College of Charleston 68, Furman 61
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Sophomores Alyssa Frye and Jillian Brown combined for 34 points as the College of Charleston women's basketball team closed the regular season with a 68-61 victory over Furman Saturday.
Frye led the Cougars (7-22, 6-14 SoCon) with 18 points and Brown added 16 including a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Junior Cathryn Hardy had nine points and 10 rebounds and Latisha Harris finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
The Cougars got off to a quick start as they scored 10 of the first 12 points of the game to build a 10-2 lead at the 15:08 mark.
Hardy scored six points in the opening period, but CofC saw its lead evaporate as Furman (13-15, 9-10 SoCon) closed the gap and built a 27-23 lead at halftime.
Furman came out strong in the second half and increased their lead to 10 at 37-27 with 15:55 to play. The Cougars chipped away at the deficit, until they took their first lead, 46-45 on a Brown jumper with 7:11 to go.
Free-throw shooting was crucial for the Cougars down the stretch as they converted 21-for-30 free throws (70 percent) to secure the victory.
The Cougars will open play in the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, N.C. on Friday March 2. Their opponent is not yet determined.
Appalachian State 57, Samford 53
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Appalachian State University women’s basketball kept itself in contention for a second-straight Southern Conference title with a 57-53 win over Samford on Saturday.
The Mountaineers (23-4, 17-2 SoCon) used a stifling defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack to complete the regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs (17-11, 12-7) for the second-straight season.
Both teams struggled offensively in the early going, combining for just four points through the first four minutes before the Bulldogs were able to snag a 4-3 lead on Paige Anderson’s jumper with 15:36 to go in the first half.
The teams would trade several buckets to knot the game at 7-7 before the Apps reeled off a 9-0 run, during which they half Samford scoreless for over five minutes, to grab a 16-7 lead with 9:39 left on the clock.
Appalachian would hold a slim lead throughout the rest of the half as the Bulldogs were able to trim the deficit to just one point (23-22) with 1:51 remaining in the half before the Mountaineers took a 25-23 lead into the locker room.
Samford was able to tie the contest at 25-25 by scoring on its opening possession in the second half, but the Mountaineers answered with a four-straight points from Courtney Freeman to push its lead back to four points (29-25) with 18:49 left to play.
Appalachian State would cling to a slim lead during the opening five minutes of the half before widening the gap to 35-30 with 14:54 remaining in the game.
The Bulldogs would claw their way back to tie the contest at 39-39 on Anderson’s jumper with just over 10 minutes left, but Raven Gary would answer for the Apps to make it 41-39 in favor of Appalachian State.
Katie Mallow’s jumper at the 7:41 mark pushed ASU’s lead back to three points (43-40), but Samford answered with a three-pointer from Hannah Dawson to tie the game up.
The Mountaineers led by just four points with 4:23 left to play when Anna Freeman swung momentum firmly back in Appalachian’s favor when she blocked a three-pointer, raced down the floor and converted a layup to make it 50-45 with 4:19 on the clock.
Samford was able to convert a layup with 20.4 seconds remaining to close the gap to two points (53-51), but the Apps were able to convert on their free throws in the final seconds to hang on for the win.
Freeman led Appalachian State with 12 points while Sydnor fell just shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. Kelsey Sharkey chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds off the bench while Gary added nine.
The Bulldogs got a game-high 17 points from Anderson while Jazmine Powers finished with 15. ASU shot 36.4 percent (20-for-55) from the floor while Samford shot 37.5 percent (12-for-56).
The Apps won the rebounding battle by a 45-31 margin and forced 15 turnovers in the contest. Both teams dished out 15 assists and the Mountaineers finished with five blocks.
Appalachian State wraps up the regular season at Chattanooga at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Western Carolina 55, Georgia Southern 46
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women’s basketball (13-15, 8-11 Southern Conference) held off a surging Georgia Southern (8-20, 4-15 SoCon) team, at the end of the game, to defeat the Eagles 55-46 Saturday in the Ramsey Center on senior day.
