Women's Basketball Southern Conference

Monday Women's Basketball Roundup

Elon 74, Wofford 68
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Ali Ford’s Christmas gift arrived six days early today, Dec. 19, in Benjamin Johnson Arena, as the junior from Morganton, N.C., tied a career-high with seven three-pointers to lift the Elon women’s basketball team to a 74-68 victory over the Wofford Terriers.
 
Ford finished with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including a 7-of-10 clip from beyond the arc, to help push the Phoenix past the Terriers.
 
In a game that saw 19 lead changes, Ford iced the game late with seven points in the final 2:50 of the contest to break a 62-all tie and put Elon ahead by a comfortable margin.
 
Elon improves to 5-5 on the year and 2-2 in the Southern Conference with the win, while Wofford falls to 7-4 (1-2 SoCon) with the setback.
 
Perhaps just as key as Ford’s ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc was Aiesha Harper’s ability to bring the Phoenix back from a double-digit deficit late in the first half. Harper helped the Phoenix come back from 10 down by scoring or assisting on every basket over a 12-0 run to give Elon a 40-38 lead toward the end of the first half. Harper finished the game with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the win.
 
Kelsey Evans was the third Phoenix player to finish in double figures in the win, as the junior from Raleigh, N.C., scored 11 points, which included her second-career three-point field goal. Evans also registered five boards and two blocks for Elon.
 
Elon shot 92 percent (11-of-12) from the charity stripe in the win, while shooting at a 41-percent clip from the field on 26-of-63 field goal attempts.
 
The Phoenix lived up to its moniker of being the Southern Conference’s top three-point shooting team after knocking down 11-of-20 shots from beyond the arc against the league’s top three-point defense. Today was the fourth time this season Elon has connected on 10 or more three-point field goals in a game.
 
The maroon and gold won the battle on the boards, 44-35, despite allowing the Terriers to 20 second-chance points and 34 points in the paint.

Wofford's Rachel Brittenham scored 22 points, but managed only six second-half points after a 16-point opening frame.
 
After the Terriers jumped out to a five-point lead at the start of the second half to make it a 45-40 game, Elon answered with a 10-2 run to claim a three-point lead, 50-47, with 14:25 to play.
 
With the score tied at 62-all with 3:53 remaining in the second half, the Phoenix went on a 5-0 run to claim a 67-62 advantage after a two key baskets from Ford. Ford knocked down a three in the corner and followed it up on the next possession with a reverse layup following a steal near the basket.
 
It was all Elon from that point forward, as the Phoenix went ahead by as many as eight points late in the game to secure its fourth-straight win over Wofford.
 
Elon is off until the team heads to Charlottesville, Va., on Dec. 28-29 for the Marriott Cavalier Classic, hosted by Virginia. The Phoenix opens up the tournament against UMass on Dec. 28 before taking on either Wagner or UVA a day later. Elon closes out the 2011 calendar year on Dec. 31 at West Virginia.

Appalachian State 71, College of Charleston 52
BOONE, N.C. – Courtney Freeman scored a career-high 22 points to lead Appalachian State University women’s basketball past College of Charleston, 71-52, on Monday night at the Holmes Center.

Freeman sank 7-of-15 shots and all eight of her free throws to pace the Mountaineers (8-1, 3-0 SoCon) to the win. She added six rebounds and a pair of assists in the league win. ASU extended its winning streak to eight games with the win.

The Cougars (2-7, 1-3) managed just 19 points in the first half and trailed the entire game after the Apps jumped out to a 9-0 lead and held CofC without a bucked for the first four minutes.

Appalachian never led by less than 10 points after taking their first double-digit lead of the game (12-2) with 15:51 remaining in the first half.

The Mountaineers shot 40.5 percent (15-for-37) in the first half and outrebounded the Cougars 32-18 through the first 20 minutes of lay. Freeman scored 14 points in the first half while Anna Freeman had 12. College of Charleston did not have a single player score more than five points in the first half.

ASU kept the pressure on in the second half by forcing 15 second-half turnovers to help extend its lead to as many as 25 points on three occasions in the final moments.

A. Freeman ended the contest with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a 3-for-4 effort from behind the arc. Kelsey Sharkey chipped in with six points and eight rebounds while Catherine Williams pulled down a game-high 10 boards.

