Appalachian State 57, Chattanooga 56
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Appalachian State University women's basketball battled its bitter conference foe Chattanooga down to the wire, and was able to sneak past the Lady Mocs, capturing a thrilling 57-56 win at UTC's McKenzie Arena Monday evening. It was the Mountaineers' first win on Chattanooga's home floor since 1998 and with the victory, ASU earns no less than at least a share of the regular season title, its first since the 1995-96 season and clinches No. 1 seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament.
Appalachian (21-4, 15-2 SoCon) was down 54-51 under the four-minute mark, but four made free throws by Anna Freeman earned ASU the 55-54 edge.
Continuing to play tough Chattanooga would grab the lead once more as Taylor Hall drilled a layup to put the Lady Mocs back on top by one.
Coming up big when it counted, Kelsey Sharkey was able to corral the basketball off a missed Sam Ramirez jumper, and the sophomore hit a layup with just 11 seconds left on the clock to give Appalachian State the final lead, and push the Apps to the nailbiting one-point win.
Sharkey finished as the team's leading rebounder with ten boards, eight coming in the first half, while also recording six points.
It was Chattanooga however, that opened up the contest strong, as the Mountaineers found themselves trailing 13-5 in the opening five and a half minutes of play.
Chakeitha Weldon scored Appalachian's first five points, while Bailey Dewart paced the Lady Mocs early on, recording 10.
The Apps picked up their pace, and despite allowing UTC to drain eight first-half three-pointers, including six in the first ten minutes of action, ASU responded, posting a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the contest off a Sharkey layup, up 23-22.
Play was knotted at the 25 all mark, but buckets to close out the half by Anna Freeman and Ramirez earned ASU the narrow 29-28 lead at the break.
Anna Freeman and Ramirez were ASU's lone scorers in double-figures, as Freeman totaled 14 points and six rebounds, while Ramirez had 11 points, five rebounds and four steals.
The 11-time regular season conference champions would not go away quietly and posted a 9-0 run over a span of five minutes in the second half to go up 40-35.
Kylie Lambert and Whitney Hood sparked UTC, as Lambert had four points during Chattanooga's scoring stretch and Wood posted three.
Lambert ended the game as Chattanooga's leading scorer with 11 points, and ASU held Hood, the SoCon's top scorer to just eight.
As expected a battle ensued, and the remainder of second half play was intense and hotly contested between the two squads.
After the Apps found themselves down by as many as seven points, ASU rallied to grab a 48-46 lead off an Ashlen Dewart three-pointer. Dewart's bucket capped off a 9-0 Mountaineer spark, and the Apps regained the lead up 48-46 with seven minutes remaining.
The two teams traded leads over the course of the final seven minutes of action, and play was knotted three more times before a final bucket with mere seconds remaining gave Appalachian the victory.
ASU now returns to the High Country for its final three games of the regular season, as the Mountaineers first host Wofford, Saturday February 19. The two squads are set to tip at 2 p.m. from the Holmes Center and the contest will serves as ASU's annual "Pink Zone" game.
Elon 58, Furman 57
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Back-to-back three-pointers from Ali Ford late in the game and key free throws down the stretch from Aiesha Harper helped the Elon University women's basketball team spoil Senior Night for Fuman on Monday, Feb. 14, as the Phoenix rallied late to claim a 58-57 win on Valentine's Day in Timmons Arena.
Elon improves to 17-9 on the year and 11-6 in the Southern Conference, while the Paladins fall to 11-15 (7-10 SoCon) with the setback. Elon's 17 wins this season mark the most since the 2003-04 squad finished with the same amount. Elon is two wins away from tying the most victories in a season since joining Division I.
Down by as many as nine points in the second half, the Phoenix chipped away at Furman's lead until Ford connected on back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to give Elon a 56-54 lead with 1:03 left on the clock.
Harper managed to put the game out of reach with 6.7 seconds left after hitting a pair of crucial free throws to give Elon a four-point edge, 58-54, which proved important after Furman's Kelly O'Connor heaved up a desperation three-pointer from the edge of the far sideline that connected off the glass with 1.1 seconds remaining to pull the Paladins within one point.
Harper led the Phoenix with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from the free throw line, while Ford ended the night with 11 points.
Elon tied the game early in the first half at 13-all after Julie Taylor found Harper on a backdoor cut on the baseline for a layup just prior to the 12-minute media timeout.
