UNCG 57, Western Carolina 53
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG used a balanced scoring attack and got a pair of layups to fall with less than 4 seconds left to snap a 53-all tie and hand coach Lynne Agee her 600th career win on Monday, 57-53 over Western Carolina.
Agee becomes just the 14th active Division I coach and 21st Division I coach overall to reach the 600-win mark.
"It's hard to think about it in that light," Agee said. "When I see those who've reached the 600 plateau, I'm not the big-time name that you read when you read that list. I've had an opportunity here with great challenges to elevate a program, in all three divisions, from III to II to I. I've had an awful lot of talented players who have won a lot of ball games. You don't win 600 by doing anything special, you win 600 by having people who can win the game and put the ball in the hole, and they've been very successful.
"It's a tribute to a lot of players who have passed through the system as well as all the coaches who've helped on my staff over the years. Longtime associate (head coach) Carol Peschel, who was a player here herself and actually started our program as the first All-American in 1981 when we came here. It's been a terrific ride over these 30 years, and to accomplish the 600 mark was not a personal goal of mine by any means, but it sure does put a nice touch to the years that we've put in and the years that UNCG has given me."
The Spartans (11-12, 8-7 Southern Conference) handed Agee the milestone win in dramatic fashion, getting the go-ahead bucket with less than 5 seconds left on the clock for the second straight game. Unlike Saturday at Georgia Southern, however, UNCG held on for the win.
Western Carolina' Kaila'Shea Menendez scored the last of her career-high 22 points with 12 seconds left, dropping in a layup to tie the game at 53.
With yet another game this season going down to the wire, UNCG's Monique Floyd brought the ball up the floor, worked to the left block and got the go-ahead layup to fall with 3.3 seconds remaining. Sophomore Dayshaun Richbow then stole the Catamounts' inbounds pass and laid it in to make it a two-possession game with just 1.3 seconds left, setting off a wild celebration at Fleming Gymnasium.
Floyd and Richbow finished with nine points each to pace the Spartans, while Janae' Stevenson, Amanda Leigh and Brey Dorsett had eight each.
Menendez's 22 points led Western Carolina (6-17, 4-10 SoCon), while Rena Wakama had 10.
The Spartans led by as many as 13 in the second half, but saw the Catamounts turn in an 18-2 run midway through the frame to match their largest lead of the game at 43-40 with 8:57 left. Wakama had eight her points in the spurt, while Menendez had seven.
UNCG, meanwhile, was mired in a terrible shooting slump, as Floyd's jumper with 6:46 left was the Spartans' first field goal since Breonna Patterson's three-point play made it a 13-point game nearly 9 minutes earlier.
Now up 43-42 and with momentum clearly on its side, Western Carolina started to unravel.
After Dorsett stole the ball from her, Menendez bumped Dorsett to the ground, picking up the foul. As Dorsett was getting back up, Menendez knocked her down again and was whistled for a technical foul. Dorsett hit the back end of the two-shot foul to tie the game at 43 and UNCG would not trail again.
On Western's next trip down the court, Kristen Lyon had her layup waved off as she was called for an offensive foul. Less than a minute later, Richbow stole the ball from Wakama near midcourt and Wakama fouled her trying to recover. Richbow drained both free throws.
Another offensive foul by the Catamounts gave the ball back to UNCG, and Dorsett hit a 3-pointer to make it a five-point spread.
A Caitlin Hollifield layup cut it back to three but a Sarah Folwell 3-pointer made it a six-point game at 51-46 with just over 3 minutes to play. Hollifield and Dorsett traded bucket after a Diamond Hunnicutt free throw, and Menendez's 3-pointer with 58.3 seconds left drew WCU within two at 53-51 before her layup tied it in the waning seconds.
UNCG returns to action on Thursday at Elon. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern 71, Elon 69 (OT)
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team (11-13, 8-7) went to the brink again and pulled out the 71-69 overtime win over Elon (15-8, 9-5) Monday night. The Lady Eagles extended their home win streak to nine games despite trailing by as many as four points in overtime.
Four players scored in double figures for Georgia Southern, but it was a last-minute three from Jamie Navarro that sent the Lady Eagles to overtime. A pair of free throws from Samantha Williams with 25 seconds left in the extra period put GSU on top for good.
