Appalachian State 82, Western Carolina 46
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Courtney Freeman notched her fourth career double-double and Katie Mallow poured in a career-high 14 points in Appalachian State women's basketball's 82-46 win over Southern Conference rival Western Carolina on Monday, Dec. 5 at the Ramsey Center.
The Mountaineers (6-1, 2-0 SoCon) took control early and cruised to their fifth-straight win over the Catamounts (4-5, 0-2) and sixth-straight win overall.
Appalachian took its first double-digit lead of the game with 9:16 to go in the contest when Mallow's three-pointer gave the Apps a 15-4 lead. The Mountaineers would never lead by less than nine points the rest of the way and built a 32-18 halftime lead.
The second half played out much the same as the first with Appalachian State jumping out to a 20-point lead (42-22) with 14:56 left to play. ASU would increase its lead to 30 points (67-37) with just over six minutes on the clock.
Freeman finished with game-highs in points (18) and rebounds (10) while connecting on 7-of-11 shots including a 4-for-4 mark from the charity stripe.
Mallow, who went 5-for-11 from the floor, was 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and a perfect 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
Anna Freeman had 12 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists in the game while Canesha Edwards finished with nine points and three boards.
The Catamounts, who struggled mightily from the floor, were paced by 10 points each from Makensey Campbell and Ali Lane.
Western Carolina shot just 27.5 percent (14-for-51) from the floor while the Mountaineers connected on 53.7 percent (29-of-54) shots.
Appalachian State finished with a 44-23 edge in rebounds and shot 68.8 percent (22-for-32) from the line while WCU shot 81.3 percent (13-for-16) from the charity stripe but was just 5-for-22 from deep.
Both teams committed 31 turnovers in the game and combined for just 22 assists.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday when they take on UNC Asheville at 4:30 p.m. at the Asheville Collegiate Basketball Invitational.
Furman 66, Georgia Southern 60
STATESBORO, GA -- Teshia Griswold and Kaitlin Murphy combined to score 37 points, including Furman’s final 15 points of the game, to propel the Paladins to a 66-60 Southern Conference road victory over Georgia Southern in women’s basketball action Monday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Griswold tallied a season high 19 points, converting 8-of-10 free throws, while Murphy chipped in a pair of 3-pointers while going 6-for-6 at the free throw line and collecting a game high seven assists, to help Furman (5-2, 2-0 SoCon) record its second league road victory on the young season and third consecutive triumph over Georgia Southern (2-6, 0-2 SoCon).
The Paladins trailed only once in the contest, two minutes in, and were tied 49-49 when Lashana Booker sank a jump shot to give Furman a 51-49 lead with 7:10 to go.
From that point Murphy and Griswold took over the scoring for the Paladins.
A Griswold free throw and a pair of charity stripe tosses by Murphy with three and half minutes remaining staked Furman to a 54-49 lead, completing a 5-0 spurt.
Georgia Southern battled back to make it 58-57 on a Janay Wilson jump shot with 1:40 left, but Murphy answered on the ensuing possession with a basket, giving Furman a three-point advantage.
A Meredyth Frye free throw with just under a minute remaining cut it to 60-58 but that would be as close as the Eagles would get before Griswold and Murphy combined to go 6-for-6 from the line in the game’s final minute to seal the decision.
Mimi DuBose paced Georgia Southern with 18 points, going a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range, and Wilson finished with 11 points.
Lashana Booker scored seven points and claimed a game high nine rebounds for Furman, which recorded a narrow 38-37 edge in rebounding.
The Eagles shot 42.4 percent from the field, making good on 24-of-59 attempts, while the Paladins hit on 22-of-58 shots (37.9 percent).
The difference in the game came at the free throw line, where Furman converted 17-of-22 attempts while Georgia Southern made just 5-of-7. The Eagles also committed 15 turnovers to the Paladins’ nine.
Furman plays South Carolina on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Columbia in a SportSouth televised contest.
College of Charleston 49, Wofford 44
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Junior Cathryn Hardy scored a career-high 21 points and the Cougars held Wofford to 26 percent shooting as they escaped with a 49-44 victory at TD Arena Monday night.
The Cougars (2-5, 1-1) handed the Terriers (6-1, 0-1) their first loss of the season as three CofC athletes scored in double-figures and junior Latisha Harris recorded her second consecutive double-double with 10 points and 19 rebounds. Her 19 rebounds are tied for second all-time in a single-game in CofC history.
For the game the Cougars grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, which they converted into second chance points, a category in which they held a 15-4 advantage over Wofford.
It was Wofford who controlled the game early and with 7:46 left in the first half the Cougars found themselves in a 19-11 point hole. Then Hardy hit a jump shot to ignite a 12-0 run in which the Cougars held Wofford scoreless for five minutes and 37 seconds to give them a 23-19 lead.
Wofford came out strong in the second half as they opened the period on a 6-0 run, but Hardy, who converted 13-of-15 free throws, came back and scored four points for the Cougars.
The Cougars clung to a two point lead on a Wofford basket until Harris made a strong move to the basket, hit a layup and got fouled. She nailed the free-throw to extend the Cougar lead to five at 39-34. Harris would add another jumper and two free-throws from Hardy later the Cougars extended their lead to eight at 43-35 with 6:19 left in the game.
Wofford would cut the lead to five at 46-41 with just under a minute remaining, and had a chance to get closer, but sophomore Jillian brown made one of her career-high five steals to put the Cougars in position to win. Brown stepped in front of her player and took a magic eight-ball chance which paid off for the Cougars.
Defense was a big part of the Cougars victory as they held Preseason All-Conference selection April Moorhouse to three points.
The Cougars will take a break from competition for final exams and get back at it on Dec. 17 as they travel to Davidson, N.C. to battle the Davidson Wildcats. The next home game will be Dec. 21 as the Cougars battle the seven-time national champion University of Connecticut Huskies at TD Arena.
Elon 69, Samford 44
ELON, N.C. – Behind a season-high 20 points from rookie Sam Coffer and a stingy defensive effort, the Elon women’s basketball team gave head coach Charlotte Smith her first Southern Conference victory with a 69-44 drumming of the defending conference champion Samford Bulldogs on Monday night, Dec. 5, in Alumni Gym.
Ahead by two points at the half, Elon (3-4, 1-1 SoCon) outscored Samford (4-4, 0-2 SoCon) 41-18 in the second half, going on an 18-0 run over an eight-minute stretch to go up by as many as 27 points against the reigning SoCon Tournament champions.
Coffer proved to be too much for the Bulldogs in the victory, as the Greensboro native scored 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-7 mark from beyond the arc. Coffer also knocked down all four of her free-throw attempts in the win, as Elon finished the night 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the charity stripe. Coffer also grabbed six boards for the Phoenix.
Elon shot 46 percent from the field in the win, connecting on 10-of-21 shots from three-point range.
The Phoenix won the battle on the boards, 41-30, as Lisa Archie and Kelsey Evans each hauled in a team-high seven rebounds.
Ali Ford and Aiesha Harper both finished the night with nine points, while Kallie Hovatter added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. Ford finished with a game-high five assists, while Harper led the Phoenix with three steals.
Both squads finished the game with 12 turnovers, but the Phoenix managed to turn in 15 points off Samford’s turnovers compared to the Bulldogs’ six points.
Elon took a two-point edge, 28-26, at intermission after limiting Samford to 29-percent shooting (9-of-31) from the field in the opening frame.
After the Bulldogs pulled within nine points, 42-33, with 15:07 to play in the second period on a Shelby Campbell layup, the Phoenix began to click on all cylinders at both ends of the floor. The maroon and gold scored 18-straight points over the next eight minutes of the game and held Samford without a field goal to take a 60-33 advantage with 7:54 remaining, capped off by a Zora Stephenson three.
Including Stephenson's six points, the Elon reserves outscored its counterparts, 20-15, in the victory after knocking down nine field goals. The Phoenix bench also grabbed 18 boards, including five by Erica Keto in 10 minutes of action.
Elon is off for the next nine days until the team welcomes in-state rival Campbell to Alumni Gym for a 7 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Dec. 14.