College of Charleston 56, Furman 50
CHARLESTON, S.C. - College of Charleston Head Coach Nancy Wilson earned her 300th victory at the helm of the Cougar program and the women's basketball team picked up a 56-50 victory over the Furman Paladins Monday night at Carolina First Arena.
Wilson has now posted an overall coaching record of 300-187 with CofC and has 531 total coaching victories.
The Cougars (6-14, 3-8) won their second consecutive contest at home, led by 19 points from senior Tonia Gerty. Gerty was not the only CofC athlete that scored in double-figured, as she was joined by freshman Janae Smith with 10 points and sophomore Latisha Harris who tied a career-high with 12 points.
The Cougars held Furman (8-11, 4-6) to under 28 percent shooting from the field and forced them into 16 turnovers, converting 20 points on turnovers compared to the Paladins eight points off turnovers. The Cougars utilized a strong attack inside the paint, where they held a 32-8 advantage.
After trailing by three points 13 seconds into the second half, the Cougars went on a 10-0 run to seize control of the game and take a 34-27 lead. As the game went back and fourth, Furman countered with five consecutive points, to bring the contest to an even 44-44.
Having played in their 10th game decided by six points or less this season, the Cougars did not panic, as they went on a 6-0 run to gain some breathing room. Gerty hit a pair of free-throws down the stretch and Harris scored the final bucket with three seconds remaining to give the Cougars the victory.
The Cougars outrebounded the Paladins 48-38, led by junior Ariel Hatcher with a career high 10 rebounds.
In addition to her 19 points Gerty totaled seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Cougars hit the road this weekend as they play at Samford on Saturday Jan. 29 at 6p.m. and battle Chattanooga Monday Jan. 31 at 7p.m.
Appalachian State 67, Elon 54
ELON, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball claimed sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference Monday evening, as the Mountaineers snapped a seven-game winning streak for Elon, defeating the Phoenix 67-54 in Alumni Gym. The win is Appalachian's fifth straight, improving the Black and Gold to a 15-4 overall mark and 9-2 conference record, while the Phoenix lose just their second game on their home floor dropping to 13-6 on the season and 8-3 in SoCon play.
Holding onto a 12-point halftime lead, senior Sam Ramirez found the bottom of the basket early in the opening minutes of the second half.
That coupled with Anna Freeman pouring in nine points over a three-minute span, was all the Black and Gold needed to earn its largest lead of the game up 51-31 with 13:26 remaining.
Both Ramirez and Anna Freeman led ASU on the offensive front, as Ramirez scored a team-high 17 points, and Anna Freeman poured in 16 points while hauling in eight rebounds, and grabbing seven steals.
Despite up 20, the Phoenix continued to make it interesting and a three-pointer by Julie Taylor along with a bucket by Candice Silas kept the game close, making the score 59-48
The Phoenix could never come closer than an 11-point deficit however, and final made free throws down the stretch by Anna Freeman and Kelsey Sharkey pushed ASU to the 13-point victory.
Appalachian gelled offensively early, posting an 18-4 run, but after taking a 15-point lead with a little over seven minutes to play in the first period, Appalachian State lost some of its spark, and let Elon continue to hang around.
It was Appalachian's defense in part that enabled the Apps to take the large lead, as Elon coughed up the ball 18 times in the first half, and ASU turned those Phoenix miscues into 19 points.
The Mountaineers, however, did not help themselves going scoreless for the final 5:58 of the first half, and despite holding a 35-17 lead, the Phoenix were able to take advantage of ASU's offensive dry spell and gain some momentum, scoring six straight points to close out the period.
Ali Ford and Kelsey Evans were strong on the offensive end for the Phoenix during the stretch, and the two finished the game with 19 points and 14 points respectively, while Evans was the game's leading rebounder, grabbing 16.
Able to withstand a late Elon push in the second half, the Mountaineers went on to clinch the 67-54 win, and pick up its seventh straight victory at Elon's Alumni Gym.
Getting a much need break, Appalachian has four-days between conference games, as the Apps return to the High Country to host Furman, Saturday, January 29. The game between the two teams is slated to start at 2 p.m. from the Holmes Center.