Prior to the game, the Catamounts honored seniors Laura Sanchez, Caitlin Hollifield and Kaila’Shea Menendez. After feting the trio of seniors, Western Carolina got down to the business of trying to close out the home portion of its season with a win.
Georgia Southern wasn’t very compliant with Western Carolina’s desire to win its second straight game. The Eagles led from the opening basket of the first, holding as much as a seven point lead, 13-6 until the final seconds of the half. Freshman Makensey Campbell hit a three pointer to trim the lead to 13-10 and the Catamounts would keep the game close for the remainder of the half.
Western Carolina took a short-lived lead, in the first half, when Diamond Hunnicutt nailed a jumper with 50 seconds left, giving the Catamounts a 21-20 advantage. Jordi Cook answered with a jumper for the Eagles, giving GSU a 22-21 lead at the half.
The Catamounts stormed out of the locker room and took its game to another level for the first seven plus minutes of the second half. Western Carolina benefitted from a 16-2 run, to start the second, to build its largest lead of the game, 37-24 with 12:56 remaining.
The game looked well in hand, as Western Carolina enjoyed a double digit lead. Georgia Southern, however, proved it wasn’t going quietly. Leading by 13, 37-26 with 11:25 left on the clock, the Catamounts watched its lead dwindle to a scary three points, with 4:34 left. The Eagles went on a 14-6 run on the Catamounts, benefitting from four three pointers.
In the final four plus minutes of the game, Western Carolina went on another run of its own, 12-6, to fend off Georgia Southern. The Catamounts were a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to keep the Eagles grounded, in the final 22 seconds of the game.
Hunnicutt was solid for Western Carolina with a balanced nine points and nine rebounds, also adding an assist and two steals. Menendez lead the Catamounts with 11 points and McKinney added 10.
Western Carolina had 43 rebounds to Georgia Southern’s 34. The Catamounts also got 27 points from its bench and took advantage of the freebies going 15-of-18 from the free throw line.
The Catamounts travel to Elon on Monday to play its final regular season game of the season. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.
Elon 72, Wofford 59
ELON, N.C. – Kelsey Evans tied a career-high with 24 points and the Elon women's basketball team put four in double figures, as the Phoenix registered a 72-59 win over the Wofford Terriers on Saturday, Feb. 25, in Alumni Gym.
With the win and a Furman loss to College of Charleston today, Elon (15-13, 11-8 Southern Conference) clinches the fifth seed in the 2012 SoCon Tournament next week in Asheville. As the fifth seed, Elon will play its opening game on Saturday, March 3, at 2:30 p.m. inside Kimmel Arena against the fourth seed.
Elon turned the ball over a season-low eight times in the win, while forcing the Terriers (11-17, 4-15 SoCon) into 15 miscues that led to 26 points.
Evans connected on 9-of-13 field goal attempts in the victory, including a career-best three shots from long distance. The Raleigh, N.C., native also grabbed seven boards.
Kelsey Harris finished with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, while knocking down all four of her attempts from the charity stripe.
With 12 points tonight, Ali Ford tied Lou Williamson for third all-time in career scoring with 1,472 points.
Aiesha Harper, who earned league player of the week honors on Tuesday, finished the night with 10 points, five assists and three steals. The conference’s assist-to-turnover ratio leader, Harper turned the ball over just once and has tallied only two in Elon’s last three games.
Sam Coffer led the Phoenix on the glass, pulling down a career-high 11 boards in 22 minutes of action.
Harris helped the Phoenix to a 12-point lead with 5:37 to play in the first half after a slashing to the basket for a transition layup to give Elon a 28-16 edge.
The Phoenix went into intermission leading 35-24 after turning 10 Wofford turnovers into 16 total points. The maroon and gold totaled six turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but the Terriers managed to cash in just five points off miscues.
