points and blocked 10 Furman shots while holding the Paladins to 32.2 percent from the floor.
After a tightly-contested first half that featured six lead changes and seven ties and saw the teams go into the locker room deadlocked 28-28, Appalachian State put some distance between itself and Furman with an 11-2 run midway through the second half.
Canesha Edwards scored four points during the run, and Dewart capped it with a baseline jumper that gave the Mountaineers a 46-35 cushion with 10:24 to go. Berry led the Paladins back, scoring six points in an 11-3 run that trimmed the margin to 49-46 with 5:19 remaining.
Game Notes: The 19 wins are the most for App. State since posting a 24-6 record in 1995-96... The Mountaineers got their first quarterfinal win and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1999... Furman falls to 22-25 all-time in SoCon Tourney action... Sunday's game will be the first between ASU and Samford in the SoCon Tournament.
Game 6: #5 Georgia Southern 57, #4 College of Charleston 56
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Jessica Geiger drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 12.7 seconds left and finished the game with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds to lead Georgia Southern to a 57-56 women's basketball victory over College of Charleston in quarterfinal action of the Southern Conference Tournament at Bojangles Coliseum Saturday.
The fifth-seeded Lady Eagles advance to take on top-seeded Chattanooga in the semifinals Sunday at noon in Time Warner Cable Arena.
Jamie Navarro got a steal on the ensuing Charleston offensive possession, and the Cougars (19-10) were forced to foul her with 2.8 seconds left. The junior missed the first free throw, and following a timeout, Georgia Southern elected to have her miss the second on purpose.
Deidra Jones got the rebound for Charleston, but her outlet pass sailed over the head of Ericka Williams and out of bounds, sealing the victory for the Lady Eagles.
Navarro tallied 11 points, five assists and four rebounds for Georgia Southern (18-11), and J'Lisia Ogburn scored 12 points. Krista Tate also netted nine.
Williams tallied 14 points and six boards for the Cougars, and Brooke Kotcella posted game highs of 18 points and nine rebounds. Tonia Gerty finished with nine points and five assists.
After trailing by six points early in the second half, the Cougars scored five straight to tie the score 46-46 with 7:02 to play. It was a seesaw battle from there with two ties and four lead changes.
With the score tied 50-50, Williams hit a triple from the wing for Charleston, but Samantha Williams answered right back with a jumper and Ogburn followed that with a layup to give the Lady Eagles a 54-53 lead.
Gerty drained a triple from the wing with 26.6 seconds left after a Kotcella offensive rebound, putting the Cougars back on top, 56-54. But Geiger got free for a 3-pointer from the top of the key and knocked it down with 12.7 seconds to go, putting Georgia Southern ahead for good.
Georgia Southern held Charleston to 33.3 percent shooting in the game, but the Cougars dominated the boards, posting a 19-8 edge on the offensive glass. Those extra possessions turned into 22 second-chance points.
With the score knotted at 8-8 early in the contest, Georgia Southern scored 10 straight points to open an 18-8 cushion. Tate ignited the run with a conventional 3-point play, and Williams capped it with a triple.
The Lady Eagles kept the margin in double digits for most of the half, but College of Charleston used an 8-0 run to trim the lead to 29-26 with 2:27 left. The Eagles settled for a 35-29 advantage at the break.
Game Notes: Georgia Southern has won 12 of its last 15 games and six straight... The Lady Eagles improved to 21-15 in SoCon Tourney play, including 11-7 in the quarterfinals... Sunday's game will be Georgia Southern's 10th appearance in tournament's semifinal round and first since 2007.