Wofford 66, UNCG 57
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Wofford rallies in the second half with 39 points to earn the 65-57 win over UNCG in the regular season finale Monday night in Fleming Gym in a Southern Conference game.
Wofford ends the season at 12-17 overall and 5-15 in the SoCon. Wofford hits 12 wins for the first time since the 2006-07 season, as they earn the No. 9 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament, which begin Friday.
The Spartans took the first lead of the game with a 7-2 run to open the game on a basket from Natalie Headley with 13:26 to play, but Morgan Wrightson answered for the Terriers with a three on the next possession.
UNCG followed with an 11-2 run to extend the lead to 18-7 following a three-point play from Brennan Patterson and a three from April Carson at the nine-minute mark. Wrightson ended the run with two free throws and a three to spark a 7-0 run to cut the Spartan lead to 18-14 two minutes later.
Wofford trimmed the lead to 20-17 on a three-point play from Lauren Kirby with five minutes to play, but UNCG responded with a 5-0 aided by a Terrier technical foul to push the lead to eight points, 25-17, at 3:24.
Wrightson halted the run with a three-point play to send Wofford on an 8-3 run to cut the lead to 28-26 going into the locker rooms as Daniella Motley scored the final basket of the half on Rachel Brittenham assists.
Wofford came out of the half with a 10-0 run to take a 36-28 lead highlighted by a Logan Morris corner three three and a half minutes into play in the half. Headley made the first basket for the Spartans to end the run 3:54 into the half to cut the Wofford lead to six points, 36-30.
The basket sent the Spartans on a 13-3 run to take a 41-39 lead at the 11-minute mark, but Wofford answered with seven points straight points to regain the lead 46-41 with eight minutes to play in regulation.
Following baskets by both teams, UNCG’s Jazz Weaver knocked down a three to spark an 8-0 run to give the Spartans a 51-48 lead with four minutes remaining. Wofford ended the run on a Wrightson layup to send the Terriers on a 7-0 run highlighted by a Mariah Masalin three-point play. The run gave the Terriers a 57-51 lead with 2:25 left.
Following a Spartan basket Wofford scored four straight points including Morris’s tenth point of the half on a layup as they held on to earn the 65-57 win.
The Terriers ended the game 45 percent from the floor including a 57 percent clip in the second half. They also shot 25 percent from three and 79 percent from the free throw line, 19-of-24. The Spartans ended at a 37 percent overall, 29 percent from three and 67 percent from the line, 10-of-15.
Wofford was led in scoring by Morgan Wrightson with 17 points, including going 7of-10 fro the free throw line. Motley followed with 14 points, while Morris added 12 points, ten of which came in the second half. It was the 17 game this season Wofford has had three or more players in double-digits.
Brittenham handed out three assists to move her into second place for assists in a single-season with 147.
UNCG was led by Headley and Weaver with 13 points apiece, while April Carson chipped in ten points.
The Terriers will enter the Southern Conference tournament as the No. 9 seed and play the College of Charleston the No. 8 seed at 11:30 a.m. in Kimmel Arena Friday.
Furman 67, Georgia Southern 57
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Brigid Morrissey scored a career high 15 points and Furman fashioned a big differential at the free throw line to defeat Georgia Southern, 67-57, in the Southern Conference regular season finale for both teams Monday evening at Timmons Arena.
With the win Furman (14-15, 10-10 SoCon) takes the No. 6 seed into Southern Conference Tournament play, where it will face No. 11 seed UNC Greensboro (4-24, 3-17 SoCon) in Friday first round action at UNC Asheville’s Kimmel Arena beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern (8-21, 4-16 SoCon), which got a career high 30 points from Merdyth Frye, is the No. 10 seed and will play No. 7 seed Western Carolina in a 2:00 p.m. contest, also at Kimmel.
Monday’s victory marked Furman’s fourth straight triumph over Georgia Southern.
Morrissey’s career high scoring tally came primarily at the free throw line, where she drained 12-of-16 attempts, part of a 29-for-41 charity stripe effort for the Paladins, who outscored the Eagles by 19 points at the line. The Paladin sophomore guard also added five assists and a steal in 25 minutes of action.
Raegan Thompson contributed 12 points and Katilin Murphy finished with 10 for the Paladins, who matched last year’s 10-10 SoCon record with a decidedly younger squad.
Frye scored 19 of her game high tally in the first half while her teammates combined for only seven as the Eagles trailed 27-26 at intermission.
A Frye 3-pointer a little over a minute into the second half put GSU up 41-37, but the Eagles could not extend the advantage.
GSU led 40-37 with 11 and half minutes to go but wilted from that point as Furman fashioned a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to take control of the game, A fast break layup by Teshia Griswold off a Morrissey assist put the Paladins ahead, 51-42, with 6:25 on the clock.
