Davidson 69, Georgia Southern 62
STATESBORO, Ga. — Nine different Wildcats put their names in the scorer’s book, led by Laura Murray’s game-high 17 and Davidson ran its win streak to four straight with a 69-62 road win at Georgia Southern on Monday evening in the Hanner Fieldhouse in Southern Conference women’s basketball action.
Davidson (15-7, 11-2 SoCon) continued one of its best runs in SoCon play as it won for the 13th time in the last 16 games overall. The Wildcats earned their third straight road win as they led by as many as 23 during the contest.
Murray, who was celebrating her birthday, led the charge early with 14 points in the first half and closed 7-of-14 from the field, including 3-for-5 from downtown for the game. Sophia Aleksandravicius followed with 14 points, eight boards and four blocks.
Barbara Sitton had her third straight double-digit scoring game with 10 points, hitting a career-best six free throws. She also added six boards and four steals.
The Wildcat bench added 20 points, led by Jasmine Calin’s seven points, all in the first half when she also picked up five boards, two assists and two steals.
GSU (7-16, 3-11 SoCon) put two in double figures with MiMi DuBose and Anna Claire Knight scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Davidson rode the hot-shooting hand of Murray on its way to a 43-24 halftime lead. The guard hit six of her first eight shots, including a pair of triples, and the Wildcats as a team shot 57 percent in the half.
Murray scored Davidson’s first 10 points to open the contest and Kristen Johnsen later made it 19-7 at the 13:05 mark on a couple of free throws. The lead then was pushed out to 26-10 on a fastbreak bucket from Calin.
In the second stanza, Davidson opened up a 23-point lead at 54-31 on Aleksandravicius’ free throw with 12:33 remaining.
The Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead until the Eagles went on a 17-7 run to close within nine at 57-48 with under eight minutes left. MiMi DuBose and Jordi Cook capped off the run with back-to-back treys, while Danielle Spencer started the rally with six straight points.
Davidson countered with an 8-2 spurt to stop the momentum and push its lead back to double figures at 65-50. The Wildcats were never threatened again, as Janay Wilson’s three-ball in the last 10 seconds made it the final of seven points, 69-62.
The Wildcats return home for a mid-week contest against UNCG on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Gametime is set for 7 p.m.
Wofford 73, Samford 59
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Daniella Motley and Morgan Wrightson scored 22 points and 20 points respectively as Wofford handed Samford a 73-59 loss Monday night in the Benjamin Johnson Arena in a Southern Conference game.
The Terriers had two 20-point scorers for the first time since January 12, 2002 when Jenny Nett and Natalie Walsh scored 33 points and 29 points respectively against Davidson.
Motley’s 22 points were a career-high for the junior, while Wrightson’s 20 points was the third time this season the junior has turned a 20-point performance. Motley’s 10-of-15 performance was also the first time since Nakia Mister made ten baskets on November 23, 2005. Logan Morris followed with 12 points making it the 15th game this season Wofford has had three or more scorers in double-digits.
April Moorhouse put the Terriers on the board first three seconds into the game with a layup, but neither team could pull away until Morgan Wrightson knocked down a three to spark a 10-0 Wofford run to take a 21-11 lead with 12:09 to play in the half. Wrightson had eight points during the run including the three and a three-point play.
Jazmine Powers ended the run with a layup and Ruth Ketcham knocked down a jumper with just over ten minutes to play to pull Bulldogs within six points, 21-15. Daniella Motley ended the run with a baseline reverse layup to give Wofford a 23-15 lead.
Wofford held the eight-point advantage until Hannah Dawson knocked down a three from the top of the key to spark a 6-2 Bulldog run that cut the lead to 29-25, but Motley answered with a three-point to push the lead back to seven points, 32-25, with 5:50 to play.
Wofford pushed the lead to double-digits, 37-27, following a Wrightson three and a Logan Morris layup a minute and a half later. Wofford pushed the lead to 42-27 with five straight points from Morris including a three.
Powers picked off a Terrier pass and converted a fast-break layup to give the game the halftime score of 42-29.
Wofford came out of the half with 4-0 run highlighted by a Rachel Brittenham three to push the lead to 46-29, but Dawson ended the run with a basket, which started an 11-2 Bulldog run to cut the lead to 48-40 at the 13-minute mark.
