Georgia Southern 52, Western Carolina 50

STATESBORO, Ga. – MiMi DuBose scored 20 points and hit all five of her free-throw attempts down the stretch to lead Georgia Southern to a 52-50 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory over Western Carolina in Hanner Fieldhouse Monday evening.

Western Carolina whittled an 11-point second-half deficit down to two points on three occasions in the last six minutes of the contest, but the Eagles (2-11, 1-3 SoCon), who lost two of their last three games by a basket, answered the bell each time.

The last came on a Janae’ McKinney layup that made the score 47-45 with 2:20 to go. After two Eagle offensive rebounds, DuBose was fouled on a 3-point try and hit all three free throws to push the lead back to five. Two McKinney free throws made the score 50-47, and the Catamounts got a steal on GSU’s trip down the floor.

After a timeout with 18 seconds left, Western Carolina opted to go for the tie, but Anna Claire Knight was there to block Makensey Campbell’s 3-point shot. DuBose got the rebound, was fouled and added two more free throws, finishing the game 11-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Campbell got a 3-pointer to go with 0.6 seconds left, and WCU called a timeout. The Eagles inbounded safely to Knight, and the buzzer sounded.

DuBose finished with 20 points, and Knight collected 14 points and seven rebounds. Meredyth Frye, who played in her 100th career game, tallied nine points, three rebounds and a season-high five assists.

Aishya Wofford finished with five points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

McKinney scored 10 for the Catamounts (4-9, 2-2 SoCon), and Campbell finished with eight points and five rebounds. Kristen Lyon added eight points and six boards.

It was GSU’s first home game since Dec. 7, and the win broke a nine-game losing skid for the Eagles.

Down by one point at halftime, GSU began the second half with a 14-2 run and opened a 41-30 lead on a Knight 3-pointer from the left corner with 12:42 remaining. WCU went an 11-2 run over nearly six minutes of game time and cut the margin to two points on a Lyon jumper. Knight and McKinney traded a pair of baskets until DuBose was fouled on the triple try.

The difference in the game came at the free-throw line, where Georgia Southern connected on 16-of-19 attempts and Western Carolina made 9-of-19.

Elon 70, Chattanooga 60 (OT)

ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team handed Chattanooga its first Southern Conference loss of the season in an exciting 70-60 overtime victory in Alumni Gym tonight, Jan. 7. The win marked just the third in program history over the Lady Mocs (10-3, 3-1 SoCon) as the Phoenix improves to 3-1 in conference play (6-7 overall).

A layup by Kelsey Evans with six seconds left in regulation tied the game at 58, helping the Phoenix come back from as much as a six-point deficit with under five minutes to play.

In overtime, Elon outscored UTC, 12-2, beginning with five made free throws, including four by Evans. The Lady Mocs’ Ashlen Dewart, who finished with 20 points, put Chattanooga within three, 63-60, but six points for the Phoenix in the span of a minute sealed the win for the maroon and gold.

Evans finished the night with her sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and a new career-high 21 boards. The senior also matched her career-high of five blocks.

Ali Ford notched a game-high 21 points to mark her fourth 20+ point game this season. Kelsey Harris contributed 14 points to give Elon three players in double figures.

Elon went 27-of-61 from the field to shoot 44 percent, including 38 percent from beyond the arc. Chattanooga shot 32 percent from the field as the maroon and gold held the Lady Mocs to 26 percent in the second half and to a 12 percent clip in overtime.

The Phoenix went 11-of-15 at the line (73 percent), while UTC finished 6-of-25 (47 percent). Elon also won the battle on the glass, 47-40.

Chattanooga held a 35-32 advantage at half after each team had taken a lead by as much as four at one point in the first frame. The Lady Mocs reached its largest lead of the game of six, 48-42, at the 8:33 mark in the second half, and tried unsuccessfully several times to put the Phoenix away.

A layup by Evans off a pass from Ford put the maroon and gold within four, 55-51, with 3:40 to play. With less than two minutes remaining, an offensive board by Evans made it into the hands of Zora Stephenson, who sunk a three to cut the Elon deficit to one, 55-54.

Another basket by Evans with an assist from Ford gave the Phoenix its first lead of the game, 56-55, since six minute mark in the first half. Chattanooga answered immediately to regain the lead with 42 seconds left, forcing Elon to foul and send UTC’s Alex Black to the line in order for the Phoenix to regain possession.

Black missed the first free throw and made the second with 21 ticks on the clock for it to remain a one-possession game, 58-56. Elon’s Sam Coffer missed a layup for the first tie attempt before Evans grabbed the rebound and put the ball in the basket to send the game into overtime.

Davidson 65, College of Charleston 57

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Sophia Aleksandravicius tallied her second straight double-double in as many games and Laura Murray scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half as Davidson remained perfect in Southern Conference action by picking up a 65-57 road win at College of Charleston in TD Arena Monday evening in women’s basketball.

Davidson (6-7, 3-0 SoCon) gave the Cougars their first defeat in league action, while winning its 14th SoCon game in the past 16. The Wildcats have won their last fourth straight dating back to the final league game of the regular season last year.