Ashleigh Kelly scored four points and ripped down five rebounds in her first action of the season.

As a team, the Mountaineers shot 33.3 percent (26-for-78) from the floor, 27.3 percent (3-for-11) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (16-for-24) from the charity stripe.

The Cougars managed to shoot just 30.9 percent (17-for-55) from the floor, 14.3 percent (3-for-21) from deep and 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from the free-throw line.

Appalachian State pulled down 60 rebounds to CofC’s 38, forced 28 turnovers and notched 17 steals while committing 1 turnovers of its own.

The Mountaineers return to action against No. 13 Georgia at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22 from Stegeman Coliseum. Appalachian State plays its next home game at noon on Dec. 31 against Longwood.

Furman 53, UNCG 48
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Raegan Thompson scored 18 points and claimed a career high 12 rebounds to power Furman  to a 53-48 Southern Conference victory over UNC Greensboro in women’s basketball action Monday evening at Timmons Arena.

The win kept Furman (7-3, 4-0 SoCon) perfect in the SoCon play and helped the Paladins match their best start in league action since the 1998-99 season.  Furman has never opened a campaign with five consecutive SoCon triumphs — a feat the Paladins will shoot for when they entertain Davidson on Jan. 7 at Timmons Arena.

Thompson found the mark on 7-of-15 field goal attempts, including 4-of-8 shots from 3-point range, to lead the Paladins, who connected on just 31.6 percent from the field (18-of-57).  The junior forward’s 12 rebounds topped her previous career high of 10, accomplished twice last year.

Kaitlin Murphy was the only other Paladin to tally double figures with 14 points.

Janae’ Stevenson led UNC Greensboro (2-8, 1-3 SoCon) with 13 points, and Dayshaun Richbow finished with 10.

The Spartans shot slightly better from the field than the Paladins, hitting on 22-of-66 attempts (33.3 percent), but UNCG was outscored by 10 points at the free throw line, making good on just 3-of-5 tries while Furman connected on 13-of-16.

Furman, which entered the contest ranked second in the SoCon in rebounding, notched a 47-39 advantage on the boards.

The Paladins led 22-14 at intermission but saw their advantage erased over the first two minutes of the second half by an 8-0 Spartan run highlighted by two Stevenson baskets, including a jump shot that tied the game at 22-22 at the 18:20 mark.

Murphy broke the deadlock with a jump shot on the game’s next possession, giving the the Paladins the lead, which they never surrendered.

Furman built 10-point advantages on four different occasions, but each time UNCG answered to stay within striking distance.

A Thompson jump shot with 4:45 to go gave Furman a 49-39 lead, but UNCG countered with a 7-0 run to make it a 49-46 game following a Stevenson free throw with 2:00 showing on the clock.

The Spartans had three chances to draw even closer, including a 3-point attempt by Sarah Folwell with eight seconds to go, but Furman’s Teshia Griswold gathered in the rebound and was sent to the free throw line, where she drained both opportunities with six seconds left to put the Paladins up, 51-46, effectively sealing the game.

The Paladins will wrap up their three-game homestand on Thursday when they entertain Marshall in a 1:00 p.m. game at Timmons Arena.

Davidson 72, Georgia Southern 48
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Junior Sophia Aleksandravicius became the 15th Wildcat in program history to clip the 1,000-point mark, finishing with 12 points, and all 14 ‘Cats scored in leading Davidson to another big Southern Conference win with a 72-48 triumph over visiting Georgia Southern in women’s basketball action on Monday night at John M. Belk Arena.

Davidson (6-4, 3-0 SoCon) rolled to its fourth straight win overall and remained perfect at home at 5-0. The Wildcats pushed their overall home win streak to six straight.

With 15:34 left in the second half, Aleksandravicius canned a jumper for her 1,000th and 1,0001st points as she gave the Wildcats a commanding 43-22 lead. The 6-foot-4 forward also hauled in five rebounds, pocketed three steals and block a pair of shots.

Laura Murray paced the Wildcat offense with 13 points, while Jasmine Calin came off the bench for 10 points.

GSU (2-8, 0-3 SoCon) had just one player reach the double digits, with MiMi DuBose dropping in 10 points.

Davidson again dominated on the defensive side, much like it did on Saturday vs. College of Charleston. The Wildcats held the Eagles to 34 percent shooting, forced 20 turnovers and pocketed 16 steals (13 in the first half), turning those into 21 points.

The Wildcats led from tip to finish, pushing its lead out to as many as 26 points (62-36) on a Shneeka Center layup inside with 6:49 remaining.

Back-to-back fastbreak buckets from Calin gave Davidson an early 20-9 lead in the first half at the 10:25 mark.

The defense tightened up, holding GSU to just four points over the next seven minutes, while another fastbreak layup, this time from Kristen Johnsen, made it 30-13. Johnsen had a solid game with nine points, a season-high tying seven boards, a block and two steals.

Five players in all had two or more steals, led by Barbara Sitton’s season-best tying five.

Murray then capped off the Wildcats’ hot shooting from behind the arc with her third triple of the half, and Davidson’s fourth, with a buzzer-beater from the right corner to close the half up 38-22. The ‘Cats six triples for the game were a season-high.

Davidson held the Eagles scoreless for the first 5:30 of the second half and pushed its lead into the 20’s, where it stayed the majority of the half.

The Wildcats hit the road before a nine-day Christmas break as they will play a 5 p.m. game at Radford on Thursday, Dec. 22.

Chattanooga 64, Western Carolina 58
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Alex Black went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the final 5:53, including a 6-for-6 effort in the final 51 seconds, to lead the Lady Mocs to a 64-58 win over Western Carolina Monday night at the McKenzie Arena.

Black led the Lady Mocs with a career-high 15 points in Chattanooga’s fifth straight win. UTC is 7-3 on the year and now 3-0 in Southern Conference play. The Catamounts fall to 4-7 overall and 0-4 in league action. The loss was the fifth straight for Western Carolina.

Chattanooga held a slim 10-point lead with 3:23 to play on Black’s fourth made free throw but the Catamounts would have an answer. Makensey Campbell cut the Lady Mocs lead to 57-50 on a 3-pointer with 2:12 to play and Kaila’Shea Menendez connected on both of her free throws to pull the Catamounts to within five at 57-52 with 1:39 to play.

Black pushed the lead back to 59-52 with two more from the charity stripe, but Menendez drained her seventh 3-pointer just seconds later to make it a four-point game at 59-55 with just 42 seconds to play. Junior Kayla Christopher drew the foul while bringing the ball up court and made the first of her one-and-bonus to give UTC a five-point cushion at 60-55.

However, Campbell’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds to play cut that lead to two, the closest the Catamounts would get. Black made two more free throws to put the Lady Mocs up 62-58 with 23 seconds on the clock. Western Carolina’s Cailtlin Hollifield missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Cats grabbed the rebound, but a jumper from Campbell missed its mark and Black grabbed the rebound and was fouled.

She hit two more and became just the fifth Lady Moc player to make 10 free throws without a miss in a game and her 15th straight since the opening game against UAB. Shanara Hollinquest (2006-10) went 14-of-14 against Samford in the SoCon tournament in 2010.

Chattanooga got out to a 5-0 lead before Menendez drained her first 3-pointer to get the Catamounts on the board. Junior Kylie Lambert hit a 3-pointer to make it an 8-2 game before Menendez connected on another to cut the lead to 8-5 Chattanooga pushed its lead up to 20-8 at the 10:35 mark on a layup from sophomore Faith Dupree who posted a career-high 10 points in the first half.

Western Carolina got to within seven with five quick points but UTC continued its offensive push and led 38-24 at the half.

Senior Whitney Hood hit a layup to start the second half and gave Chattanooga its largest lead of the game at 40-24. Chattanooga outscored the Catamounts 32-18 in the paint and had 11 points off seven Western Carolina turnovers. Chattanooga posted a season-low eight miscues and got 30 points from the bench.

The Lady Mocs outrebounded WCU 44-33 behind Hood’s career-high tying 13 boards. Lambert grabbed seven rebounds, including five offensive boards and had nine points. Sophomore Taylor Hall just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds and Dupree had 10 points in eight minutes of play. Hood had eight points for the Lady Mocs and senior Tenisha Townsend dished out four assists.