Georgia Southern 57, Wofford 41
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball Team (9-12, 6-6) used a total team effort to pick up their seventh-straight home victory 57-41 over Wofford (6-12, 2-8) at Hanner Fieldhouse Monday, January 24th. The Lady Eagles had four players score in double figures and forced a season-best 31 turnovers to revenge a 78-66 loss to the Terriers earlier this season. Lacie Dowling not only scored the first points of her career but also scored 10 points in 14 minutes of action.
Meredyth Frye led all scorers with 12 points and pulled down a team-best six rebounds. Dowling, Jamie Navarro and Logan Youngblood all added 10 or more points in the game. Jordi Cook also added seven points off the bench.
The Lady Eagles went with a new lineup that included Frye, Navarro, Krista Tate, Danielle Spencer and Youngblood. Youngblood and Spencer both started for the first time in their respective careers. Georgia Southern played all 12 players who were dressed for the game and played stellar defense.
The Lady Eagles forced 31 Wofford turnovers and held the Terriers to their lowest scoring output of the season. Georgia Southern held Wofford to under 50 points for just the fifth time this season and did not allow a player to score in double figures.
Wofford scored the first five points of the second half and cut the lead to six points, 28-22, but Georgia Southern responded with seven unanswered to jump back ahead by 11 points. The Terriers came back with a 10-0 run, but Dowling helped put the Lady Eagles back on top. The freshman guard drained a pair of back-to-back three pointers to put GSU back up by 12 points.
Georgia Southern forced 16 Wofford turnovers and used a 16-0 run to take a 28-17 halftime lead. Frye led the Lady Eagles in scoring with eight points and rebounding with five boards in the first half. GSU also got seven points and four steals from Navarro. Kelly Blake tied Frye with eight points and responded to a couple of Lady Eagle baskets with a pair of treys.
Mariah Masalin drained the first basket of the game and gave Wofford a 3-0 lead two minutes into the contest, but Georgia Southern exploded on a 16-0 run over the next seven minutes and led 16-3. Dowling capped off the run with her first career basket. The Lady Eagles got points from five different players and seven points from Navarro during the run. The Terriers cut the lead to 10 points, but GSU responded with a 7-0 run to jump back ahead 28-11 with 3:20 left in the first half.
The Lady Eagles will have a week off before their next contest at Samford next Monday. Georgia Southern will continue to seek its first road SoCon win of the season in Birmingham, Ala.
Samford 60, Western Carolina 48
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team claimed a 60-48 Southern Conference win over the Western Carolina Catamounts Monday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.
With the win, Samford improves to 14-6 overall and 7-4 in SoCon games. Western Carolina drops to 6-13 overall and 4-6 in league play.
Samford built a 21-point lead, but saw that lead cut to just five points late in the game. The Bulldogs, however, were able to pull away for the 12-point win. Samford was led offensively by Emily London with 18 points. Hannah Dawson had 14 points and six rebounds. Dawson made 8-of-8 attempts from the free-throw line. Shelby Campbell added 13 points for the Bulldogs. Ruth Ketcham led the team in rebounding with seven.
Western Carolina was led by Kaila'Shea Menendez with 16 points and five rebounds. Emily Clarke added 13 points for the Catamounts.
Samford jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first five points of the contest. Western Carolina came back to tie the score at 5-5 with 15:49 to go in the first half. Samford then went on an 18-3 run to push its lead out to 23-8 with 8:37 to go in the half after a jumper by Campbell.
With Samford leading, 26-13, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to take a 21-point lead at 34-13 with 2:09 to go in the opening half. Samford took a 37-18 lead into halftime.
Samford pushed its lead back out to 21 early in the second half at 42-21 with 16:24 left in the game after a three-pointer by Dawson. Western Carolina fought back to cut the lead to 15 at 42-27 with 14:00 to go in the game. Samford then pushed the lead back out to 19 at 46-27 with 12:06 to go.
With Samford leading, 48-29, Western Carolina went on an 18-4 run to cut the lead to five at 52-47 with 2:14 to go in the game. Six free throws down the stretch by Dawson, as well as one each from Ketcham and Campbell allowed Samford to pull away for the 60-48 win.
As a team, Samford shot 40.5 percent overall and 44.4 percent from three-point range. WCU made 34.6 percent of its shots and 23.5 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. Samford made 18-of-20 attempts from the free-throw line.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 29, when the Bulldogs play host to the College of Charleston. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.