Chattanooga 59, Western Carolina 47
CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- Juniors Whitney Hood and Bailey Dewart combined for 30 points to lead the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to a 59-47 win over Western Carolina at the Ramsey Center to wrap up the No. 3 seed at next week's Southern Conference Tournament to be held in Chattanooga.
Hood led the Lady Mocs with her sixth double-double of the year scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds while dishing out a game-high four assists. Dewart went 5-for-6 on the day with two 3-pointers for 12 points and three rebounds.
Chattanooga got out to an 11-3 start behind nine points from Hood and Dewart. The Catamounts went 0-for-7 over the first 6:50 of the game with three free throws. Diamond Hunnicut drained WCU's first bucket at the 13:10 mark to make it 11-5.
Chattanooga pushed its lead to 12 with 7:07 to play on a jumper from Hood making it 21-9 before Western Carolina put together an 10-1 run to cut the lead to 22-19 with 2:39 in the first on a free throw. The Lady Mocs closed out the half back-to-back baskets from Dewart and freshman Alex Black to lead 26-21 at the break.
To start the second half, the Lady Mocs got five quick points from Hood and Dewart to go up 31-21 at the 18:57 mark but the Catamounts had an answer to cut the lead back to five a minute-and-a-half later. However, the two teams combined for an 0-for-7 effort over the next 2:23 before sophomore Kayla Christopher drained a 3-pointer to put UTC up 36-28 with 15:06 to play.
Chattanooga kept the barrier, getting ahead by 12 and never letting the Catamounts closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Western Carolina won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Chattanooga 46-35 with a 17-6 advantage on the offensive glass. The Lady Mocs, however, outscored the Catamounts 6-4 on second chance points. The Lady Mocs converted 13 Western Carolina miscues into 13 points while the Catamounts had seven points on 12 UTC turnovers.
The Lady Mocs went 21-of-51 (41.2%) from the field and was 6-of-19 (31.6%) from the 3-point line while converting on 11-of-17 free throws. Junior Tenisha Townsend had a pair of 3-pointers for nine points, while Christopher had seven points and seven rebounds.
Western Carolina senior Kendra Carroll who suffered a season-ending injury was honored prior to the game along with classmate Emily Clarke. Clarke led the Cats with 11 points and seven rebounds. Kaila'Shea Menendez had eight points while Diamond Hunnicut had seven points and a team-best eight rebounds. Caitlin Hollifield pulled down seven boards and had a team-high two assists.
The Lady Mocs closed out the season with eight wins over their last 10 games and will take on the winner of the No. 6/Wofford game in the second game Saturday morning at the Roundhouse in the conference tournament.
Elon 61, College of Charleston 51
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Elon University women's basketball team clinched the No. 4 seed in the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament after defeating the College of Charleston Cougars, 61-51, on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 26, in its regular season finale at Carolina First Arena.
Elon finishes the regular season with a 12-8 record in league play, tying the 2003-04 Phoenix team for the most SoCon wins since joining the conference seven seasons ago. Elon's 18 wins so far this season are the second most in the Division I era, as the 2003-04 squad finished with 19 victories. Elon's four seed in the tournament is its highest since joining the Division I ranks.
With Elon (18-11, 12-8 SoCon) topping CofC (10-19, 7-13 SoCon) and Chattanooga beating Western Carolina today, the Phoenix earns the No. 4 seed in the SoCon Tournament and will face either UNC Greensboro, Georgia Southern or Furman at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 5.
Lei Lei Hairston paced the Phoenix with a game-high 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with nine boards.
Kelsey Evans registered her ninth double-double of the season in the win, going for 13 points and 10 boards. On defense, Evans had three blocked shots and three steals.
Aiesha Harper was the third Phoenix player to score in double figures, as the Pottstown, Pa. native finished with 13 points, six boards and three assists.
Elon shot 47.2 percent from the field in the win and held a 37-35 advantage on the boards. The Cougars finished the game shooting 33.9 percent from the field and turned the ball over 18 times.
Elon took a two-point edge. 29-27, into the locker room at intermission after shooting 42.9 percent form the field in the opening frame, connecting on 11-of-21 field goal attempts. The Phoenix limited the Cougars to a 37.9 percent clip in the first half and held a slight 18-16 edge on the glass.
The Cougars pulled with one point, 47-46, with just under six minutes to go after Megan Fischer connected from beyond the arc. But the Phoenix answered on the next possession after a Harper trey put Elon back up four points, 50-46.
The Phoenix took its largest lead of the game with 1:25 to play in the game after a pair of Ali Ford makes from the charity stripe gave Elon an eight-point lead, 55-47.
Elon kept the Cougars at arm's length down the stretch, hitting 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:25 to secure the win.
The victory marks Elon's second win of the season on an opposing team's senior day, as the Phoenix topped Furman on Feb. 14 for the Paladins' senior night in Greenville, S.C.
Appalachian State 80, UNCG 57
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball got back on the winning track Saturday afternoon and closed out its regular season in style as the Mountaineers drilled UNCG 80-57 in the Holmes Center. The win gives ASU a 23-5 mark and 17-3 SoCon record to close out the regular-season and drops the Spartans to 13-15 and 10-10 in league play.
