Chattanooga 80, No.20 Tennessee 71

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team knocked off the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for arguably its biggest regular season win prompting the student section to empty out and storm the court to celebrate. The Lady Mocs outscored the 20th-ranked Lady Vols 52-43 in the second half for an 80-71 win in front of 8,468 fans in the season-opener for both teams, at the McKenzie Arena Friday night.

The game was the head coaching debut for Tennessee’s (0-1) Holly Warlick who took over after the retirement last season of legendary head coach Pat Summitt (1974-2012) who was in attendance for the matchup.

Chattanooga (1-0) started the second half making 6-of-7 from the field led by junior Taylor Hall’s back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Lady Mocs up 34-29. Classmates Faith Dupree, Alex Black and Ashlen Dewart joined in to put Chattanooga up 43-35 less than four minutes into the half.

Tennessee’s Meighan Simmons, who had just two points in the first half, pushed to get her team back into the game with back-to-back layups cutting UTC’s lead to 43-39 at the 15:04 mark. Hall responded with a put back followed by a crushing 3-pointer from senior Kayla Christopher that brought the crowd to its feet and put UTC up 48-39 with 12:55 to play.

Simmons again stepped up, hitting a trey of her own, but the Lady Mocs got the next five points with a layup from Dupree and a jumper from Black to give UTC its first double-digit lead of the game at 52-42 with 11:37 to play.

Tennessee would get no closer than six the remainder of the game as Chattanooga’s defense never let up. The Lady Mocs forced 26 UTK miscues, resulting in 27 points. The two teams were evenly matched in the paint with each getting 34 points while the Knoxville school outrebounded UTC 53-31 with 22 offensive boards.

Simmons put together a 3-point play, drawing a foul on a layup to make it 59-52 at the 6:23 mark, but Hall put back a missed jumper, followed that with a defensive rebound then went coast-to-coast for a layup and drew the foul to convert an old-fashioned 3-point play to give UTC a 64-52 lead at the 5:38 mark.

Chattanooga was not complacent with its lead, however. Tennessee continued to fight back with five straight points from Simmons, who had 21 second half points, to make it 64-57 less than a minute later, but Christopher responded with a jumper. After a pair of free throws from UT’s Isabelle Harrison, senior Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) and a layup from Dewart, the Lady Mocs lead was back in the double digits at 70-59 with 2:31 to play.

Chattanooga’s lead fell back to just seven points, 72-65, with 1:11 to play, but the Lady Mocs were able to convert all eight free throws to finish the game to go to 1-0 on the year.

The high-scoring game started slow with Chattanooga getting the first two points from Black a minute-and-a-half into the game. It would be nearly 2:30 before Tennessee tied it 2-2 on a jumper from Cierra Burdick. Chattanooga led at the start of the half, but a push from Tennessee got the Lady Vols out front by as much as nine points with 7:47 to go in the opening stanza.

The Lady Mocs went on a 14-0 run, however, over the next 5:37 to take a 24-20 lead, their largest of the half. With Chattanooga leading 28-25 as the half neared, Ariel Massengale dropped in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to knot it up at the half.

Hall led all scorers with career-high tying 24 points, including 15 in the second half and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. She had career-best in both assists (5) and steals with four.  She was 9-of-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Black had 14 points for UTC with a pair of 3-pointers and two assists. Christopher was the third Chattanooga player in double figures with 11 points, sinking all four of her free throw attempts and dishing out three assists.

The Lady Mocs shot 56.3 percent (18-of-32) in the second half and was 7-of-19 from the 3-point line. UTC is now 1-18 against the Lady Vols in the Division I Era.

Tennessee was led in scoring by Simmons with 23 points. She was 9-of-25 from the floor and 1-of-8 from the 3-point line while making four of her five free throw attempts. She had three assists, four turnovers and three steals. Isabelle Harrison recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, eight off the offensive glass. Bashaara Graves was the third Tennessee player in double figures with 14 points and missed out on a double-double with eight rebounds.

UTK was 24-of-63 from the field and got 25 points from its bench. From the 3-point line, the Lady Vols were 3-of-16 and went 20-of-29 from the charity stripe.

The Lady Mocs return to action on the road Wednesday, November 14 when they head to Nashville to take on Belmont at the Curb Event Center. The game is slated to tip at 7 p.m. EST.

College of Charleston 56, Coastal Carolina 38

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women’s basketball team forced 34 turnovers to beat Coastal Carolina 56-38 and get head coach Natasha Adair her first head coaching win Friday at TD Arena.