Two Morrissey free throws at the 2:23 juncture gave Furman a 56-45 margin, its largest of the game.
The Paladins’ final 13 points came from the free throw line.
Furman forged a 44-36 rebounding advantage, led by Brittany Hodges’ game high nine caroms, and posted a 26-4 scoring advantage by reserves.
Elon 73, Western Carolina 46
ELON, N.C. – Four seniors completed their home careers with a storybook ending on Monday night, Feb. 27, in Alumni Gym, leading the Elon women’s basketball team to a 73-46 blowout victory over Western Carolina in the regular season finale for both squads.
Tonight marked the final home game for seniors Aiesha Harper, Kallie Hovatter, Jermile’ Batten and Erica Keto, as all contributed to Elon’s second-largest margin of victory over a Southern Conference team since joining the league in 2003-04. The Phoenix topped WCU by 27 points in Cullowhee last season and beat Georgia Southern by 30 points earlier this month on Feb. 18.
Hovatter scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go along with three assists and three steals, while Harper chipped in with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
The Phoenix held its opponent below 50 points for the seventh time this season, a feat the team accomplished just four times all last year. Elon held WCU to 33 percent shooting from the field and held every Catamount player below double-digits.
Elon (16-13, 12-8) heads into the 2012 SoCon Tournament riding a four-game winning streak. The fifth-seeded Phoenix is set to face fourth-seeded Samford on Saturday, March 3, at 2:30 p.m. after earning a first-round bye.
We’re peaking and playing our best basketball right now. I’m excited with the string of wins we have going into the tournament. We’re in a great place mentally and we have outstanding team chemistry right now and that can only help us going into the tournament.”
Ali Ford was the third Phoenix player in double figures, scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three makes from beyond the arc. Ford moved into third all-time in Elon history in scoring with the win, passing Hall of Famer Lou Williamson. Ford enters the SoCon Tournament with 1,489 career points, nearly one year after she scored her 1,000th career point against Furman in last year’s SoCon Tournament win.
Kelsey Evans finished the night with a game-high 11 boards to go along with six points and one block.
Lisa Archie gave the Phoenix a 10-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half after Zora Stephenson hit her near the charity stripe for an easy jumper to make it a 15-5 game.
Stifling defense helped Elon take a 31-15 lead at intermission, as the Phoenix held WCU to 25 percent shooting on 6-of-25 field goal attempts. No Catamount player had more than one field goal make in the opening frame.
Western Carolina pulled within single digits for the first time since the 7:45 mark of the first half after Diamond Hunnicutt hit a 10-foot jumper in the paint to limit Elon to a 31-22 lead with 18:45 to play. Hunnicutt led WCU with a team-high nine points.
But the maroon and gold answered with an 18-6 run to go ahead by 21 points after Hovatter completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 11:33 remaining to give Elon a 49-28 lead, one it would not relinquish.
Elon’s 12 conference wins tie last year’s team and the 2003-04 squad for the most league victories since becoming a member of the SoCon.
Smith’s 16 wins so far this season are the most by an Elon first-year head coach in program history.
Chattanooga 80, Appalachian State 71
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Lady Mocs closed out a perfect season at home Monday night with an 80-71 win over Southern Conference co-Champion Appalachian State and will enter the league tournament as the No. 3 seed. The win was University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 13th straight at the McKenzie Arena this season and the first perfect season at home since UTC went 12-0 in the 2005-06 season.
Chattanooga improves to 21-8 overall and 16-4 in league play and the Mountaineers are 23-5 on the year and 17-3 in SoCon action, tied with Davidson for their second consecutive title.
Sophomore Taylor Hall drained a career-high five 3-pointers in six attempts from beyond the arc and scored a career-best 24 points in the win. She grabbed eight boards and was 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Senior Whitney Hood dropped in 20 points for the fourth time this season, going 7-of-10 from the field, and pulled down seven rebounds.
Senior Tenisha Townsend had 11 points for Chattanooga and dished out five assists and was 2-of-6 from beyond the arc while junior Kayla Christopher joined the trio in double figures with 11 points of her own on 5-of-11 from the field including a 3-pointer.
The Lady Mocs scored first and the two teams traded the lead twice before Chattanooga took a bit of control getting out to a 12-8 lead at the 14:51 mark of the first half. That wouldn't last long. The Mountaineers battled back to take a 19-18 lead with 11:58 to go in the first.
It would be ASU's last lead with two more ties over the next 3:05 before Hood's layup with 8:14 to go in the first gave Chattanooga the lead for good at 27-25. Chattanooga outscored the Mountaineers 16-8 down the stretch and led 43-33 into intermission.