Despite several players in foul trouble early, the Phoenix managed to limit the Paladins to a one-point edge, 30-29, at intermission after the Elon bench accounted for 19 points. Ford and Hairston played only ten and six minutes, respectively, in the first half due to foul trouble, but Harper and Candice Silas stepped up with six and eight points for the Phoenix.
Elon dominated the boards in the opening frame, 24-13, which included a total of 11 rebounds on offense. But the Paladins managed to get to the free throw line 12 times in the first period, sinking 10-of-12 attempts, while Elon managed just one trip to the free throw line after Kelsey Harris split a pair.
The Paladins forced an early Elon 30-second timeout in the second half after beginning the second session on a 6-0 run to take a 36-29 lead.
After going down by as many as nine points, Harper helped the Phoenix tie the game at 47-all with under seven minutes to play after slashing through the Furman defense for a layup.
But the Paladins answered, as a Kelly O'Connor jumper near the free throw line put the Phoenix behind, 54-50, with 2:05 to play.
But back-to-back triples from Ford helped the Phoenix take the lead, 56-54, with 1:03 remaining in the game for the first time since the 2:01 mark in the first half.
Harper iced the game for the Phoenix with 6.7 seconds remaining after hitting a pair of free throws to give Elon a 58-54 lead. O'Connor hit a desperation three off the glass with 1.1 seconds left on the clock to make it a one-point game, 58-57, but the Phoenix defense helped secure the win in the waning moments.
Elon plays its next two games at home, beginning with its Pink Zone game on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. against Samford. The game will also be televised on SportSouth. The Phoenix plays its final home game of the year a week from today when Chattanooga comes to Alumni Gym for Senior Night on Feb. 21.
Samford 58, Davidson 47
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Emily London scored 19 points and Savannah Hill scored 16 points, both playing their final regular-season game in the Pete Hanna Center, to lead the Bulldog women's basketball team to a 58-47 Southern Conference win over Davidson Monday evening.
The game was Samford's Pink Zone game to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness. Samford raised over $3,000 during the game with the proceeds going to the Kay Yow Foundation. The game was played in front of 1,158 fans, the second-largest crowd for a women's game in Pete Hanna Center history.
With the win, Samford improves to 20-7 overall, giving the Bulldogs 20 wins for the fourth-straight season and for the fifth time in the last six years. Samford remains in second place in the Southern Conference standings with a 13-5 league mark. Davidson drops to 11-15 overall and 6-11 in SoCon play.
London made 5-of-10 shots from the floor, while Hill was 7-of-13 for the game. Behind London and Hill, Paige Anderson scored nine points. Brittany Jack led the team in rebounding with seven.
Davidson was led by Sophia Aleksandravicius with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Laura Murray scored 12 points for the Wildcats.
Samford jumped out to an early eight-point lead at 13-5 with 15:11 to go in the first half after a layup by Ruth Ketcham. Davidson then went on a 13-4 run to take an 18-17 lead with 7:57 left in the first half following a three-pointer by Ashley Lax.
Samford then went on a 12-2 run to take a 29-20 lead with 2:24 left before halftime after a layup by Hill. Davidson scored the final four points of the first half to cut the Samford lead to 29-24 heading into halftime.
The teams traded baskets early in the second half until Samford was able to open up a 10-point lead at 43-33 with 13:46 to go in the game after a three-pointer by London. Davidson fought back to cut the lead to seven at 46-39 with 5:28 left in the game.
Samford then went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-point lead at 52-39 with 1:44 left in the game after a pair of free throws by Jazmine Powers. Davidson could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 58-47 win.
As a team, Samford made 41.3 percent of its shots, including 38.9 percent from three-point range. The Bulldogs held Davidson to 34.0 percent overall and 8.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 19, when the Bulldogs travel to Elon, N.C., to take on the Elon Phoenix. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CST) start and will be televised live on SportSouth.
College of Charleston 63, Wofford 45
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Using a 35-19 first half, the College of Charleston Cougars handed the Wofford Terriers a 63-45 loss Monday night in the Carolina First Arena in a Southern Conference women's basketball game.
In the first half, the Cougars turned a 6-5 lead with just under 17 minutes to play into a 16-8 lead with a 10-3 run that lasted seven minutes. Wofford cut the lead to 16-10 on a Mahagony Williams bucket in the paint and to 18-12 on two April Moorhouse free throws with 8:20 to play in the half.
However, the Cougars exploded with a 15-0 run to take a 33-14 lead over seven minutes. Wofford ended the scoring drought with a Logan Morris jumper with 56 seconds remaining.
The Terriers would add five more points over the final minutes including an Moorhouse buzzer beating three to make it 35-19 at the half.
The Cougars were 42 percent the floor and a sizzling 62 percent from three in the half. Eight of their 11 field goals were from behind the arc. The Terriers were 24 percent overall and 25 percent from three. Wofford only had seven field goals in the half and three from long range.
College of Charleston came out in the second half and quickly extended the lead to 20 points, 43-23, at the 14:33 mark. on a Taylor Mims layup. Wofford cut the lead to 16 points, on a Mariah Masalin jumper two minutes later, but the Cougars pushed the lead back to 21, 49-28, with 10:05 to play in the game.
Wofford was unable to get back into the contest as College of Charleston maintain the double digit lead to improve their record to 8-18 overall and 5-12 in the SoCon with the 63-45 win. Wofford falls to 7-17 overall and 3-13 in conference play. The two teams split the home-and-home series this season with Wofford winning the first matchup
College of Charleston finished the game with a 33 percent field goal percentage and a 44 percent three point percentage. They were 0-for-5 in the second half from long range. Wofford was 31 percent overall and 23 percent from three.
The Cougars made 21 of their 29 attempts, while the Terriers attempt only 21 free throws and made five of them.
The Terriers had 27 turnovers that lead to 24 points, while the Cougars had 19 turnovers that lead to 11 Terrier points.
Wofford was led by Mahagony Williams who scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the game's leading rebounder. It was her second double-double in three games and her 25th career double-double. Williams also added four blocked shots. Rachel Brittenham had four assists in the game.
Fischer paced the Cougars with 18 points, while Tonia Gerty scored 13 points. Gerty also handed out six assists and grabbed six rebounds. Cathryn Hardy tallied ten points, and Hardy and Janae Smith also had six rebounds. Jillian Brown handed out five assists.
Wofford will return to action Wednesday, February 16th at home against Furman for their Pink Zone game. Furman won the first meeting between the two teams 80-44 on January 19 in Timmons Arena.
Western Carolina 51, Georgia Southern 45
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball (7-19, 5-12 Southern Conference) picked up a 51-45 home win against Georgia Southern (11-14, 8-8 SoCon) Monday in the Ramsey Center.
Freshman point guard Rena Wakama led all scorers with 15 points and had three steals in the contest. Junior guard Kaila'Shea Menendez got back into double figure scoring with 10 points.
The win over Georgia Southern snaps an eight game losing streak for the Catamounts. It is also the first seasonal tie with a Southern Conference opponent as Georgia Southern won the meeting in Statesboro 69-64 in overtime on January 14. Exactly one month ago.
The Catamounts hit 7-of-12 free throws in the final 1:24 of the game to stave off the Eagles and secure the win. Western Carolina led by six with 1:28 remaining when Georgia Southern's Samantha Williams hit 1-of-2 free throws to trim the Catamount lead to 45-40. The Eagles fouled Diamond Hunnicutt and Wakama in both Catamount possessions with the duo each hitting 1-of-2.
With Western Carolina leading by seven, Georgia Southern made it interesting when senior guard Jamie Navarro hit a layup with 46 second left to cut the Catamount lead to 47-42. Catamount junior Menendez iced the game when she went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, after being fouled, to push the WCU lead to eight with 28 seconds left.
Navarro still had fight in her as she drained a three pointer with 24 seconds left on the clock to slice the WCU lead back to five, 50-45. Wakama closed out the game, for the Catamounts, hitting 1-of-2 free throws to secure the game.
After three ties to start the game, Georgia Southern built a nine point lead, 19-10, with 8:04 remaining in the first half. Western Carolina spent the remaining eight minutes of the half stifling Georgia Southern defensively, earning a 26-24 half-time lead with a 16-3 run to close out the half.
The Eagles hit just one field goal in that eight minute span and was also 2-of-4 from the free throw line. Western Carolina, in contrast hit five field goals in the run, two of them tree pointers from Wakama and Menendez.
It was the second time in three games Western Carolina has led at the half, with the Catamounts coming out on top for the win. The Catamounts shot 39.2 percent from the field and Georgia Southern was 35.7. Western Carolina benefitted from 22 points off 21 Eagle turnovers and also had 11 steals in the contest.
Georgia Southern's Logan Youngblood and Samantha Williams each had 10 points in the game.
Western Carolina heads back on the road this weekend taking on College of Charleston Saturday at 1 p.m. and traveling to Wofford on Monday for a 6 p.m. tip.