Senior Latisha Harris led the way for the Cougars (1-0, 0-0) as she registered a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Alyssa Frye scored 14 points and fellow junior Afreyea Tolbert added 12 points.

The defenses won the first 10 minutes of the game as Coastal Carolina (0-1, 0-0) took a 6-4 lead at the 11:38 mark of the first half. The Chanticleers extended the lead to 8-4 at the 9:47 mark, before the Cougars used a 10-2 run over the next 4:41 to gain a 14-10 advantage.

Harris had 12 of her game-high 17 points in the first half and the Cougars were up 27-22 at the break.

In the second half the Cougars picked up the defense even more and held Coastal Carolina to 16 points on 5-for-25 shooting (20 percent). The Cougars scored 29 points in the half, led by Tolbert who had nine of her 12 in the second period.

Senior Cathryn Hardy contributed on defense with a career-high five steals and grabbed nine rebounds. As a team the Cougars collected 23 offensive rebounds.

Adair coached her first game as a head coach with her parents, sister, husband, daughter and son all in the stands. Her mother Evelyn, who will celebrate her 71st birthday on Saturday, was recognized prior to the game.

Up next the Cougars travel to Storrs, Conn., to play the No. 2 ranked Connecticut Huskies Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Appalachian State 92, Lees-McRae 54

BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University women’s basketball overcame a pesky Lees-McRae team to win its season opener, 91-54, on Friday night at the Holmes Center.

The Mountaineers (1-0) started the game uncharacteristically cold from the floor, falling behind by seven points (10-3) early in the contest as the Bobcats started the game on fire offensively.

Lees-McRae struck first on a three-point bucket from Lauren Lewis, who connected from deep just moments later to stake the Bobcats to an early 8-2 lead.

The Mountaineers would chip away at the deficit with a quick 5-0 run to make it 10-8 before finally tying the contest , 17-17, on an Anna Freeman three-pointer with just over 10 minutes left to play.

The Bobcats would regain the lead minutes later  after a jumper from Alyssa Munson made it 21-19 with 8:27 on the clock, but App State took the lead for good when LaShawna Gatewood put in an easy layup to give the Mountaineers a 23-21 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.

Appalachian took its first double-digit (43-33) lead after Courtney Freeman connected on a pair of free throws in the final two minutes and went into the half with a 45-36 lead.

The Mountaineers would find their stride early in the second half as they began to pull away. Appalachian outscored Lees-McRae 21-4 through the first nine minutes of play to push its lead to 29 points (69-40) and never led by less than 25 points the rest of the way en route to an emphatic seaspn-opening win.

C. Freeman led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting while A. Freeman poured in 18 and dished out four assists. Maryah Sydnor fell just shy of a double-double with 15 points and eight boards and Kelsey Sharkey added 12 points and eight rebounds. Michelle Taylor, making just her eighth collegiate start, scored five points, dished out five assists and tallied three steals.

Lees-McRae was paced by a team-high 14 points from Lauren Lewis while three other Bobcats finished with eight points. The Bobcats were held to just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from the floor in the second half after shooting 50.0 percent in the first.

Appalachian State finished with 37 rebounds to Lees-McRae’s 27. The Mountaineers forced 38 turnovers and tallied 21 steals while committing 25 turnovers of their own. The Apps shot an in impressive 52.9 percent (37-of-70) from the floor.

The Apps return to action when they head to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. That game is schedule for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Blacksburg, Va.

Furman 68, Tusculum 49

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Teshia Griswold scored a game high 16 points and Brittany Hodges registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to power Furman past Tusculum, 68-49, in the 2012-13 season opener for both teams Friday evening at Timmons Arena.

Griswold, who canned 5-of-10 field goals and four free throw opportunities, scored 11 of her 16 points in the first half to help Furman (1-0) grab an early 7-0 lead en route to a 42-23 halftime advantage.

Hodges, meanwhile, overcame foul trouble by getting to the free throw line 11 times for the Paladins, who outscored the Pioneers by 18 points at the charity stripe, converting 20-of-31 opportunities.

Janice Roberts rounded out Furman’s double figure scoring trio with 11 points, which she combined with four rebounds, three steals, and a block.

Breaira Barksdale led Tusculum with 13 points and Kendal Baxter added 10 points for the Pioneers.

Furman shot effectively (15-of-31, 48.0 percent) and turned the ball over five times in the first half to take control of the game and finished the contest shooting 44.0 percent from the field.  The Paladins also forged a 46-41 advantage on the boards.

Furman returns to action on Tuesday when it entertains High Point in a 5:30 p.m. game in Timmons Arena prior to the Paladin men’s 8:00 p.m. contest against Southern Wesleyan.

South Carolina 77, Elon 44

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team opened up the regular season tonight, Nov. 9, in Colonial Life Arena as the Phoenix (0-1) fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0) by a final of 77-44.

The Gamecocks outscored the Phoenix, 22-5, off second chance points and claimed 24 of its 77 points in the paint. The Phoenix and the Gamecocks were fairly even on the glass in the first 20 minutes as South Carolina brought down 16 to Elon’s 15, but USC finished with a 53-33 advantage.

Shon Redmond scored a team-high 10 points, while Kelsey Evans and Ali Ford both finished with eight points. Kelsey Harris led Elon on the glass with nine boards.

Elon shot 29 percent from the field on 16-of-54 field goal attempts, while South Carolina knocked down 31-of-70 shots for 44-percent shooting. The Phoenix kept the Gamecocks from making any of its 14 shots from beyond the arc as Ford and Zora Stephenson banked the only two three-pointers of the game.

The maroon and gold held the advantage at the charity stripe making 10-of-13 shots for 76 percent. The Gamecocks went to the line 30 times and only finished with 15 points.

South Carolina opened the game on a 10-2 run and took its largest lead of the first half of 16 points with 12:43 remaining. The maroon and gold cut the deficit to 11, 27-15, before a jumper by Ford started a streak of six straight for the Phoenix to close the gap to seven, 28-21, with less than six minutes left in the half. South Carolina managed to end the half on a 13-4 run to take a 16-point lead at intermission.

The Gamecocks came out strong at the beginning of the second frame, opening up a 31-point advantage at the 12:07 mark. Elon cut that lead down to 26 points, 64-38, after a 7-2 run was capped by a basket by Redmond. The spark was not enough as USC continued its aggressive play to the final buzzer.

Elon will host the Rams of VCU in its home opener on Monday, Nov. 12. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic 75, Georgia Southern 55

STATESBORO, Ga. – Chenise Miller and Latavia Dempsey each scored 16 points, and Florida Atlantic shot 64 percent in the second half to pull away and post a 75-55 women’s basketball victory over Georgia Southern Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

It was the season debut for both teams and the head coaching debut for both Eagle coach Chris Vozab and Owl coach Kellie Lewis-Jay.

MiMi DuBose led Georgia Southern (0-1) with 17 points, and Anna Claire Knight scored eight. Meredith Frye tallied seven points, three boards and two assists, and Aishya Wofford collected six points and six rebounds.

Breana Turner netted 10 points for the Owls (1-0), and Kimberly Smith finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

A 3-pointer by Georgia Southern’s Kiki Rawls trimmed an early 11-point, second-half deficit to 54-50 with 8:07 left in the contest, but Florida Atlantic answered with a decisive 19-2 run over the next 6:30 to pull away. Dempsey scored nine points during the stretch, and the Eagles committed three turnovers and went 1-for-10 from the floor.

The Eagles trailed 25-15 with 6:18 left in the first half but used a 15-4 spurt, capped by three Dubose free throws, to take their first lead of the game at 30-29. Dubose scored five points during the run, and Sierra Kirkland netted four.

The Eagles are back in action at the Georgia State Thanksgiving Tournament Nov. 23, when they take on the Panthers at 2 p.m.

NC State 85, Wofford 45

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Wofford women’s basketball team dropped its season opener on the road to NC State 85-45 in the first game of the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational Friday afternoon in the Reynolds Coliseum.

Wofford (0-1, 0-0) falls to 16-17 in season openers, and will play the loser of the Auburn and Maine game Saturday at 5 p.m. back in the Reynolds Colliseum.

NC State opened the game with a 9-0 run highlighted by five points from Myisha Goodwin-Coleman.  Daniella Motley ended the run with a jumper on the left baseline to cut the lead to 9-2 with just over three minutes into play.  Lauren Kirby knocked down a baseline jumper to end an almost two minutes scoring drought in the game to make it 9-4.

The Wolfpack responded with a 7-0 run sparked by baskets by Kody Burke and Marissa Kastanek to extend the lead to 18-4 with 11:33 left in the half.

Motley ended an almost four-minutes scoring drought for Wofford with a reverse layup and found Michelle Merritt underneath for a basket to put the Terriers on a 6-0 run as they cut the lead to eight points, 18-10, with 9:25 remaining.

Breezy Williams hit a jumper in the lane that ended three-minute scoreless streak for NC State as the lead went back to double-digits, 20-10, with just under eight minutes to play.  Thirty seconds later, Kiana Evans scored on a post move, but Chanel Stokes answered for Wofford with her first collegiate basket to keep the lead at ten points, 22-12, with 6:18 left in the half.

NC State mounted an 11-0 run to push the lead to 33-12 on a three by Goodwin-Coleman with three minutes to play, but Motley ended the run with a jumper from the top of the key on the ensuing Terrier possession.  Following a Wolfpack basket Ashton Fleming scored her first points as a Terrier on a fast break, but Burke scored the next three points to push the lead out to 38-16.  After a NC State turnover, Mariah Masalin scored the final basket of the half on a layup at the buzzer to cut the Wolfpack lead to 20 points, 38-18.

NC State opened the scoring in the half, but Wofford answered with the a Logan Morris jumper following an offensive rebound to keep the lead at 20 points, 40-20.  The Wolfpack pushed the margin to 31 points, 55-24, on a Breezy Williams elbow jumpers as part of a 15-4 run with 13:13 left to play.

The Wolfpack continued to stretch the lead, 61-24, as they tacked on six points on baskets by Brown, Ashley Eli and Evans with 11:47 on the clock.  Jordan Frazier ended a three-minute drought for the Terriers with a free throw ten seconds later to earn her first points as a Terrier as Wofford went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 63-31 with 10:32 left.  Frazier also scored a runner in the lane during the run.

NC State’s lead hit 41 points, 78-37, on a basket by Evans with just over five minutes to play, The Wolfpack kept the lead 40 points over the final five minutes as they picked up the 85-45 win.

The Wolfpack held a 54.7 field goal percentage, while holding the Terriers to just a 28.4 clip from the floor.  NC State finished 33.3 percent from three, while Wofford only converted two of its 20 attempts from long range for a ten percent three-point percentage.

Morgan Wrightson led Wofford with ten points, all of which came in the second half.  Motley led the Terriers on the glass with ten rebounds.  Frazier added eight points off the bench.

Burke led NC State and all scorers with 19 points, while Goodwin-Coleman added 15 points.  Williams chipped in ten points, and Markeisha Gatling a game-high 13 rebounds.

North Carolina 70, Davidson 59

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Laura Murray dropped in 16 points and Sophia Aleksandravicius pulleddown 15 rebounds as Davidson battled to the end before falling 70-59 in itsseason opener at North Carolina as part of the women’s basketball preseason WNIT at Carmichael Arena Friday evening.

The Wildcats (0-1) went back-and-forth with the Tar Heels (1-0) most of the night, until tied at 40-all midway into the second half, UNC turned up its defense and used a 17-1 run over a five-minute stretch to grab the lead for good.

Despite being down by 20, Davidson never stopped fighting, closing the game on a 9-0 run for the final deficit of 11.

Murraydrained three of the Wildcats’ eight triples on the evening to pace the team with 16 points. The SoCon preseason Player of the Year Aleksandravicius had a solid start to her senior campaign with nine points, a game-best 15 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocks.

HannahEarly, playing for the first time since missing almost all of last year, dropped in 11 points off the bench. Barbara Sitton filled the stat sheet with five points, five steals, four boards and agame-high nine assists.

UNC had four players reach double digits with freshman Xylina McDaniel dropping in 18 points to lead the way. She also pulled in 12 rebounds for a double-double,while Waltiea Rolle had 11 points and 12 rebounds for her own double-double.

The Wildcats were forced into 27 turnovers, which resulted into 38 UNC points, while they were outscored in the paint 56-24.

Davidson hung tough against the aggressive Tar Heels in the early goings, grabbing a 9-7 lead on an Aleksandravicius jumper with 12:14 on the clock. Then after UNC regained the lead at 13-9, the Wildcats rattled off an 11-4 run that was started and end by three-pointers from Early and Katrin Chiemeka for 20-17 advantage with a little more than nine minutes left in the half.

The ‘Cats’ offense went cold though during a near six-minute span that allowed the TarHeels to score 10 unanswered points for a 27-20 led, before Dakota Dukes (Raleigh, N.C.) scored her first two collegiate points to stop the run with3:36 to go. UNC pushed its lead out 33-24 before the break, with Jasmine Calin scoring the only two Wildcat points after Dukes before the break.

Murray and the ‘Cats found their offense again out of the halftime break, running off a 10-2 spurt as the sharp-shooter canned a pair of triples to bring the ‘Cats back from a nine-point deficit to knot things up a 35-all three minutes into the new half.

An Aleksandravicius trey tied it up one last time at 40-apiece, but UNC’s defense clamped down and used its big run to push away.

Davidson awaits its next opponent in the second round of the preseason Women’s NIT.