Finding itself down by four at halftime, ASU picked up its pace in the opening minutes of the second-half, but the contest was still hotly contested as the two teams traded buckets over the course of first seven minutes of second period play.
Appalachian however found its offensive swagger at the right time, as the squad posted a 19-4 run that proved to be the difference-maker in the contest and was too much for UNCG to come back from.
Anna Freeman started the spark for ASU as she tallied seven points during the spurt, while Courtney Freeman and Ashlen Dewart found the bottom of the basket as well.
Freeman was one of five Apps that ended the game in double-figures and one of three to close out the contest with a double-double as she had a game-best 19 points and 15 rebounds. Continuing to clutter the stat line, Freeman had three blocks and two steals as well, and the three swats push her into tied for second on ASU's career block list with 131.
Dewart also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards, while Courtney Freeman recorded 12 points and a career-high seven assists, while swiping three steals.
Sam Ramirez was not shy either in the second-half as she helped stop any chances of a UNCG comeback, scoring eight straight points, including 10 in a little under three minute span in the closing minutes of the game.
Ramirez, the lone senior, notched just the second double-double of her career and first of the season, as she chipped in 17 points while also handing out a career-high 11 assists.
That momentum swing was all the Black and Gold needed, as Appalachian went on to crush the Spartans and pick up the decisive 80-57 victory.
First half play however was not quite in Appalachian's favor, despite the Mountaineers jumping out to a 21-10 lead, UNCG controlled much of the opening period.
After the Apps went on a 15-2 run, UNCG was quick to answer, responding with a staggering 27-8 spark of their own over a seven and half minute time frame, to take their largest lead of the game up 37-29 with less than 30 seconds remaining until the break.
It was Brey Dorsett who got the Spartans going, as she poured in 10 points, including drilling two three-pointers.
Dorsett closed out the game as the Spartans' leading scorer with 14 points.
Finding some spark right before the break, Kelsey Sharkey hit a layup and Ramirez stole the inbounds pass and converted a layup as well to put ASU down just four at the break, trailing 37-33.
Finally clicking on all cylinders it was second-half domination, which pushed the Black and Gold to the exciting victory, as the squad shot 61. 8 percent from the floor in the second period and outscored their counterpart 47-20.
ASU closed out the contest winning the battle of the boards, out-rebounding UNCG by 12, while also shooting a stout 50.0 percent from the floor and recording 25 assists.
Looking to keep with its strong play, the Mountaineers now turn their sights to the Southern Conference Tournament. Having earned the No. 1 seed ASU will await the winner of the No.8/No. 9 game between Davidson and College of Charleston. The Apps will face their opponent Friday, March 4 at approximately 11:30 a.m. in Chattanooga, Tenn. at UTC's McKenzie Arena.
Furman 54, Georgia Southern 47
STATESBORO, GA. -- Kelly O'Connor poured in a game high 22 points to power Furman to a 54-47 Southern Conference win over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse in the regular season finale for both teams.
The victory, the fifth in the last six games and third straight road conquest for Furman (14-15, 10-10), coupled with UNC Greensboro's loss at Appalachian State on Saturday, secured fifth place for the Paladins and a first round bye into the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament, scheduled for March 3-7 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Furman will play fourth place Elon at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning at McKenzie Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Saturday's triumph also completed Furman's regular season sweep of Georgia Southern (12-17, 9-11 SoCon) and halted the Paladins' five-game losing skid to the Eagles in Satesboro.
Furman's 14 wins this season under first year head coach Jackie Carson doubled last year's seven victories (7-24), and the Paladins' 10 SoCon conquests marked a six-game improvement over the four wins (4-16) registered during the 2009-10 campaign.
O'Connor keyed Furman's performance against Georgia Southern by connecting on 8-of-17 field goal attempts, including 6-of-14 3-pointers. Kaitlin Oberg and Kaitlin Murphy rounded out the Paladins' double figure scorers with 10 points apiece. Kendra Berry narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and game high 11 rebounds while Oberg continued her outstanding late season work on the glass with 10 caroms.
Meredyth Frye was the only Georgia Southern player to reach double figures with 14 points.
Frye's field goal 10 seconds into the second half gave Georgia Southern a 25-24 lead, but it didn't last long as Furman's Raegan Thompson answered with a basket to spark a 10-2 run punctuated by back-to-back O'Connor 3-pointers. Berry's jump shot at the 16:25 mark completed the spurt and put the Paladins up 34-27.
Furman stayed in front for the next 12 minutes until Frye drained a shot to tie the game at 45-45 with 3:11 to go.
The Paladins and O'Connor, however, checked the Eagles' comeback when the Furman senior guard stroked an 3-pointer on the ensuing possession for a 48-45 advantage, and then, following a GSU miss, converted another field goal for a 50-45 lead with 2:13 to go.
From that point Georgia Southern missed four consecutive shot attempts before Frye cashed in a layup to make it 50-47 with 39 seconds left.
Murphy drained four free throw attempts over the final 23 seconds to preserve the win.