Richmond 75, UNCG 60
RICHMOND, Va. – Despite a career-high 13 points from Jazz Weaver, UNCG fell to Richmond on Saturday, 75-60 in nonconference women’s basketball action at the Robins Center.
Janae’ Stevenson had 11 points for UNCG (2-6), while Breonna Patterson added 10 to give the Spartans three in double figures.
Richmond’s Abby Oliver scored a game-high 19 points, while Rachael Bilney and Genevieve Okoro had 12 each. Two-sport standout Becca Wann, the Atlantic 10 Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year in women’s soccer, added 10 points for the Spiders (7-2).
UNCG trailed 7-0 before coach Wendy Palmer inserted Weaver into the lineup, but Weaver quickly got the Spartans on track and put UNCG on top.
The senior from Covington, Ky., was on fire from the get-go, hitting her first three field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer, and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line as UNCG came storming back. She surpassed her career high in points for the second straight game and matched her career high in rebounds with six.
UNCG did it with defense in the early going, as Weaver got the rally going with a pair of free throws after ripping down the first of her six rebounds on the day and getting fouled on a layup attempt. She then stole the inbounds pass and hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 9 before Natalie Headley grabbed another steal on the inbounds pass and laid it in to give UNCG its first lead of the day.
The Spartans would push their lead to three points at 19-16 on a Nneka Awuruonye layup with 11:44 to play but the Spiders ripped off a 12-0 to take command. Oliver, Okoro and Kristina King had four points each in the run.
The teams would trade buckets over the next several minutes, with Richmond closing the half with a Bilney 3 and a Wann layup to take a 45-31 lead into the break.
Richmond picked up where it left off after intermission, stretching its lead to as many as 25 in the second half. UNCG’s Dayshaun Richbow found her offensive rhythm in the second frame to help the Spartans get back in it, scoring all nine of her points in a 10-minute stretch midway through the half, but it was not enough.
UNCG left several points at the free throw line Saturday, going 10-for-19 from the stripe. Richmond, which entered the contest as the top free throw shooting team in the nation, was 10-for-13.
The Spiders dominated the glass, out-rebounding UNCG 43-28 and limiting the Spartans to just 11 offensive boards. Richmond, meanwhile, had 17 offensive rebounds, scoring 17 second-chance points to UNCG’s two.
UNCG has a week off for exams before heading down to Spartanburg, S.C., for a contest at Wofford as it returns to Southern Conference play on Dec. 17. That game is set for 6 p.m.
Radford 63, Wofford 46
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Wofford women’s basketball team was outscored 36-19 in the second half as the Terriers fell 63-46 to Radford in the Asheville Collegiate Invitational in the Kimmel Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Terriers started the game with a 6-2 run sparked by baskets from Daniella Motley and Mariah Masalin three-minutes into play.
After a layup by Da’ Naria Erwin Spencer at 12:31 that cut the Terrier lead to 8-6, Wofford’s Morgan Wrightson responded with a three on the next Terrier possession to push the lead to five points, 11-6.
A Moorhouse layup at the ten-minute mark pushed the Wofford lead to 14-8, but Spencer responded with three-point play that sparked a 5-0 run for the Highlanders that cut the lead to 14-13 with nine minutes to play.
Baskets by Moorhouse and Lauren Kirby extended the Terrier lead to 18-13 with just under seven minutes, but a lay-in by Sarah Tabb trimmed the lead to 18-15 on the next Radford possession.
Held the a 22-17 lead following two Logan Morris free throws at just under five to play, but a jumper by Ema Reskoska on the next Radford trip down the floor. Radford cut the lead to 22-21 on a Tabb jumper at 3:14, but Morris responded with a corner three to push the lead to 25-21 seconds later.
Following the three, Radford went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 25 with just under a minute to play. Both teams added two points in the final minute of play sending the two teams into the locker room tied at 27.
Neither team scored for the first 3:43 until Ashley Buckhannon knocked down two free throws to give the Highlanders their first lead of the game, 29-27. The free throws sparked a 13-0 run that saw the Highlanders pushed their lead to 40-27 with 12:59 remaining.
Wofford’s first basket of the half came on a Moorhouse jumper with 11:56 to play. The basket was the Terriers’ first since 34 seconds left in the first half – a span of 10:05. The jumper cut the deficit to 40-29.
Radford pushed its lead to 16 points, 45-29, on two free throws from Ayana Avery with just over ten minutes remaining, and to 21 points, 52-31, at the eight and a half minute mark.
The Terriers went on an 8-0 run highlighted by four Morris points and cut the Highlander lead to 54-39, with 5:17 to play. Two Victoria Hamilton free throws the four-minute mark ended a three-minute scoring drought for the Highlanders and pushed the score back to 56-41.
Wofford was not able to mount another charge at the lead as they fell 63-46 and dropped its third straight game.
Wofford finished the game shooting 30 percent from the floor, 18 percent from three and 66 percent from the free throw line, while Radford was 40 percent overall, 17 percent from long-range and 69 percent from the line.
The Highlanders held a 32-19 advantage on points in the paint , and scored 22 points off of 23 Terrier turnovers. Wofford scored six points off of 12 Radford turnovers.
Wofford was led in scoring Morris with 11 points. Moorhouse added ten points and eight rebounds. Masalin chipped in with nine points. Motley also had eight rebounds for the Terriers.
Spencer led all scorers with 24 points. She was 10-of-18 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the game. Avery added 13 points and Hamilton grabbed 12 rebounds.
With the loss, the Terriers slide to 6-3 overall, while the Highlanders improve to 5-3.
The Terriers will take seven days off with exams next week and won’t return to the court until December 17 when they host UNC Greensboro in the Benjamin Johnson Arena at 6 p.m.
Samford 61, Tennessee Tech 55
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford women’s basketball team earned a 61-55 non-conference win over former OVC rival Tennessee Tech Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford was led in the game by Paige Anderson with 17 points and five rebounds. Anderson was 7-of-7 from the free throw line in the win. Hannah Dawson scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds. Ruth Ketcham scored 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a career-high seven assists.
For Tennessee Tech, Tacarra Hayes had 27 points and eight rebounds. Briana Jordan scored 14 points for the Golden Eagles.
The teams traded baskets early in the first half. Samford built an 11-6 lead with 12:31 to go in the first half after a jumper by Kendall Schwantz. With Samford leading, 17-11, the Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to push their lead to 27-11 with 5:00 to go in the half after a free throw by Schwantz.
Samford led by as much as 17 points in the first half at 30-13 with 2:12 left in the half. The Bulldogs took a 34-19 lead into halftime.
Tennessee Tech opened the second half with an 11-2 run to cut the Samford lead to six at 36-30 with 16:44 to go in the game after a three-pointer by Hayes. Samford answered with a 7-0 run to push its lead back out to 13 at 43-30 with 13:29 left after a three-pointer by Anderson.
The Bulldogs pushed their lead back out to 15 at 47-32 with 11:19 left after two free throws by Ketcham. With Samford leading, 50-38, the Golden Eagles went on a 12-3 run to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three at 53-50 with 2:23 left in the game after a three-pointer by Kellie Cook.
Samford scored six of the next eight points to push its lead back out to seven at 59-52 with 27 seconds left after two free throws by Anderson. Samford came away with the six-point win, 61-55.
As a team, Samford shot 40.8 percent overall, including a 35.7 percent effort from three-point range. Tennessee Tech made 33.3 percent of its shots and 20.0 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. Samford out-rebounded Tennessee Tech, 40-35.
With the win, Samford improves to 5-4 on the season. Tennessee Tech drops to 3-7 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 17, when the Bulldogs play host to Southern Conference foe Western Carolina. The game, which will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com, is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
Appalachian State 85, UNC Asheville 71
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Anna Freeman scored a game-high 24 points and Catherine Williams dished out a career-high eight assists as Appalachian State women’s basketball picked up an 85-71 win over UNC Asheville on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Kimmel Arena.
The Mountaineers (7-1) downed the Bulldogs (2-5) for the second-straight season and the first time in Asheville since the 2001-02 campaign.
After falling behind 5-4 in the early going, Appalachian State reeled off a 16-2 run to take an 13-point lead (20-7) with 11:52 left to play in the game. The Bulldogs would cut the lead to just eight points (27-19) with just under five minutes to go in the half.
The Apps would extend the lead before the break and led by 11 points (36-25) heading into the locker room. Appalachian State held UNCA to just 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from the floor in the first half and forced 13 first-half turnovers.
Appalachian would see its lead cut to no less than seven points on two occasions in the second half as the Bulldogs, behind the hot shooting of Lindsey Thompson, stayed in contention until the closing minutes before the Mountaineers put the game with a 19-8 run from the 5:01 to 1:18 mark of the second half.
Freeman led all player with 24 points on 11-for-21 shooting while pulling down six boards. Courtney Freeman scored 14 points and grabbed eight boards while Williams scored six and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Maryah Sydnor added 10 points off the bench and Kelsey Sharkey chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs were led on offense by Thompson’s team-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting. She also connected on 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, including several from just past the half-court line.
Shonese Jones and Brittany Gwynn each had 14 points and Kelli Riles ripped down 11 rebounds but was held to just six points, just half of her season average.
As a team, the Mountaineers shot 43.2 percent (32-for-74) from the floor and 70.8 percent (17-for-24) from the charity stripe while holding the Bulldogs to 38.1 percent (24-for-63) from the field.
Appalachian State pulled down 49 rebounds to UNCA’s 41, forced 20 turnovers and had eight total blocks.
The Mountaineers return to action on Monday, Dec. 12 when they pay host to Southern Conference rival College of Charleston at 6 p.m. inside the Holmes Center.