Wrightson knocked down a floater in the lane that sparked a 10-2 run for the Terriers that pushed the lead back to 16 points, 58-42, with just over eights minutes left in the half.
The two teams traded baskets until Paige Anderson knocked down a long three and cut the lead to 60-51, at the seven-minute mark, but Mariah Masalin answered for the Terriers with layup on the next Terrier possession.
Samford went on a 5-2 run to pull within 64-56 with 4:42 on the clock, but Motley scored on her own putback a minute and a half later to push the lead back to ten points, 66-56.
The Bulldogs answered on the next possession with a three-point play from Shelby Campbell to trim the lead to 66-59.
Motley knocked down and jumper and Morris converted a layup as the Terriers pushed ahead 70-59 with a minute and half remaining.
Wrightson knocked down three free throws as the Terriers held on for the 73-59 win over the Bulldogs.
Wofford finished the game 54 percent from the floor, 33 percent from three and 63 percent from the free throw line, while Samford finished 45 percent overall, 30 percent from long range and made all six of their free throw attempts.
Wofford outrebounded Samford 34-21.
The Bulldogs were led by Anderson with 15 points, and Ketcham and Dawson followed with 12 points and ten points respectively.
Wofford travels to Appalachian State on February 8 at 6 p.m. before returning home against Western Carolina on February 11 at 2 p.m.
Appalachian State 50, College of Charleston 41
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Despite a near triple-double from Anna Freeman, Appalachian State University women’s basketball was forced to overcome a plethora of early mistakes and cold shooting in a 50-41 Southern Conference win over College of Charleston on Monday night at TD Arena.
The Mountaineers (18-3, 12-1 SoCon) shot just 25.7 percent (9-for-35) in the first half and trailed the Cougars (6-18, 5-10) for nearly the entire first period before pulling away in the second half.
In a game that was ugly from the onset, CofC was able to take advantage of the early ASU miscues and found itself up by as many as six points (19-13) with 3:42 remaining in the first half.
The Apps took their first lead on a Kelsey Sharkey with 37 seconds left in the first period to cap off an 8-2 run, but the Cougars answered with a late bucket to make it 21-21 at the half.
Appalachian State fared better in the second stanza, opening the half on a 14-3 run over the first 10 minutes of the period to take a 35-24 lead midway through the period.
College of Charleston answered with seven-straight points to pull within four (35-31) with just over six minutes on the clock and had several chances to close the gap even further as the Mountaineers were held without a field goal for almost eight minutes (8:45-1:16).
Freeman was able to convert a layup and hit a free throw with just under a minute left to extend ASU’s lead to 41-33, but the Cougars answered with a quick three-pointer to cut the deficit to five points (41-36).
Maryah Sydnor hit a pair of free throws to make it 43-36 with 47 seconds left and the Apps were able to hang on for a hard-fought, 50-41 victory.
The Mountaineers shot just 24.6 percent (17-for-69) in the contest while CofC shot 26.4 percent (14-for-53). ASU collected 54 rebounds, 25 on the offensive glass, while the Cougars pulled down 45 boards.
Freeman led all players with 19 points, 13 points and a career-high eight steals. Sharkey finished with nine points and eight rebounds while Raven Gary netted six.
Alyssa Frye paced the Cougars with 14 points while Mikaela Hopkins had a team-high 10 rebounds. College of Charleston shot just 47.6 percent (10-for-21) from the free-throw line while the Mountaineers shot 77.8 percent (14-for-18).
Appalachian State committed 21 turnovers, had 16 steals and dished out nine assists while the Cougars turned the ball over 26 times, notched 11 steals and had eight assists.
The Mountaineers return to action when they play host to Wofford on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Holmes Center.
Elon 69, UNCG 50
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team secured a season sweep of the UNCG Spartans on Monday night, Feb. 6, in Fleming Gym, as the Phoenix cruised to a 69-50 win over its Triad rival.
Elon improves to 12-11 overall and 8-6 in Southern Conference play with the win.
Elon shot 48 percent from the field, a season-best in 14 conference games. The Phoenix limited the Spartans to 24 percent shooting in the win, including a 1-of-12 clip from beyond the arc.
Ali Ford moved into fifth all-time in program history in scoring in the victory, passing former Elon great Holly Andrews. Ford scored 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-9 mark from three-point land. Ford now sits at 1,420 career points and is 39 shy of passing Elon Hall of Famer Donna Trollinger for fourth in program history.