Appalachian State tried to get the momentum to swing their way and managed to cut the lead close several times, getting to within one, 56-55, with 11:54 to play on a layup from Maryah Sydnor. Chattanooga responded with four points, taking a 60-55 lead with 9:29 to play on free throws from Hood, but a 3-point play by Anna Freeman brought App. State back to within a pair at 60-58 with 9:14 to play.
Hall brought the momentum swiftly back to the Lady Mocs bringing the crowd of 1,832 to their feet on back-to-back 3-pointers to punch Chattanooga's lead to eight points, 66-58, with 7:56 to play.
ASU wouldn't be held back, scoring six unanswered to bring the Mountaineers back to within two on a jumper from Sydnor with 5:04 to play making it a 66-64 contest.
Chattanooga pieced together another run started with a jumper from Christopher with 4:23 to play and capped off 1:19 later with another of Hall's 3-pointers to give the Lady Mocs a 73-64 lead. Appalachian State got 3-pointers from Canesha Edwards, her first of the season, and Katie Mallow to make it a 73-70 game with 1:33 to play.
ASU would only manage one more point over the remainder of the game and the Lady Mocs would get 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to get the 80-71 win over the Mountaineers.
Anna Freeman had a team-high 22 points for the Mountaineers and six rebounds along with six assists, two blocked shots and three steals. Raven Gary tossed in 13 points and three assists while Sydnor had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Lady Mocs won the battle of the boards, 37-31, after getting outrebounded 48-25 in Boone earlier this season. The Mountaineers came into the game leading the league in rebounding with 43.1 per game and had a SoCon-best 7.5 rebounding margin. The 31 rebounds is the fewest by Appalachian State this season.
The Lady Mocs had 12 offensive rebounds to ASU's 11 and had 15 second chance points compared to Appalachian State's 10. UTC had 20 points off 12 Mountaineer miscues and had six fast break points. ASU outscored Chattanooga in the paint 28-22 and had 14 bench points compared to UTC's 10.
Chattanooga will receive a first-round bye at the Southern Conference Tournament and is slated to take on either No. 6 Furman or No. 11 UNCG Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. at Kimmel Arena on the UNC Asheville campus. The loss, coupled with Davidson's win over Samford, leaves the Mountaineers in a tie with the Wildcats at 17-3 in league play. Davidson draws the No.1 seed after sweeping ASU in the regular season.
Davidson 52, Samford 39
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Davidson used a stout defensive effort, holding Samford to 25.5 percent shooting, including 22 percent in the second half, while shooting 53 percent itself in the second half, and finished off the program’s first Southern Conference regular-season title with a 52-39 win on the road against Samford in women’s basketball action.
Coupled with Appalachian State’s defeat to Chattanooga, Davidson (21-8, 17-3 SoCon) shares its first regular-season title with the Mountaineers, each finishing 17-3 in league play. The 'Cats will get the No. 1 seed for this weekend’s SoCon Tournament by way of a tiebreaker as they sweep the Mountaineers this year in the two-game series.
Sophia Aleksandravicius sparked a 22-5 run in first nine minutes of the second half with seven of her 13 points and five different Wildcats scored during the run as they broke open a 19-all game at the break for a 41-24 lead and never looked back.
Aleksandravicius paced all scorers with her 13 points, and added five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Amanda Ottaway, making just her second career start, finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Katrin Chiemeka dropped in nine to go with five boards and three assists. Ottaway tied her season-high with seven made shots at the charity stripe, while Chiemeka finished off the Wildcats’ big run with her lone triple of the game that gave Davidson a commanding 17-point cushion with 10:47 left.
The lead never got below 10 points the remainder of the way, and Ottaway and Chiemeka sealed the title clinching-win with three free throws in the last 42 seconds.
Samford (17-12, 12-8 SoCon) was led by Ruth Ketcham’s 10 points, while Taylor Reece had nine. The Bulldogs shot just 13-of-51 for the game, including 6-for-27 in the second half.
The first half saw both teams combine to shoot just 14-for-46 and turn the ball over 17 times as they each had a hard time getting into an offensive rhythm. Davidson had a brief 14-12 lead after a pair of Aleksendravicius free throws, but Samford went ahead 15-14 on a Paige Anderson trey.
Right before the half, Sitton hit a driving layup with 1:37 left, but Ruth Ketcham hit Samford’s fourth three-ball a few players later and both teams were knotted up at 19-all at the break. Sitton had a chance to get the lead back for the ‘Cats, but missed a jumper on the left wing at the buzzer.
The Wildcats will play the winner of No. 8 College of Charleston and No. 9 Wofford on Saturday, March 3, at 12 p.m. in Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville.