San Diego State 57, UNCG 29
SAN DIEGO – UNCG scored fewer than 30 points for just the third time in school history and San Diego State’s Kiyana Stamps scored 13 second-half points to lead the Aztecs past the Spartans, 57-29, at the San Diego Surf ‘N Slam Classic at Viejas Arena on Wednesday. Nneka Awuruonye led UNCG with eight points, all in the second half.
The Spartans (2-9) failed to put anyone in double figures for the first time since the season-opening contest against Liberty on Nov. 11. Janae’ Stevenson finished with six points and a season-high eight rebounds.
Stamps had a game-high 16 points for the Aztecs (7-4), one shy of her career high, while Chelsea Hopkins just missed an unconventional double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds and nine assists, both game highs.
Courtney Clements had 13 points and Malia Nahinu finished with 11 for SDSU. Nahinu had a productive all-around game with nine rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals.
UNCG struggled offensively from the get-go, needing nearly four minutes before a Stevenson jumper got the Spartans on the board. UNCG was down 8-2 at the point and never got closer than that the rest of the way.
SDSU answered Stevenson’s basket with a 17-5 run to push its lead to 25-7 with 3:24 to go in the first half, getting six points each from Nahinu and Melissa Sweats in the spurt.
Stevenson and Jarae Savage had late buckets in the half to pull UNCG within 26-11 at halftime. The 11 first-half points matched the school record for fewest in a half, set in a 67-39 loss to West Virginia on Nov. 19, 2004.
The Aztecs continued to pull away in the second frame, leading by as many as 30 in the contest.
Stamps came out of the locker room on fire, scoring 13 of the Aztecs’ first 20 points in the second half. Clements then took over, hitting three straight 3-pointers to make it a 55-27 game with just 3:43 to go.
Awuruonye answered Clements’ first 3 with a layup, followed by UNCG freshman April Carson hitting a 3 of her own. After Clements’ second triple, Awuruonye added a jumper, but Clements again had an answer with her third 3-pointer.
SDSU out-rebounded UNCG 45-34 on the afternoon. The Aztecs were also 8-for-15 from the free throw line, while UNCG took just four free throws. Jazz Weaver had the honors each time, going 3-for-4.
Weaver and Carson finished with five points each.
A Stevenson layup with 1:22 left prevented UNCG from matching the school record for fewest points in a game, set in a 62-27 setback at Wake Forest on Nov. 17, 2008.
UNCG returns to action Thursday when it faces Penn to finish its stay at the San Diego Surf ‘N Slam Classic. Game time is set for 5 p.m. Eastern at Viejas Arena.
UMass 76, Elon 56
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Elon University women’s basketball team could not put the breaks on a hot-shooting UMass squad on Wednesday, Dec. 28, as the Phoenix fell 76-56 to the Minutewomen on the opening day of the Marriott Cavalier Classic at John Paul Jones Arena.
Elon cut a 22-point UMass lead to 11 points with 11:05 to play after Lei Lei Hairston knocked down a pair of free throws to cap off a 13-2 run. But the Minutewomen kept their foot on the pedal, going ahead by as many as 23 points in the final frame to secure the win.
UMass (5-8) put four players in double figures against the Phoenix (5-6), including a game-high 19 points from Megan Zullo, all of which came in the first half.
Elon shot 36 percent from the field in the setback, while UMass shot at a 52-percent clip for the game. The Phoenix took 27 shots from beyond the arc in the game, the most since the team shot 28 versus Virginia Intermont on Nov. 18.
Ali Ford led Elon with 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the field, while Kelsey Evans finished with 11 points and eight boards to narrowly miss recording a double-double.
Aiesha Harper played well at the point, dishing out six assists for Elon. Over the last four games, Harper has tallied 24 assists.
UMass won the battle on the boards, 38-33, but the Phoenix dominated the offensive glass with 14 rebounds.
The Phoenix turned 21 UMass turnovers into 12 points in the victory, while the Elon bench outscored its counterparts 9-4.
Trailing by just three points at the first media timeout, the Phoenix saw the Minutewomen go on a 17-4 run to take a 29-13 advantage with 9:55 left in the first half. UMass knocked down five three-pointers over a four-minute span to take its 16-point lead.
The Minutewomen carried their 16-point lead into the locker room, 39-23, after shooting 52 percent from the field in the opening frame, including 88 percent (7-of-8) from beyond the arc.
The Phoenix managed to make it a 11-point game about midway through the second half following a pair of Hairston makes from the charity stripe, but that was as close as the maroon and gold would come. UMass went on a 13-0 run at that point to take a commanding lead and all but seal the victory.
Elon will play in tomorrow’s consolation game at 4:30 p.m. against either Virginia or Wagner.
Tulane 57, College of Charleston 42
NEW ORLEANS - Junior Latisha Harris recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, but the College of Charleston women's basketball team fell 57-42 against the Tulane Green Wave Wednesday in the opening game of the Tulane/DoubleTree Classic.
The Cougars (2-9, 1-3) controlled most of the first half as they used runs of 6-0 and 7-2 and were up by as many as seven at 19-12 with 3:41 to go in the half.
CofC forced Tulane (9-2, 0-0) into 11 first half turnovers and held an 11-6 edge in points off turnovers. The Green Wave would go on a run of their own, an 11-4 spurt as they tied the game, 23-23 at halftime.
Tulane came out strong in the second half as they scored the first seven points of the half to build a 30-23 lead. After going down by as many as 11, the Cougars clawed their way back as they used aggressive play to get in the bonus with over 13 minutes left in the game.
Harris showed her aggressive play as she dove on the ground for a loose ball to preserve a CofC possession, which led to a Jillian Brown 3-pointer to bring the Cougars within five points at 47-42 with 5:44 to play.
The Cougars could not get any closer as Tulane utilized production from both their post players and outside shooters to stretch the lead and close out the game.
Defensively, the Cougars held Tulane to just 4-of-21 from beyond the 3-point line and freshman Jazz Green and Brown each recorded four steals. Green also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and scored five points.
The Cougars will play again at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow in the consolation game of the tournament, where they will meet the loser of the second game between Hampton and Central Michigan.
No. 15 Georgia 83, Furman 58
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Anne Marie Armstrong scored 19 points to propel hot shooting, ESPN-USA Today 15th-ranked Georgia to an 83-58 victory over Furman in women’s basketball action Wednesday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.
Armstrong, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, drained 8-of-14 field goal attempts and all three of her free throws to pace a contingent of four double figure scorers for the Bulldogs (11-2), who shot 48.4 percent from the field (31-of-64).
Jasmine Hassell tallied 15, Erika Ford 14 points and a game high 10 rebounds, and Meredith Mitchell finished with 12 points for Georgia.
Janice Roberts’ career high 15-point performance led Furman (8-4), which saw its modest three-game winning streak halted.
Lashana Booker and Raegan Thompson tallied nine points each for the Paladins, who got a team high nine rebounds from freshman and former Hillcrest High standout Alexis Peterson.
Furman shot just 33.3 percent from the field (20-of-60) and committed 25 turnovers.
Georgia blistered the nets over the game’s first 20 minutes, shooting 54.3 percent on the way to a comfortable 49-31 advantage at intermission.
The Bulldogs’ lead grew to as many as 27 in the second half at 77-50 following a Danielle Bennett layup with 4:11 remaining.
Roberts tallied the Paladins’ final eight points to finish with 15, which topped her previous career high of 10 points matched in a win over UNC Asheville in late November.
Furman’s next game is a Jan. 3 road contest against Charlotte. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
Florida 81, Samford 56
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—The Samford women’s basketball team dropped an 81-56 decision at the University of Florida Wednesday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
For the game, Samford shot 43.6 percent (17-of-39) overall and 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from three-point range. Florida made 49.2 percent (31-of-63) of its shots overall and 50 percent (8-of-16) from three-point range.
Samford was led in scoring by senior guard Ruth Ketcham with 16 points. Fellow senior Paige Anderson scored 13 points, while freshman Taylor Reece scored eight points and junior Hannah Dawson added seven points for the Bulldogs.
For Florida, Deana Allen led the way with 17 points. Jaterra Bonds scored 15 points for the Gators, while Jordan Jones added 13 points for Florida. Jennifer George scored 10 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Lanita Bartley also scored 10 points for the Gators.
Florida started the game off hot, jumping out to an early 18-2 lead with 13:47 to go in the half. The Gators pushed their lead to as much as 22 in the first half at 28-6 with 10:05 left in the opening period.
With Samford trailing, 33-15, the Bulldogs went on an 11-3 run to cut the lead to 10 points at 36-26 with 2:09 left in the half after a layup by J’Quita Babineaux. The Gators, however, closed the half with a 7-0 run to take a 43-26 lead into halftime.
Florida opened the second half with a 9-0 run to push its lead out to 26 points at 52-26 with 17:19 to go in the game. Samford scored the next five points to cut the lead to 21 at 52-31 with 16:11 to go following a layup by Ketcham.
The Gators answered with a 9-2 run to push their lead out to 28 points at 61-33 with 13:46 left in the contest. Samford could get no closer than 21 points the rest of the way as Florida came away with the 81-56 win.
Samford drops to 6-6 with the loss. Florida improves to 10-3 with the win.
Samford will return to action on Jan. 7, when the Bulldogs return to Southern Conference action with a game at Georgia Southern. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. (CT) start from Statesboro, Ga.