Ford gave Elon its largest lead of the game with less than 11 minutes to play after dialing up a three in front of the Phoenix bench to make it a 55-40 game.
April Moorehouse pulled the Terriers within single digits for the first time since the early stages of the first half with 7:04 remaining after splitting a pair of free throws to make it a 57-48 game.
Elon called a timeout with 3:37 to play after the Terriers made it an eight-point game following a Logan Morris three-pointer.
But the Phoenix iced the game down the stretch after knocking down 7-of-8 shots at the free throw line in the game’s final 1:01 to secure the win. Elon shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the free throw line.
The Phoenix closes out the regular season at home on Monday, Feb. 27, when it welcomes in-state rival Western Carolina for a 7 p.m. tip. The team will celebrate Senior Night and the final home contest for Harper, Erica Keto, Jermile’ Batten and Kallie Hovatter.
Chattanooga 55, Davidson 48
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Taylor Hall recorded her sixth career double-double to lead to the Lady Mocs to a 55-48 win over Davidson Saturday night at the McKenzie Arena.
The Lady Mocs improve to 20-8 on the year, their 12th 20-win season in 13 years, and 15-4 in Southern Conference play with the regular season finale Monday against league-leading Appalachian State on the horizon. The Wildcats move to 20-8 overall and are 15-3 in conference action.
Hall had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win including an 11-point spurt late in the second half to push Chattanooga to a 10-point lead. Senior Whitney Hood, who was honored prior to the game in Senior Night ceremonies, had 10 points in the game and junior Kylie Lambert scored 10 as well for the Lady Mocs and dished out two assists and grabbed two steals.
Chattanooga came out of halftime trailing 25-23 and managed to knot the game at 29-29 on consecutive layups from Hood with 14:30 to play. UTC then took a two-point lead on a jumper from sophomore Faith Dupree almost two-and-a-half minutes later to make it 31-29 with 12:09 on the clock.
Davidson put up four quick points from guards Barbara Sitton and Laura Murray to give the lead back to the Wildcats, but that would be their last. Hall scored 11 points in a 15-3 UTC run to give Chattanooga its largest lead of the game, 46-36, with 5:12 to play. Davidson cut the lead to 53-48 with one minute left in the game, but that is as close as they would get.
To start the game, Lambert drained a 3-pointer to put Chattanooga up by three. Davidson would go on to score the next seven points before Lambert’s free throws stopped the run to make it 7-5 with 16:07 to play in the first.
Davidson kept up the offensive push and carried a 25-23 lead into the lockerroom despite outshooting Chattanooga 40%-25.8% and outrebounding the Lady Mocs 26-16 at the break.
Murray led the Wildcats with 12 points and seven rebounds while Barbara Sitton recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds along with three assists and four turnovers. Sophia Aleksandravicius was the third Davidson player in double figures with 10 points and had eight rebounds to go along with two assists and three blocked shots.
Chattanooga forced 16 Davidson turnovers and scored 11 points off the miscues while putting in 11 points off 10 offensive rebounds. Chattanooga’s bench contributed 28 points with 16 from Hall who came off the bench in favor of senior Capriee Hood who got her first start for UTC on Senior Night. Senior Tenisha Townsend dished out four assists to raise her UTC top-10 total to 304 and had two of Chattanooga’s 11 steals.
The Lady Mocs turned it over just eight times, tying a season-low and was 6-of-15 from the 3-point line. After shooting 25.8 percent in the first half, Chattanooga rebounded to shoot 48.1 percent in the second half and was 7-of-11 from the free throw line.
The Lady Mocs close out the season Monday night at home against Appalachian State at 7 p.m. The game will be carried live on ESPN3.com and will be the final home game for seniors Tenisha Townsend, Capriee Tucker, Whitney Hood and Kiara Smith who moved from the court to the team manager for her final season due to injuries.