Western Carolina 69, Charleston Southern 65
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Four players scored in double figures as Western Carolina women’s basketball (2-0) won its home opener, 69-65, over Charleston Southern (2-1) Monday in the Ramsey Center.
Sophomore forward Alex Abraham and senior forward Caitlin Hollifield led the Catamounts with 14 points a-piece. Abraham made the most of the first starting nod of her career, going 4-of-7 from the field and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Senior guard Kaila’Shea Menendez added 12 points in the game and freshman guard Ali Lane tacked on 11 points.
The Catamounts also benefited from near scorching shooting from the field with a 59.5 field goal percentage. WCU was also 22-of-28 from the charity stripe for 78.6 percent.
Western Carolina needed the sharp shooting from the field to combat Charleston Southern’s deadly eye from behind the three point line; the Buccaneers hit 11 three pointers in the game.
It was a see-saw game for most of the first half. Charleston Southern led by one, 14-13, when Menendez hit a jumper to push the Catamounts ahead 15-14. In the final seven minutes, Western Carolina went on a 13-9 run to lead 28-23 at the half. The Catamounts were clinging to a tenuous 25-23 lead, when sophomore Kristen Lyon made it a five point lead at the break, draining a three pointer. Lyon hit a career-high two three pointers in the game.
Western Carolina pushed its lead to double digits with 8:25 left in the game. Abraham swiped a steal and Lane hit a jumper, from an assist by Hollifield, to give the Catamounts a 52-41 lead.
Charleston Southern proved it might be down, but it wasn’t out. The Buccaneers continued to fight throughout the remainder of the game and managed to cut the Catamount lead to six, 66-60, with 53 seconds left. Lane was 3-of-4 from the free throw line, in the final 30 seconds, to help Western Carolina maintain its lead.
The free throw shooting by Lane in the closing seconds of the game proved fortuitous for the Catamounts. The Buccaneer’s Helen Terry hit a three pointer with three seconds left in the game to cut the Catamounts seven point lead to four, 69-65, before the game ended.
Western Carolina had 24 turnovers in the game, 14 coming in the second half. The Catamounts did out-rebounded Charleston Southern 30-24 and each team had nine steals.
The Catamounts return to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday hosting rival UNC Asheville.
College of Charleston 36, Coastal Carolina 59
CONWAY, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's basketball team got out to a quick lead by couldn't contain the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers as they fell 59-36 Monday at Kimbel Arena.
Junior Megan Fischer led the Cougars with nine points and six rebounds and Latisha Harris added seven points and six rebounds. Freshman Mikaela Hopkins attacked the glass with nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
The Cougars (1-1) turned the ball over 27 times which allowed Coastal Carolina (2-0) to convert 17 second chance points compared to just seven for CofC.
The Cougars out-rebounded Coastal Carolina 45-41 and had 19 offensive rebounds, but shot just 22 percent from the field for the game.
The Cougars were aggressive on defense as they forced 16 Coastal Carolina turnovers and had three players with at least two steals and nine steals as a team.
The Cougars had an 8-4 lead on a 3-pointer by Fischer and trailed by one at 18-17 with five minutes remaining in the first half, but failed to convert a field goal until the 11:20 mark of the second half, allowing the Chanticleers to go on a 23-7 run to break the game open.
Up next the Cougars travel to Athens, Ga. for a matchup with Georgia on Thursday Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Davidson 75, Mercer 60
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Laura Murray tallied 19 points, five assists and five steals to lead Davidson to a 75-60 women’s basketball victory over Mercer in the Wildcats’ home opener at Belk Arena Monday night.
Sophia Aleksandravicius collected 17 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats (1-1), and Kristen Johnsen posted three points and seven rebounds. Shannon Eriksson and Shneeka Center each scored seven points.
Briana Williams scored 18 points to lead Mercer (0-2), and Precious Bridges scored 12.
Mercer tried to press and pressure the Wildcats the entire contest, but it was Davidson that wound up with 15 steals, forcing 20 Bear turnovers. The Wildcats shot 57 percent in the game while holding Mercer to 35 percent, including 26 percent in the first half.
Murray, Center, Amanda Ottaway and Barbara Sitton each scored four points in an 18-4 run that gave the Wildcats a 24-13 cushion midway through the first half. Sitton capped the run with a steal and fast-break layup with 8:27 left on the clock.
After the Bears scored three straight buckets to cut a 30-15 margin to nine points, Davidson scored the last nine points of the frame to open a 39-21 lead at halftime. Aleksandravicius capped the run with consecutive layups.
The margin never dipped below 17 points in the second half and grew to as many as 23 points at 68-45 on a Murray layup with 5:23 remaining in the game.
The Wildcats are back in action Friday as they travel to High Point for a 7 p.m. contest.
Wofford 73, NC Central 58
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – April Moorhouse notched her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Wofford College women’s basketball team rallied for a 73-58 win over North Carolina Central Monday night in Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Morgan Wrightson had a game-high 21 points, while Rachel Brittenham and Moorhouse each had 11 points for the Terriers. Daniella Motley chipped in 10 points and grabbed six boards. Moorhouse was the game’s leading rebounder with her 11 boards, and Brittenham handed out a game-high five assists.
North Carolina Central took the early lead at 6-2, but Wofford rallied and tied the game at eight on two Brittenham free throws with 14:11 to play. Two Logan Morris free throws gave the Terriers a 14-8 lead, and Wofford would pull away to 25-14 with just under ten minutes to play. The Eagles went on a 12-0 run to take a 26-25 lead and stretched their lead to five points, 31-26, with five minutes to play. North Carolina Central carried its five-point lead into the half at 39-34.
Wofford started the second half with an 11-0 run to take a 45-39 lead at the 14-minute mark. The Terriers never looked back as they pushed the lead to ten, 52-42, at 11:35. Wofford extended the advantage to 17 points, 64-47, with just over five minutes to play. Wofford held on to the double-digit lead as they earned the 73-58 win.
Wofford was 38 percent from the floor and 27 percent from three, while North Carolina Central was 39 percent overall and just 13 percent from long range.
The Terriers also outshot the Eagles 77 percent to 38 percent from the free throw line. Wofford had 22 points in the paint compared to 10 for North Carolina Central.
Wofford is now 2-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season when they started 3-0.
The Terriers will remain at Benjamin Johnson Arena for its next game against Norfolk State on Saturday, November 19 at 2 p.m.