Davidson 55, Appalachian State 52
BOONE, N.C. — Sophia Aleksandravicius tallied game highs of 17 points, 20 rebounds and seven blocks, including her final one that sealed the Wildcats win, as they pulled out a 55-52 nail-biter at Appalachian State on Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference women’s basketball action at the Holmes Center.
The 6-foot-4 Wildcat forward did it all for Davidson (11-6, 7-1 SoCon) as the Wildcats shook off a terrible shooting first half to snap their six-game losing streak against the Mountaineers. She had a double-double in the second half alone with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Aleksandravicius’ 20 rebounds were a career-best, while for the second straight game, she matched her own school record in blocks.
Davidson shot 52 percent in the second half to off-set a season-low 19 percent shooting performance in the first period.
After Kristen Johnsen gave the ‘Cats a 55-52 lead with a pair of free throws and 17 seconds left, ASU had one last chance to tie things up. But Davidson’s defense, much like it did all game, stepped up, forcing the Mountaineers to call a timeout with just four seconds left. Out of the thirty-second break, Katie Mallow tried to force up a shot, but Aleksandravicius was right there to swat it away for the win.
Davidson held ASU (11-3, 5-1 SoCon) to 26.9 percent shooting, including just 21 percent in the second half (8-39).
Johnsen recorded her first double-double of the season with season bests of 13 points and 10 rebounds. The junior was clutch in the second period. Down 32-27 in the early stages of the second half, she helped spark an 11-5 run with six points in a row that turned a five-point deficit into 38-37 Wildcat lead, their first of the game.
Shneeka Center was also big in the second half, getting all of her eight points and five rebounds in the half. During the run, the sophomore canned a trey and hit a put-back bucket. Later, she converted an and-one play that broke up a 50-all tie with 1:21 remaining and gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
Laura Murray gave Davidson a trio of double-figure scorers with 10 points.
The Mountaineers put two players in double figures with Kelsey Sharkey and Chakeitha Weldon netting 10 points each. ASU’s leading scorer, Anna Freeman, was held to just eight points, 11 below her season average.
Davidson struggled in the first half to get in any kind of offensive flow, missing 12 of its first 13 shots to start the contest. ASU did not shoot much better either, hitting only 10-of-28 shots and scoring just six points in the final nine and half minutes, which allowed the Wildcats to stay close.
Down 18-6, Murray sparked an 11-2 run with back-to-back triples and an Aleksandracivius free throw got Davidson to within three at 20-17 with 3:42 on the clock. Two more free throws, this time by Murray, made it 24-19 to close out the half.
The Wildcats return home for a three-game homestand starting on Saturday, Jan. 21 against Samford at 2 p.m.
UNCG 55, Georgia Southern 54
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Natalie Headley’s putback jumper in the lane with just 2.2 seconds left capped a wild finish and lifted UNCG to a 55-54 Southern Conference win over Georgia Southern on Sunday, snapping the Spartans’ nine-game losing streak.
The Spartans (3-13, 2-6 SoCon) led 50-36 with 5:21 left, but Janay Wilson’s pair of free throws started a 13-1 run that saw Georgia Southern (5-12, 1-7 SoCon) pull within two points with just over a minute to go.
UNCG’s Janae’ Stevenson hit a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left to make it a two-possession game again, but MiMi DuBose drained a long 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 53-52 with 32.9 seconds left.
The Lady Eagles put Headley on the free throw line for a one-and-one opportunity to stop the clock with 22.7 seconds left, but Headley missed the front end. Stephenson came up with a huge offensive rebound for the Spartans, but her follow layup up rolled off the rim and Wilson came away with the rebound. She fired down the court and hit DuBose in stride, with DuBose getting a layup to fall with 13.2 seconds left to give GSU a 54-53 advantage and its first lead since midway through the first half.
After a UNCG timeout with 12.3 seconds left, Dayshaun Richbow missed a short-range jumper with about four seconds remaining. Headley grabbed the offensive board and quickly got off the winning jumper, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
The Lady Eagles had one last chance at the win, but DuBose’s half-court prayer as time expired went off the back rim and the Spartans survived.
Headley’s 10 points led a balanced attack for UNCG, which got nine points from Breonna Patterson, eight each from Stevenson, Richbow and Jarae Savage and seven from Jazz Weaver. UNCG’s bench outscored GSU’s 27-8 on the afternoon.
DuBose had a season- and game-high 19 points for the Lady Eagles, while Meredyth Frye just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
Georgia Southern jumped out to an early six-point lead in the contest, but the Spartans turned in a 23-6 run over a 10-minute stretch in the first half to claim a 28-17 advantage.
Freshman April Carson got the spurt started with a 3-pointer from the corner, while Patterson sandwiched a pair of triples around Richbow’s turnaround jumper and Savage hit back-to-back layups as the Spartans blitzed GSU.
Weaver then got hot, scoring seven of UNCG’s next 11 points and capping the run with a 3-pointer of her own. UNCG led at the half for just the fourth time this season, taking a 28-21 advantage into the locker room.
UNCG led by double digits for much of the second half before the Lady Eagles made their late run. Every time GSU got back within single digits, the Spartans seemed to have an answer before Georgia Southern strung together its closing spurt.
Savage and Richbow led UNCG with six rebounds each as the Spartans won the rebounding battle for just the third time on the season, 39-38. Stevenson and Harmon had five each, while Stevenson blocked a career-high four shots and moved into sole possession of seventh place in UNCG history with 61 in her career.
The Spartans held GSU to just 2-for-13 shooting from 3-point range, good for a 15.4 percent effort.
UNCG will try to make it two in a row when it takes on Furman at Fleming Gym on Saturday. The contest tips at 2 p.m.
Elon 51, College of Charleston 46
ELON, N.C. – An Ali Ford three-pointer with less than three minutes to play capped a 15-4 run for the Elon women’s basketball team that lifted the Phoenix to a 51-46 victory over the College of Charleston Cougars on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 15, inside Alumni Gym.
Trailing by eight midway through the second half, the Phoenix battled back and tied the game at 42-all with 2:55 to play after Sam Coffer buried a deep jumper from the top of the key.
Twenty-six seconds later after a CofC miss, Ford put the maroon and gold faithful in Alumni Gym on their feet after connecting with a deep three-ball to put Elon ahead, 45-42, and force Cougars head coach Nancy Wilson to call a timeout.
It was all Elon from that point forward, as the Phoenix kept CofC at arm’s length for the final 2:26 with stingy defense and key free throws to secure its second-straight Southern Conference win and even its league record to 4-4 on the year (8-9 overall). College of Charleston falls to 3-14 (2-6 SoCon) with the setback.
Ford led all scorers with 15 points in the victory, including two makes from beyond the arc. Ford is now four three-pointers shy of breaking Lorretta Lawson’s all-time record of 234. Ford also finished the night with five rebounds and a game-high five assists.
Kelsey Evans was the second Elon play to finish in double figures with 12 points and seven boards. Aiesha Harper ended the day with nine points, three assists and five rebounds.
Elon outrebounded College of Charleston 48-44 in the win and outscored the Cougars 20-14 in the paint.
The Phoenix made it a two-point game at intermission after Harper took the ball 94-feet for a layup following a College of Charleston missed jumper. Elon shot 10-of-33 (30 percent) from the field in the opening frame and held the Cougars to a 27-percent clip on 8-of-30 shooting. The Phoenix ended the night shooting 33 percent from the field, while limiting the Cougars to a 25-percent mark.
The Cougars began the second half on a 7-0 run after Alyssa Frye split a pair of free throws to make it a 32-23 game with 17:08 to play.
Elon hit its first field goal of the second half at the 13:41 mark after Ford found Shannen Cochraham under the basket for a layup to make it a 32-28 game.
From there, the Phoenix outscored the Cougars 23-14 to help secure the win.
Elon returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 18, for a noon-tip at Western Carolina.
Samford 82, Wofford 59
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford women’s basketball had five players score in double figures on its way to an 82-59 Southern Conference win over Wofford Sunday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
The win was Samford’s fourth-straight overall and fifth-straight in SoCon play. The Bulldogs improve to 10-6 overall and 5-2 in league games. Wofford falls to 9-7 overall and 2-5 in SoCon play.
Samford was led in scoring by freshman forward Taylor Reece with 16 points. Junior guard Jazmine Martin scored a career-high 15 points, making 7-of-9 shots from the floor. Junior forward Hannah Dawson scored 13 points, pulled down eight rebounds, tying a career high, and dished out a career-high five assists.
Samford sophomore forward Christy Robinson scored a career-high 12 points. Sophomore guard Shelby Campbell added 12 points in the win. The Samford bench outscored the Wofford reserves, 42-18.
For Wofford, Daniella Motley led the way with 19 points. April Moorhouse added 10 points for the Terriers.