Kelsey Evans just missed recording her 20th career double-double, as the Raleigh, N.C., native ended the evening with 11 points and nine boards. Evans also registered three blocks in the victory.
Aiesha Harper tied a career-high with eight assists to go along with seven points and five boards. Harper dished out eight assists earlier this season against Wagner on Dec. 29.
Greensboro native Sam Coffer tied Evans with a game-high nine rebounds for the Phoenix, a season-best for the freshman, as Elon won the battle on the glass, 47-41.
The Elon reserves outscored its counterparts, 16-14, as Zora Stephenson knocked down both of her attempts from long distance to lead the Phoenix bench with six points.
The Phoenix forced a UNCG timeout with 7:10 to play in the first half after an 8-0 run capped off by a Kelsey Harris transition layup gave Elon a 19-17 edge. Harris finished the night with eight points and a game-high four steals.
Behind a raucous maroon and gold contingency in the crowd, the Phoenix took a 33-24 lead at intermission, limiting UNCG to 21 percent shooting in the opening frame on 7-of-33 field goal attempts.
UNCG stormed out of the locker room with an 8-0 run to pull within one, 33-32, after Janae’ Stevenson split a pair from the charity stripe. The Spartans tied the game at 41-all with 11:11 to play after a Jarae Savage layup.
But it was all Elon from that point forward, as Coffer hit a pair of free throws with less than three minutes to play to give Elon a 58-48 lead.
The Phoenix held UNCG without a field goal for the final 5:13 of the game, closing the contest on an 18-3 run.
Elon returns home on Saturday, Feb. 11, when it hosts in-state rival Davidson in a key SoCon matchup. Tip is set for 2 p.m. inside Alumni Gym. Hear more about Saturday’s game tomorrow night at Elon Basketball Live from 6-7 p.m. at the Fat Frogg.
Furman 75, Chattanooga 61
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Teshia Griswold poured in a season high 22 points to propel Furman to a 75-61 victory over Chattanooga in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Monday night at Timmons Arena.
The victory marked the Paladins' first triumph over Chattanooga since a 68-62 decision on Feb. 11, 2002, halting a 21-game series losing streak.
In addition to ending the long losing skid to Chattanooga, the win also put the brakes on a modest three-game losing streak for Furman (12-11, 8-6 SoCon), which had gone just 3-8 in its last 11 games prior to the UTC game.
Griswold drained 8-of-12 shots and was perfect on all six free throw attempts on the way to her season high tally, which bested a 19-point effort in a 66-60 road triumph over Georgia Southern on Dec. 5. The junior guard also collected six rebounds, helping Furman forge a narrow 40-38 rebounding advantage after suffering a 56-35 drubbing on the boards in the season’s first meeting, a 71-53 Mocs’ triumph in Chattanooga in mid-January.
Furman paved the way to the win with a blistering 59.1 percent shooting effort (13-of-22) over the game’s final 20 minutes. The Paladins also converted 14-of-18 free throws in the second half and went 25-of-32 for the game at the charity stripe.
Brittany Hodges, the SoCon’s top scoring freshman, continued to deliver by combining 15 points with five rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes of action. Raegan Thompson contributed 12 points and six boards.
Kayla Christopher paced Chattanooga with 18 points, and Kylie Lambert finished with 13. Whitney Hood, who tallied 21 points and 11 rebounds in the first meeting between the two teams, was held to five points and five rebounds.
Furman led 33-38 at intermission, but Chattanooga wasted little time in erasing the advantage. An 11-2 spurt over the first two and half minutes of the second half gave UTC a 39-35 lead following a Taylor Hall jump shot.
The Paladins quickly tied it with baskets by Griswold and Alexis Peterson on their next two possessions, and a Thompson 3-pointer at the 15:54 mark put Furman ahead for good. A Sarah Durdaller jump shot and another Thompson trey with 13:31 to go finished off a 12-0 run that gave the Paladins a 47-39 lead.
Chattanooga cut Furman’s lead to three points on three occasions, the last time coming on a Christopher 3-ball that made it 59-66 with 6:22 showing on the clock.
The Paladins answered, however, with a decisive 10-0 run fueled by Griswold, who bottomed two jump shots and a pair of free throws in the stretch, to help give Furman a 69-56 lead with just over two minutes left.
Furman plays Western Carolina next Monday at Timmons Arena. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.