Samford 63, Furman 54
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Emily London scored 23 points and set a new school career scoring standard in leading Samford to a 63-54 victory over Furman in women's Southern Conference basketball play Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
London scored 16 of her game high tally in the first half and delivered a key three-point play to turn back a late Furman rally to help the Bulldogs (18-6, 11-4 SoCon) secure their sixth consecutive victory. The senior guard's 23 points, which featured 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range and three free throws, gave her 1,605 career points, moving her ahead of Alex Munday (1,603 points) into first place on Samford's career scoring ledger.
The loss snapped an eight-game home winning streak for Furman (9-13, 5-8 SoCon), which got 19 points from Kaitlin Murphy.
Savannah Hill contributed 13 points and game high nine rebounds for the Bulldogs, who also got 10 points from Hannah Dawson.
Kendra Berry followed Murphy with 13 points and Kelly O'Connor finished with 11 points.
A pair of London free throws with just over six minutes to go in the game gave Samford a 55-43 lead, but Furman battled back behind an O'Connor 3-pointer and two baskets by Murphy, whose three-point play 3:57 remaining completed an 8-0 run and sliced the Bulldog advantage to 55-51.
On the ensuing possession Hill delivered a pass to a cutting London, who scored and drew the foul. The nation's leading free throw shooter the stepped to the line and buried the free throw to make it a 58-51 game with 3:33 to go.
A Berry layup 10 seconds later cut the Samford margin to 58-53, but that was a close as Furman would get the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs shot 47.1 percent for the game, connecting on 24-of-51 field goal attempts, and outscored Furman 26-12 in the paint.
The Paladins, meanwhile, found the mark on 20-of-53 shots (37.7 percent).
Samford led virtually the entire first half but Furman used a late spurt to head into intermission down 27-26.
An Ayanna Randolph jump shot a minute into the second half gave Furman a 28-27 lead - the Paladins' only advantage of the game - but Samford quickly responded with a layup by Hill to retake the lead, which it never relinquished.
The Paladins claimed a 33-31 edge on the boards with Berry and Raegan Thompson leading the way with seven caroms each.
Furman entertains Chattanooga on Monday in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.
Appalachian State 71, College of Charleston 39
CHARLESTON, S.C.- Appalachian State University women's basketball found its momentum late in the first half and never looked back, as the Mountaineers dominated College of Charleston 71-39 Saturday afternoon, to sweep the Cougars for the second straight season. The Mountaineers have now improved their winning streak to nine in a row and are 19-4 on the season, including 13-2 in league play, while the Cougars fall to 6-17 on the season and 3-11 in conference action.
After taking an 18-point halftime lead, there was no letting up for the Apps, as the squad opened the second period on a 13-2 run to take its largest lead of the game up to that point, leading 46-17.
Sam Ramirez came alive for ASU, scoring five of Appalachian's first nine points of the second period. Anna Freeman also contributed on the offensive front, as she poured in six.
Ramirez finished with nine points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals, while Anna Freeman poured in 14 points, grabbed a game-best nine rebounds and tied a career-best swiping seven steals.
Despite College of Charleston finding some life, with the Cougars posting a 14-2 run to pull within 17, Appalachian was able to thwart the CofC surge and earn its largest win of the season, beating the Cougars by 32 points.
Turnovers coupled with the Apps unable to execute early hampered ASU as the Mountaineers went the first five and a half minutes of action without a bucket. Fortunately for the Black and Gold, College of Charleston was unable to take advantage of ASU's sluggishness as both teams combined to shoot 1-12 from the floor in the opening minutes of action.
Thanks in part to strong play by freshman Hillary Southworth who provided ASU with a spark, the Black and Gold were able to find their rhythm as the squad outscored the Cougars 23-3 and held CofC to without a field goal for eight minutes, jumping on top 23-8.
Southworth along with offensive contributions from Courtney Freeman and Ashlen Dewart proved to be too much for CofC to handle as Appalachian headed into the half with a 33-15 lead.
Southworth tied a career-high with 11 points, while also recording a career-best four steals and tallying two assists.
Dewart came on late in the first period, as she scored eight of her 12 first half-points in the final four and a half minutes before the break. Dewart finished the contest with a game-best 18 points on 8-12 shooting.
Appalachian not only limited CofC to just 15 first half points, the fewest it has allowed an opponent all season, but the high intensity pressure Mountaineer defense forced 17 first half Cougar turnovers.
Continuing to click in second-half action, the Mountaineers withstood a CofC second-half push and went on to capture the impressive 71-39 win.
The Apps now get a much-need one-week reprieve from games as they continue their road stint and head to Birmingham, Ala. to battle the Bulldogs Saturday, February 12. The contest is set to start at 3 p.m. in Samford's Pete Hanna Center.
Davidson 65, Western Carolina 56
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Freshman guard Laura Murray scored a game-high 23 points, her second straight 20-point outing, and Davidson never trailed in a 65-56 Southern Conference women's basketball victory over Western Carolina at Belk Arena Saturday afternoon.
Murray was 6-of-7 from the floor, 2-for-2 from long distance and 9-for-9 from the charity stripe for the 'Cats (11-11, 6-7 SoCon). Katrin Chiemeka netted 10 points off the bench, getting seven of them at the charity stripe (7-for-7), and Sophia Aleksandravicius tallied nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Kaila'Shea Menendez led Western Carolina (6-16, 4-9 SoCon) with 21 points, and Rena Wakama scored 14.
The Wildcats held a 38-30 edge on the glass and converted 17 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.
Aleksandravicius led the way with six offensive boards, and Jasmine Calin# had five. The Wildcats also scored 23 points off of 19 Catamount turnovers.
Davidson scored the first seven points of the game, and Chloe Woodington#'s jumper in transition made the score 13-2 six minutes into the contest. The Catamounts were 1-for-11 from the field during the stretch.
The margin grew to as many as 13 points, and Davidson held a 31-20 cushion at the break. The Wildcats held Western Carolina to 24 percent shooting from the field, including 2-for-10 from long distance.
The Catamounts trimmed the lead to eight points early in the second period, but Davidson answered with five straight points, a layup by #Kristen Johnson# and a conventional 3-point play by Murray, to extend the advantage back to 13.
The 'Cats maintained the double-digit cushion until a Janae' McKinney free throw made the score 57-48 with 2:16 remaining. But Chiemeka answered with a pair of free throws, and Murray and Chiemeka combined to go 6-for-6 from the free-throw line inside the last 1:04 to ice the win.
Davidson opens a four-game road trip, its longest of the season, at College of Charleston Monday with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
GAME NOTE: Davidson is 6-2 in the last eight games... Murray went for 20-plus points for the second straight game after scoring a career-high 27 at Appalachian State Wednesday; she has done it four times this season... The 'Cats are in the midst of a stretch where they play seven games in 15 days ... Barbara Sitton pocketed a career-high eight steals, three away from the single-game school record ... Davidson was 20-for-23 at the free throw line in the second half ... Aleksandravicius' four blocks moved her into second all-time with 123 and is just 11 away from passing all-time leader Meghan Bryant.
Chattanooga 72, Wofford 45
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The UT-Chattanooga Lady Mocs outscored the Wofford Terriers 39-18 in the second half en route to a 72-45 win in Benjamin Johnson Arena Saturday afternoon in a Southern Conference game.
After only holding a slight six point half time lead, 33-27, the Lady Mocs put up 39 second half points by shooting 43 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three. They also converted eight of their 12 free throw attempts in the half. The Terriers only scored 18 points by going 23 percent from the floor and 7 percent from three, while making three of their five free throw attempts.
After UTC scored the first basket of the game on a Kayla Christopher jumper, April Moorhouse tied the game for the Terriers with a jumper of her own. The Mocs then opened up a 10-2 run to take a 12-4 just under four minutes into the action.
The Lady Mocs took their largest lead of the half, 17-6, at the 12:38 mark on a three by Tenisha Townsend, but Wofford would mount a 14-3 run over the next seven minutes to tie the game at 20 on a three by Kelly Blake.
Chattanooga bounced back with eight of the next ten points to take a 30-22 lead with 2:30 to play in the half. Wofford trimmed the lead to five points twice over the final two and half minutes, but UTC took a 33-27 lead into the locker rooms.
In the second half, it was all Chattanooga as they scored the first four points of the half to push the lead to ten points, 37-27, at the 17:21 mark. Wofford closed the lead to 38-31 on a Mahagony Williams jumper a minute later, but UTC exploded on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 52-35 lead with 9:40 to play on a Kylie Lambert three.
Five minutes later, the Lady Mocs held a 68-42 lead, but ended the game up 27 points, 72-45 to improve to 11-12 overall and 8-6 in the SoCon. Wofford falls to 6-14 and 2-10 in conference play.
Chattanooga finished the game with a 39 percent field goal percentage and a 38 percent three-point percentage. They were also 59 percent from the free throw line. Wofford ended the game with 28 percent from the floor, 18 percent from three and 75 percent from the free throw line. It was the Terriers second lowest shooting percent on the season.
UTC held a plus ten rebound margin 48-38 and 14-8 on the offensive glass over Wofford. The Lady Mocs scored 19 second chance points compared to the Terriers four.
Chattanooga also held a plus ten points in the paint margin 22-12, and received 23 points off their bench compared to five points from the Wofford bench.
Williams lead all scorers with 17 points by going 7-of-13 from the floor. She also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Rachel Brittenham passed out five assists, and Kelly Blake scored a career-high nine points.
For the Lady Mocs, Kylie Lambert scored 15 points including 12 points in the second half. Christopher and Townsend added 12 points and ten points respectively. Lambert also grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while Bailey Dewart had a game-high four steals.
Wofford will return to the hardwood Monday as Samford enters the BenJo at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs won the first contest between the two teams 79-62 in Birmingham, Alabama on January 4.
Georgia Southern 68, UNCG 67
STATESBORO, Ga. - Just three seconds after Monique Floyd hit what looked like the game-winner for UNC Greensboro (10-12, 7-7), Meredyth Frye went coast-to-coast for Georgia Southern (10-13, 7-7) and dropped in the final shot in a 68-67 thriller Saturday, February 5th. The Lady Eagles won their eighth-straight home game and ninth of the season thanks in part to a supportive crowd of 1,142 at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Lady Eagles forced two inbound plays and a pair of timeouts during Greensboro's final possession, but Floyd dropped in a layup out of the second timeout with eight seconds remaining.
Samantha Williams, who surpassed her career-high for points in back-to-back games, threw in the inbound pass to Frye with just 4.7 remaining on the clock. Frye quickly crossed the length of the court and split two defenders for the layup.
Lead changes defined the game. The two teams exchanged the lead 15 times and were tied four times.
Williams led the Lady Eagles with 18 points, five assists and six rebounds. Frye added 16 points and scored in double figures for the 13th time this year. Monique Floyd led all scorers and the Spartans with 27 points and nine rebounds.
Georgia Southern used the same lineup for the second-straight game. Danielle Spencer responded to her third-straight start and scored nine points and blocked two shots.
The two teams exchanged the lead four times in the first half before UNC Greensboro opened up a 17-12 lead with 8:44 to play. Georgia Southern held a one-point lead twice and was ahead 8-7 with 14:24 remaining. Williams drained a jumper in both instances putting the Lady Eagles on top. Georgia Southern ripped off a 6-0 run to pull within two points, 20-18, of the Spartans, but Brey Dorsett drained a trey with 3:27 left in the first half to put Greensboro back on top by five points.
Georgia Southern trailed by only a point, 25-24, with 1:51 remaining in the first half after Williams drained a basket from behind the arc. The two teams traded a pair of jumpers before Dayshaun Richbow hit a floater as time expired to give the Spartans a 29-26 halftime lead.
Williams paced the Lady Eagles in the first period with nine points and two assists. Jamie Navarro played nearly the entire first half and was one of three Georgia Southern players to pull down four boards. Monique Floyd led the Spartans with eight points and five rebounds, while Janae Stevenson added six points in 12 minutes of action.
Georgia Southern quickly tied the game at 33-33 in the first four minutes of the second half. Frye capped off a 7-2 run with a pair of free throws, but UNC Greensboro quickly responded and took an eight point lead. Ro-Ro Smith (Blackshear, Ga.), along with Williams gave the Lady Eagles their first lead of the second half. Williams pulled off a three-point play to end a 9-0 run.
Georgia Southern takes on Elon Monday, February 7th in the finale of the two-game homestand. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Lady Eagles will have seven days off before hitting the road for Western Carolina on February 14th.