Aleksandravicius finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Murray added her 19 on 5-of-13 shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

The duo moved closer to a pair of personal milestones as well, with Aleksandravicius needing now just 16 points to set the program’s all-time points mark and Murray needing 40 more points to clip 1,000 for her career.

Murray did not allow the Cougars to get any closer than six in the final six minutes by scoring 13 of the Wildcats’ last 16 points of the game. With 5:55 on the clock and the scored 49-43 in favor of the Wildcats, the junior sharp-shooter went off, scoring the next 13 Davidson points as the lead grew to as many as 11.

The ‘Cats iced the game by going 7-of-8 from the 15-foot line in the last 33 seconds for the eight-point triumph.

Shneeka Center, who had seven in the second half, gave the Wildcats a scoring punch off the bench. She dropped in a season-best 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a pair of treys.

CofC (7-6, 3-1 SoCon) was led by Jillian Brown’s 16 points and Latisha Harris’ 12.Cathryn Hardy had a team-high nine rebounds.

Aleksandravicius led the charge in the first half. After CofC grabbed a 14-12 lead on a Afreyea Tolbert lay-in with 9:25 left in the first half, the senior forward helped spark a 12-4 run over the next five minutes. Aleksandravicius scored half of the 12 points and Dakota Dukes finished it off with a pair of free throws for a 24-18 advantage.

The reigning SoCon Player of the Year then scored the final four points of the half to give her 14 at the break and Davidson led 28-20. The Wildcats tightened up their defense after the 11 minute mark, holding CofC to just 3-for-15 shooting the rest of the half.

Samford 60, UNCG 46

GREENSBORO, N.C.—The Samford women’s basketball team held the UNCG Spartans to just 26.6 percent shooting overall and just 21.4 percent from three-point range in a 60-46 Southern Conference win Monday evening at Fleming Gymnasium.

The win improves Samford’s record to 6-7 overall and 3-1 in SoCon play. The victory ends a five-game losing streak for the Bulldogs. UNCG drops to 3-10 overall and 0-4 in league play with the loss.

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by junior guard Kendall Schwantz with 16 points. Senior guard Jazmine Martin scored 14 points, while senior forward Hannah Dawson posted a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

For UNCG, Lucy Mason led the way with 18 points. Jessica Collins scored 14 points for the Spartans. Janae’ Stevenson had eight points and 11 rebounds for UNCG.

As a team, Samford made 43.1 percent of its shots overall and 35.7 percent of its three-pointers. Samford out-rebounded UNCG, 44-43. Samford scored 32 points in the paint to just 10 for UNCG, and the Bulldogs’ bench outscored the Spartans’ reserves, 8-3.

UNCG jumped out to an early 12-7 lead with 12:44 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Mason. The Spartans built their lead to six points at 16-10 with 10:34 to go after another basket by Mason.

Samford answered with a 14-0 run to take a 24-16 lead with 4:29 to go in the first half after a basket by Christy Robinson. Samford built its lead to 11 points in the first half at 28-17 with 1:49 to go after a basket by Dawson. Samford took a 31-20 lead into halftime.

After a three-pointer by Martin gave Samford a 34-20 lead to open the second half, UNCG went on a 10-0 run to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to four points and 34-30 with 15:51 to go after a basket by Collins. Samford scored the next five points to push its lead back out to nine points at 39-30 with 14:56 to go after a three-pointer by Schwantz.

After UNCG cut the Samford lead to five points at 39-34, Samford went on a 10-2 run to push its lead out to 13 points at 49-36 with 7:36 left following a layup by Taylor Reece. Samford pushed its lead out to as much as 16 points at 56-40 with 3:52 to go after another three-pointer by Schwantz.

UNCG could get no closer than 12 points the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 14-point win, 60-46.

Appalachian State 66, Furman 52

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Appalachian State University's Maryah Sydnor led two players in double figures as the Mountaineers had a 66-52 win over Furman on the road Monday.

With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 8-3 for the season, and 2-1 in SoCon. Sophomore forward Sydnor dropped her second highest game of the season with 21 points. Sophomore Katie Mallow added 15 points and 10 for Anna Freeman. 

Appalachian opened the game shooting 2-6 in the first five minutes. The Mountaineers' four points came from a Courtney Freeman layup, followed by a jumper from Katie Mallow nearly three minutes later. At the first timeout, Appalachian led Furman by one (4-3).

The timeout allowed App State to regroup, wrapping the half shooting 11-29. They amped up the defensive effort as well, pulling down 15 defensive boards, forcing 10 first half Paladin turnovers, and grabbing eight steals in the first half.

Sydnor led the team with nine first-half points with six players scoring in the first 20 minutes.

The Mountaineer offense continued to turn up the energy in the second half, as they connected on 41 second-period points on 46.2 percent shooting, including three-of-three from 15fit point range. The Mountaineers forced 24 Paladin turnovers; their 112th straight contest forcing twenty or more.

The Apps finished in a 66-52 final, shooting 41.8 percent on the night, and grabbing 44 rebounds. Katie Mallow connected on three tres, while Raven Gary dished out nine assists. Tonight's win marks Appalachian's fourth-straight victory over Furman.