Georgia Southern 72, Jacksonville State 49
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Georgia Southern Women’s Basketball jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, shooting 52.5% from the field, including six of 11 from beyond the arc to notch a 72-49 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday. Twelve different players scored for the Lady Eagles, who were paced by Meredyth Frye’s 16 points. Samantha Williams scored 11 points and MiMi Dubose rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points and 6 assists.
Sophomore Aishya Wofford and freshman Tashayla Steede scored the first six points of the game from inside the paint to give Georgia Southern an early 6-0 lead. GSU started seven of 12 from the field and led 14-2 with 13:34 remaining in the first half. The Lady Eagles would stretch the lead to 20-4, before Jacksonville State responded with a 6-2 run to make it 22-10 with 9:29 left in the first half. Senior Samantha Williams knocked down consecutive three-balls for the Lady Eagles and with 8:29 remaining, Georgia Southern led the Gamecocks 28-12. Jacksonville State went on a 10-5 run to make it 33-22 at the 4:00 minute mark, but GSU responded with a 5-0 run to take a 38-22 lead into halftime.
The Lady Eagles came out strong after the break, going on an 11-4 run to start the second half, including back-to-back buckets by Frye and a three-ball by senior Janay Wilson to make it 49-26 at the 15:41 mark. Georgia Southern shot 55.2% from the field in the final 20 minutes and held the 23 point margin at the final buzzer. The Lady Eagles forced 18 Gamecock turnovers and converted them into 20 points.
Georgia Southern moves to 2-4 on the season and 2-2 on its current road swing. The Lady Eagles travel to Boone, N.C. on Thursday, Dec. 1, for their Southern Conference opener at Appalachian State. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Holmes Center.
UNCG 70, North Carolina Central 53
DURHAM, N.C. – Breonna Patterson paced four Spartans in double figures as UNCG coasted past North Carolina Central on Saturday, 70-53, to hand coach Wendy Palmer her first career win.
Patterson, fresh off a career-high 23 points at Radford on Monday, picked up where she left off, notching 16 against the Lady Eagles (1-5). Janae’ Stevenson had 15 points, while Sidnei Harmon and Jarae Savage had 10 each for UNCG (1-3).
Blaire Houston led NCCU with 16 points. Jasmine Alston had 13, while Chasidy Williams notched the game’s only double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Patterson, making her first career start, scored seven of UNCG’s first nine points and finished with 11 in the first half.
The teams were tied at 11 early in the contest, but the Spartans turned in a 16-5 run to open up some breathing room. Natalie Headley got the run going with consecutive baskets, followed by a jumper by Harmon and another Headley bucket to make it 19-11.
NCCU’s Alston hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to snap the 8-0 Spartan spurt, but Jazz Weaver quickly got the points back with a jumper on the other end.
An Alston 3-pointer pulled the Lady Eagles back within five at 21-16 before baskets by Harmon, Patterson and Stevenson gave UNCG its biggest lead of the first half to that point.
Back-to-back baskets from Williams and Tenika Neely got the Lady Eagles back within seven before the Spartans rattled off a quick 6-0 run to make it 35-20 with less than a minute to go in the half. Houston’s jumper from the elbow made it a 13-point spread at the break.
UNCG never let its lead dip below 11 points in the second half. After a Savage layup to open the scoring in the second frame, NCCU scored consecutive baskets to pull within 37-26. That was as close as the Lady Eagles would get the rest of the way.
The Spartans slowed pulled away from there, stretching their lead to a game-high 24 at 59-35 on a Nneka Awuruonye basket with 10 minutes left.
NCCU ended the contest on a 7-2 run to get the final margin under 20.
The Spartans shot a season-best 54.1 percent from the floor, making 31 of their 61 attempts. UNCG was 16-for-27 (59.3 percent) in the second half.
Patterson had a career-high seven assists to go with her 16 points, while Harmon stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds and a career-high five steals.
Stevenson, who pulled down six rebounds, also blocked three shots, moving into a tie for 12th place in school history in that category with 42 in just 32 career games.
UNCG just missed putting five players in double figures for the first time in three years, as Headley finished with nine points.
The Spartans had 20 assists and 18 steals, both season highs. UNCG forced 29 NCCU turnovers on the day.
The win wrapped up UNCG’s three-game road swing. The Spartans return home Thursday, Dec. 1, when they host preseason Southern Conference favorite Chattanooga to open league play. That contest is set for a 7 p.m. start at Fleming Gymnasium.
Samford 63, Southeast Missouri 58
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Samford senior guard Paige Anderson scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds in leading the Bulldog women’s basketball team to a 63-58 win over Southeast Missouri on the final day of the UAB Thanksgiving Classic Saturday afternoon at Bartow Arena.
Anderson scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half. Sophomore guard Shelby Campbell finished with 11 points, with seven of her points coming in the second half.
In addition to Anderson and Campbell’s performances, freshman forward Taylor Reece scored nine points, and senior guard Jazmine Powers added eight points for the Bulldogs. Junior forward Hannah Dawson grabbed seven rebounds for Samford.
For SEMO, Bianca Beck scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Brittany Harriel scored 12 points, while Bailie Roberts added 10 points and eight rebounds.
The game was close throughout the first half. The largest lead for either team was five points by Samford at 16-11 with 7:19 to go before halftime. Southeast Missouri, however went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-16 lead with 4:21 left in the first half.
Samford fought back to tie the score at 20-20 with 2:43 left in the opening period after a pair of free throws by Powers. Heading into halftime, SEMO held a 25-24 advantage.
In the second half, Southeast Missouri built its lead up to five points at 29-24 and 31-26. The Bulldogs, however, went on a 13-4 run to take a 39-35 lead with 10:45 to go after a three-pointer by Campbell.
Samford built its lead to as much as six points at 43-37 with 7:40 left in the game. SEMO fought back to cut the lead to one at 43-42 with 7:00 left in the contest. Samford pushed its lead back out to six at 50-44 with 4:20 to play after a layup by Reece.
Southeast Missouri could get no closer than three points the rest of the way. Samford built its lead to as much as eight points at 63-55, but a late three-pointer by SEMO’s Karley Evans made the final score 63-58.
As a team, Samford shot 46.0 percent overall, but just 11.1 percent from three-point range. The Bulldogs’ defense held SEMO to 34.5 percent overall and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Samford improves to 3-2 with the win. Southeast Missouri falls to 0-6 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 30, when the Bulldogs play host to in-state rival Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off from the Pete Hanna Center.
Appalachian State 82, Georgia State 58
ATLANTA, Ga. –Chakeitha Weldon had a season-high 15 points and four other players scored in double-figures as Appalachian State women's basketball stormed past Georgia State, 82-58, at the Starwood Hotels of Atlanta Georgia State Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday, Nov. 26 at GSU Sports Arena.
The Mountaineers (4-1) overcame an early seven-point deficit to rally past the Panthers (1-3) and pick up their fourth-straight win.
Georgia State built a 12-5 lead with 12:44 to play in the first half, but Appalachian reeled off a 14-2 run to take a 19-14 lead on Kelsey Sharkey's layup with 7:04 left on the clock.
The Apps would never surrender the lead the rest of the way and led double-digits for nearly the entire second half after Sharkey converted a layup to give Appalachian State a 37-27 lead with 18:49 remaining in regulation.
Appalachian would lead by as many as 23 points (72-49) with just under five minutes left to play and scored on Courtney Freeman's layup with six seconds left to complete the 24-point win.
The Mountaineers shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61) from the floor and were 15-for-26 in the second half while holding Georgia State to just 27.9 percent (19-for-68) from the floor for the game.
Appalachian State was 23-for-30 from the charity stripe while the Panthers converted just 15-of-30 free throws in the contest. Weldon led Appalachian in points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Sharkey finished with 13 points while Canesha Edwards (11), Anna Freeman (11) and Catherine Williams (10) all notched double-digit point totals. Williams also finished with a team-high seven rebounds and collected four steals.
Georgia State was led on offense by Chan Harris, who led all players with 18 points and 19 rebounds to help the Panthers finish with a 55-36 edge on the glass.
Sharkey and Weldon earned all-tournament honors for their efforts over the weekend with Weldon picking up MVP honors in her hometown.
The Mountaineers open SoCon action against Georgia Southern on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Holmes Center.
Western Carolina 61, Tennessee Tech 56
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Western Carolina women’s basketball (4-2) came from behind to defeat Tennessee Tech (2-4) 61-58 Saturday at the Eblen Center.
Kaila’Shea Menedez hit a clutch field goal, with 57 seconds left in the game, to give Western Carolina its largest lead of the game, five, 61-56. It was a fortuitous bucket as Tennessee Tech’s Krystal Stirrup hit a jumper, with 33 seconds left, to trim the Catamount lead to three, 61-58.
Western Carolina got the ball back with 29 seconds left, but WCU forward Alex Abraham was called for a foul to give the ball back to Tennessee Tech. With eight seconds left, the Catamount defense worried, stressed and befuddled the Golden Eagle offense and Diamond Henderson forced up a hap-hazard three point attempt that was short as time expired.
Tennessee Tech lead Western Carolina from 17:29 left in the first half until 8:51 left in the second half when the Catamounts’ Janae McKinney hit a lay-up giving WCU a one-point advantage, 51-50.
The Catamounts trailed as much as 11 points, with 4:57 left in the first half, before they kicked their offense in gear. Western Carolina went on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 25 with 3:21 left. The run was sandwiched by a pair of three pointers by Rena Wakama, who started the run with a trey, and Kaila’Shea Menendez.
After being held scoreless for almost two minutes, Tennessee Tech re-took the lead after WCU tied it, off a pair of free throws by Molly Heady. Kristen Lyon tied it again for the Catamounts with a field goal at the 3:04 mark.
Tennessee Tech pushed its lead back up to three, 36-33, when the Golden Eagles’ Diamond Henderson nailed her third three-pointer of the game. Lyon pulled the Catamounts within two points, just before halftime, when she hit 1-of-2 free throws.
Menendez and Abraham led Western Carolina with 12 points a piece. Western Carolina pulled down 40 rebounds to Tennessee Tech’s 34.
Western Carolina returns home at 7 p.m. Tuesday to host Georgia State.
Robert Morris 69, Elon 65
GREENVILLE, N.C. – A late rally by the Elon women’s basketball team fell just short on Saturday night, Nov. 26, at Minges Coliseum, as the Phoenix dropped a 69-65 heartbreaker to the Robert Morris Colonials on the first day of the East Carolina Thanksgiving Tournament.
With the ball and trailing, 67-65, with less than 20 seconds remaining, the Phoenix had a chance to tie or take the lead. But an Ali Ford three-point attempt with 17 seconds remaining just missed and landed in the hands of RMU’s Kelly Hartwell.
After Elon (2-2) was forced to foul on the ensuing possession, Robert Morris’ Brianica Tye all but sealed the win for the Colonials after sinking a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to put the Phoenix behind, 69-65.
The Phoenix could not get a shot off on the next possession with the clock winding down, as Robert Morris (4-1) managed to escape with the victory.
Three Phoenix players scored in double figures in the setback, led by Ford’s 17 points. Rookie Sam Coffer ended the night with 13 points and eight boards in her first collegiate start, while Aiesha Harper chipped in 10 points.
Playing without two of its top post players in Kelsey Evans and Candice Silas, the Phoenix finished the game tied with RMU in rebounds at 41-apiece, which included 19 rebounds on offense. But the Colonials finished the night with a 32-28 advantage in points in the paint.
Elon struggled from the free throw line, going 12-of-22 for a 57-percent clip, while shooting 37 percent from the field.
The Colonials took their largest lead of the game with 6:54 to play in the first half after a Hartwell baseline layup made it a 28-19 game, forcing a Phoenix timeout.
Ford helped tie the game at 29-all with 3:52 remaining in the opening frame after knocking down a three-pointer from the top of the key to complete an 8-1 run for the Phoenix.
Lei Lei Hairston gave Elon a one-point lead with 2:15 on the clock after completing an old-fashioned three-point play to put the maroon and gold ahead, 32-31.
The Phoenix trailed the Colonials by two points, 39-37, at intermission, despite forcing RMU into 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Phoenix held a 22-17 advantage on the glass in the first half, including 12 boards on the offensive end. Elon shot at a 42-percent clip (13-of-31) from the field in the opening frame, including 3-of-10 from beyond the arc.
The Colonials claimed a five-point lead with 11:47 left in the second half after Artemis Spanou split a pair of free throws to put Elon behind, 56-51. Spanou led all players with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-7 mark from three-point land.
But the Phoenix battled back and forced the Colonials to call a timeout after Ford split a pair of defenders in the lane for a layup to make it a three-point game, 58-55, with 9:55 remaining in the second half. Seconds later, Ford knocked down three free throws to tie the game for the ninth time of the night at 58-all with 9:29 to play.
After the Colonials went back ahead by five points in the final two minutes, the Phoenix battled back to pull within two with 1:38 left on a Hairston jumper in the paint and a Harper layup with 58 seconds remaining. But Elon could not get over the hump, going without a basket from that point forward.
The Phoenix wraps up the tournament tomorrow when it takes on host ECU at 4:30 p.m.