Meredyth Frye led Georgia Southern with 16 points and went six for eight from the free throw line. Williams added 14 points and a game high five assists in 34 minutes, while Ro-Ro Smith scored a career high 13 points. Navarro added 13 points and five rebounds but fouled out early in overtime.
Ali Ford scored 26 points for Elon on 8-19 shooting from the floor. Kelsey Evans added 15 points and six rebounds, while Julie Taylor scored 10 for the Phoenix.
Elon quickly opened up a four-point lead in overtime, but Georgia Southern responded with a 9-3 run over the final two minutes to grab the 71-69 win. The Lady Eagles hit six free throws during that stretch. Frye hit a trey with 1:47 remaining to cut the lead to one point, before Williams hit a pair of free throws.
Georgia Southern trailed early in the first half but took a 9-8 lead at the 15:13 mark and held on for the remainder of the period, leading 32-26 at halftime. Frye led the Lady Eagles with seven points, while Smith tallied six points.
Georgia Southern posted lead of the night, 20-12, on a Aishya Wofford jumper with 9:53 to play. The Lady Eagles had their lead cut to to just two points twice in the five minutes before intermission but responded with a basket each time.
Georgia Southern extended its lead to 10 points out of the halftime break. Navarro hit a free throw at the 16:46 mark to give the Lady Eagles the 38-28 advantage. However, a 12-7 run over the next 3:42 put Elon back on top for the first time since 15:34 mark in the first half. Candice Silas drained a fast break layup to give the Phoenix a 46-45 lead.
Elon led for the next 9:34, but Georgia Southern kept it close allowing a Phoenix lead of no more than four points. Smith went to line and drained a pair of free throws 1:46 to play to cut the Elon lead to one before Navarro tied the game at 57-57 with 1:26 to go. The Phoenix jumped back ahead by three points, 60-57, but a Navarro trey tied the game at 60-60. Frye took the final shot of the contest but was unable to recreate the same magic from Saturday night when she hit the game winner against UNC Greensboro on Saturday.
Georgia Southern returns to action next Monday at Western Carolina. The Lady Eagles return to Hanner Fieldhouse two days later to face the College of Charleston on February 16th.
Samford 68, Wofford 48
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford College women's basketball team continued their seven-game slide with a 68-48 defeat at the hands of the Samford Bulldogs Monday in a Southern Conference game in the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Wofford, who has won since January 13, has dropped seven straight and falls to 6-15 overall and 2-11 in the SoCon. With the win, Samford, who has reeled off seven straight wins now improves to 19-6 overall and 11-4 in conference play.
A Logan Morris three for Wofford at the seventeen minute mark tied the game at seven, it would be the last time the game would be tied. Samford mounted a 9-0 run to take a 16-7 lead capped off by a Shelby Campbell layup with 13:20 to play in the half.
The Terriers cut the lead to 18-13 three minutes later on Morris three, but the Bulldogs responded with a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 30-13 lead with seven minutes to play.
Wofford was unable to trim the lead as Samford took a 40-24 lead into the locker rooms.
At the break, Wofford had 18 turnovers that led to 21 Samford points. The Terriers only forced ten Bulldogs turnovers that resulted in four points.
Samford came out of the half and quickly pushed to lead to 52-29 on a Paige Anderson three with 16:52 to play. The lead hit 26 points, 59-33, at the nine minute mark on a Jazmine Powers layup.
Wofford outscored Samford 15-9 over the final nine minutes of play, as the Bulldogs took the game 68-48.
The Terriers ended the game with 26 turnovers resulting in 30 Bulldog points. Samford only turned the ball over 18 times, which lead to 10 Wofford points.
Samford outshot the Terriers 54 percent from the field and 35 percent from three, while Wofford was 39 percent overall and 24 percent from long range. Samford, who leads the league in free throw percentage was 50 percent from the charity stripe, while Wofford, who is seventh in the conference, was 33 percent from the line. The two teams were a dismal 7-of-25 from the line in the second half.
The Terriers were led in scoring by April Moorhouse and Mahagony Williams with 11 points apiece. Williams also had a game-high nine rebounds. Logan Morris contributed with eight points, all of which came in the first half of play. Rachel Brittenham had a team-high three assists.
With her 11 points, Williams moves into ninth place all-time with 1,077 points.
For Samford, Emily London notched 13 points by going 4-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-7 from three-point range. Hannah Dawson and Paige Anderson had nine points apiece. Savannah Hill handed out a game-high four assists and grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Wofford will return to the court with a road trip to Western Carolina on February 9. Tipoff is schedule for 7 p.m.
Chattanooga 83, Furman 65
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Junior Whitney Hood and sophomore Kayla Christopher combined for 47 points to lead the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lady Mocs to an 83-65 Southern Conference women's basketball win over Furman Monday night at Timmons Arena.
The Lady Mocs (12-12, 9-6 SoCon) started strong leading 23-5 at the 13:05 mark. Hood had eight points in the run while Christopher drained six points.
Furman (9-14, 5-9 SoCon) was 0-for-9 to start the game before a free throw followed by a jumper put the Paladins on the board trailing 14-3 at the 15:38 mark. Chattanooga went on to outscore Furman 9-2 over the next 2:32 for the 23-5 lead. The Lady Mocs led by as much as 19 points in the first half and put up a season-best 42 first half points to lead 42-29 at the break.
Hood was 6-for-10 with a game high 13 points at the half, while Christopher was 5-for-8 from the field with 10 points. Junior Bailey Dewart had six of her career-high-tying 11 rebounds in the first half.
Furman started the second half with five straight points to cut the lead to eight points, 42-34, with 18:45 to play, and would get that close twice more before Chattanooga would put it away. Furman's Martha Robinson cut the lead to 51-43 with 15:14 to play but Hood and Christopher, with six points apiece, pushed Chattanooga up to a 63-45 lead three minutes later.
The two teams only managed a basket between them over the next 4:11 before Chattanooga got nine points from four different players and take its largest lead of the game, 74-52 on a jumper from sophomore Kylie Lambert with 5:39 to play in the game.
Hood was 12-of-18 from the field and led all scorers with 25 points and four assists. Christopher was 9-of-16 from the field including a 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, for 22 points in the game. Her four long-range bombs gives her 107 for her career, tying her with former player and current UTC assistant coach Katie Galloway Burrows for 10th on the Lady Mocs' all-time charts.
Lambert was 3-for-7 with a 3-pointer and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for nine points and junior Tenisha Townsend was 3-for-7 from the field with two 3-pointers and a game-high tying five assists. Dewart had a game-high 11 boards and dished out four assists
Furman had four players in double figures led by Kaitlin Murphy's 17 points. Raegan Thompson had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds and five assists for the Paladins while Kelly O'Connor chipped in 11 and Kendra Berry had 10.
Chattanooga outscored Furman in the paint 22-16 and had nine points off 11 Paladin turnovers compared to one point off nine UTC miscues for Furman. Both teams managed 43 rebounds with the Paladins pulling in 17 offensive boards. The Lady Mocs shot 47.9 percent from the field making 34-of-71 and was 10-of-27 from beyond the arc.
Chattanooga returns to the McKenzie Arena Saturday, February 12 to host Davidson in a 6 p.m. matchup.
College of Charleston 61, Davidson 52
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Tonia Gerty notched her 60th career double-figure scoring game with 19 points as the Cougars picked up the victory 61-52 Monday night at Carolina First Arena.
Gerty had plenty of help as freshman Janae Smith scored in double-figures for the ninth time in her last 11 games with 11 points. Junior Ariel Hatcher added nine points and sophomore Cathryn Hardy pitched in with eight points.
The Cougars (7-17, 4-11) controlled the boards with a 42-34 rebounding advantage. Six different CofC athletes collected at least five rebounds for the game.
Gerty scored five of the first seven Cougars points and got her team out to a 10-4 lead over the Wildcats (11-12, 6-8).
CofC used excellent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc as they shot over 56 percent and converted 9-for-16 threes and opposed to Davidson's 2-for-16 performance.
With 2:10 left in the game the Cougars found themselves down 52-50 and Head Coach Nancy Wilson called a timeout. The Cougars broke the huddle and made the most of their first possession as Smith knocked down a three-pointer to give her team a 53-52 edge.
The Cougars converted their free-throws down the stretch to secure the game and put it in the win column.
CofC showed its depth as they outscored the Wildcats 20-3 in points off the bench and held Davidson to under 38 percent shooting from the field.
The Cougars resume play on Feb. 12 as they travel to Greensboro for a matchup with UNCG on Saturday at 2 p.m.