In the first half, the game was close early on. With Samford trailing, 6-4, the Bulldogs went on a 16-2 run to take a 20-8 lead with 10:46 to go in the first half after a jumper by Martin. Wofford cut the lead to eight points at 22-14 with 9:19 to go in the opening period after a jumper by Motley.
Samford pushed its lead out to 15 points at 33-18 with 6:36 left in the half after a three-pointer by Dawson. Wofford, however, scored the final five points of the half to cut the Samford lead to 10 points at 33-23 heading into halftime.
In the second half, with Samford leading, 40-30, the Bulldogs went on a 14-3 run to push its lead to 21 points at 54-33 with 12:44 left after a pair of free throws by Jazmine Powers. Wofford fought back to cut the lead to 16 at 54-38 with 11:27 to go after a layup by Morgan Wrightson.
Samford pushed its lead back out to 21 at 59-38 with 10:09 to go after a layup by Campbell. With Samford leading, 65-46, Wofford went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 14 points at 67-53 with 4:50 to go after a three-point play by Lauren Kirby.
The Bulldogs then went on a 14-2 run to push its lead out to a game-high 26 points at 81-55 with 1:26 left after a three-pointer by Robinson. Wofford scored four of the last five points of the game to make the final score 82-59.
As a team, Samford made a season-high 56.6 percent of its shots from the floor, and the 82 points are the most the Bulldogs have scored in a game this season. Wofford shot 41.3 percent overall for the game. Samford outrebounded Wofford, 27-25.
Samford will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when the Bulldogs begin a three-game road swing with a game at Chattanooga. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start.
Chattanooga 71, Furman 53
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Whitney Hood and sophomore Taylor Hall posted double-doubles to lead the Lady Mocs to a 71-53 Southern Conference women's basketball victory over Furman Sunday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena. The Lady Mocs improve to 12-4 overall and 7-0 in league play while the Paladins fall to 9-8 on the year and 5-3 in SoCon action.
Hood posted her second double-double of the year with a game-high 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds while Hall recorded a career-high 15 rebounds and dropped in 10 points for her third double-double this season and added a career-high three blocked shots.
Chattanooga got out to a slow start with Furman scoring the first five points of the game. The Lady Mocs responded with five from Hall for the first tie of the game, but the Paladins retook the lead and were up 17-9 with 9:28 to play in the first half.
Over the next 7:20, however, Hood and junior Kayla Christopher combined for 17 points in an 18-7 Chattanooga run giving the Lady Mocs its largest lead of the half at 27-24 with 1:43 to play in the opening stanza. Furman scored the final three points of the half, tying it up for the fourth time at 27-27.
The second half started with a quick 3-pointer from Fuman's Brigid Morrissey and that would be the Paladin's last lead of the game. Chattanooga responded with a 12-3 run to take a 39-33 lead. Furman answered with a layup from Teshia Griswold making it a four-point game with 12:52 to play.
The turn in momentum came for Chattanooga with 12:33 on the clock. Hall nailed a 3-pointer and got a block on the other end seconds later and a fastbreak 3-pointer from Christopher quickly put the Lady Mocs up 45-35 for their first double-digit lead. Sophomore Alex Black followed with a quick layup for eight unanswered points from the Lady Mocs.
Chattanooga kepts its foot on the gas from there on out and continued the double-digit lead for the remainder of the game outscoring the Paladins 24-18 over the final 11 minutes of play.
Christopher also had a huge night for the Lady Mocs with 18 points and five assists. Junior Kylie Lambert made all six of her free throw attempts in the closing minutes and ended with eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Tenisha Townsend connected on a pair of second-half 3-pointers for six points, three assists and three steals.
After shooting just 1-of-11 from the 3-point line in the first half, Chattanooga was 5-of-10 in the second and shot 45.7 percent (16-of-35) in the latter stanza from the field. The Lady Mocs were 15-of-19 from the free throw line and pulled down a season-high 56 rebounds, outdueling Furman on the boards by 56-35.
The Paladins were led by Brittany Hodges 14 points and five rebounds. Raegan Thompson had 11 points on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and seven rebounds. Lashana Booker was the team's high rebounder with nine boards.
Chattanooga outscored Furman 38-26 in the paint and had 12 second chance points off 19 offensive rebounds. The Paladins had 10 fastbreak points to Chattanooga's two and scored 13 points off 15 Chattanooga miscues.
The Lady Mocs will host Samford Wednesday evening at the McKenzie Arena at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs are 10-6 overall and 5-2 in the SoCon with a win over Wofford today.