Western Carolina 74, Georgia State 61CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women’s basketball (2-3) had four players score in double figures, paced by sophomore guard Lindsay Simpson’s 17 points, to defeat Georgia State (0-5) 74-61 Saturday in the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts overcame a slow start to battle back and defeat the Panthers. Western Carolina was down as much as 14 points, 29-15 with 5:20 left in the first half, before back-to-back three pointers by Simpson and Hana Haden spurred a run by WCU.
Western Carolina outscored Georgia State 20-5 in the final five minutes to take a 35-34 lead into the locker room. Trailing by two with 10 seconds left in the half, Simpson’s three pointers in the left corner gave WCU its first lead of the game.
It was a battle in the second half with the score being tied six times in the first 12 minutes. Down by three, 56-59 with 7:13 remaining, Simpson drained a pair of free throws to cut the Georgia State lead to one, 59-58. Western Carolina and Georgia State traded buckets, and with the Panthers leading again 61-60, junior guard Justin Taylor gave the Catamounts the lead for good on a jumper.
Western Carolina held Georgia State scoreless in the final six minutes of the game outscoring the Panthers 14-0. The end score was also. The end score was also to end the game with its largest scoring margin of 13.
Taylor, senior forward Shauna Terry and junior guard Makensey Campbell each had 12 points along with Simpson’s 17. Terry also had eight rebounds and tied her career-high with five blocks.
Western Carolina went to the free throw line 28 times and hit 18. The Catamounts also connected on a season-high eight three pointers.
WCU shot a red-hot 52 percent in the second half, the second straight game the Catamounts have shot 50 or more percent in the second half, to end the game at 43.6 percent. Georgia State, after shooting 44.8 percent in the first half, was held to 36.7 percent in the second and ended at 40.7 percent.
Georgia State had two players score in double figures. Alisha Andrews had 15 points and Gaby Moss added 12.
UNCG 64, College of Charleston 56
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s basketball team limited College of Charleston to 29-percent shooting from the field on the way to a 64-56 non-conference victory over the Cougars Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gymnasium. The win was the 200th for the program inside the facility.
The victory marks the third straight for the Spartans (3-2), representing the first such winning streak for the program since the 2010-11 season. UNCG also held an opponent under 60 points and under 30-percent shooting for the first time this campaign.
Senior forward Janae’ Stevenson notched her third-straight double-double, posting 10 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore guard Lucy Mason filled up the stat sheet to the tune of a game-high 18 points, eight free throws made, four assists and two steals. Senior guard Breonna Patterson also reached double figures offensively with 10 points in 25 minutes of playing time. Freshman forward Jade Scaife was a factor on the glass – racking up nine rebounds to go along with six points.
The Blue and Gold did an excellent job in the rebounding battle, out-dueling the Cougars (2-3) 48-42 as every Spartan who played secured at least one rebound. UNCG finished at 37 percent from the field – knocking down 19 of their 51 attempts – while the visitors hit just 21 of their 73 shots to end up at 29 percent. Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball, committing a combined 53 turnovers of which 29 were credited to the Spartans. However, UNCG managed to score 24 points off of College of Charleston’s miscues. The Blue and Gold also posted 22 points in the paint to the Cougars’ 16.
The Cougars scored the first four points of the contest thanks to a pair of layups by Deidre Ramer, but freshman guard Bailey Williams hit a three-point field goal at the 18:10 mark to make it a one-point game. College of Charleston would go up by as many as eight after a three-pointer by Alyssa Frye with 12:49 on the clock, but a layup by Stevenson cut the lead to 15-13 with 10:57 remaining in the half.
A pair of foul shots by Afreyea Tolbert pushed the Cougar advantage to nine at 23-14 – the biggest of the half – at the 8:57 mark, but the rest of the period belonged to the Spartans. An 11-2 run by UNCG was capped off by two free throws by Patterson that tied the score at 25 with 2:57 left to go before layups by sophomore guard Jazmine Missouri (Kensington, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) and Scaife allowed the Blue and Gold to go into the locker room with a 29-25 halftime cushion. In all, UNCG held Charleston scoreless for the final 5:18 of the stanza.
Scaife scored five points and corralled six rebounds in the first 20 minutes to lead the Spartans while Frye had eight for the Cougars. A pair of Charleston players pulled down six rebounds. The Cougars shot just 26 percent in the period (10-of-39) while UNCG fired at a 38-percent clip (12-of-32). The teams combined for 31 turnovers in the half.
College of Charleston quickly tied the game at 30 early in the second half as the Cougars began to press on defense. A pair of free throws by Stevenson put UNCG back in front briefly before a layup by Ramer knotted the score with 17:40 on the clock. Mason tallied a steal and subsequently hit a triple to make it 35-32, but Erin Hall answered with one of her own to deadlock the score once more.
The Spartans began to make a move, clamping down on defense and holding the Cougars scoreless for the next four minutes. Meanwhile, four different UNCG players scored as part of a 10-0 run which put the Blue and Gold in front 45-35 with 12:54 to play. A layup by Stevenson at the 8:54 mark afforded the Spartans their largest edge of the game at 49-37, but Charleston began to rally.
An 11-2 run over the next five or so minutes, capped off by a Breanna Bolden layup, made things interesting as the Cougars drew within 51-48 with 4:14 remaining. Mason would hit two foul shots on two separate occasions at the line to make it 53-48, but a three-point play by Frye kept College of Charleston close – trailing just 53-51 at the 3:02 mark.
The Cougars would ultimately be unable to complete the comeback as UNCG kept Charleston off the scoreboard via some solid defense and hit four free throws to extend its lead to 57-51 with only 1:16 left in the contest. Mason and Missouri salted the game away for the Spartans at the line – stretching the advantage all the way to 63-53 with 18 seconds to play – before Hall hit a prayer of a three-pointer and Mason added a free throw to account for the final score.
East Carolina 93, Elon 84ELON, N.C. – A second-half surge from the East Carolina Pirates was too much for the Elon University women’s basketball team to overcome on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Alumni Gym, as the Phoenix dropped a 93-84 decision.
Trailing by only five early in the second half, Elon (2-2) saw ECU (5-0) go on a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to take its largest lead of the game, 66-48, with 12:01 to play. The Phoenix managed to pull within seven points late, but the Pirates knocked down free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Elon put four players in double figures in the setback, led by 17 points from rookie Lauren Brown. Zora Stephenson added 16 points, while Jenifer Rhodes ended the day with 15 points and eight boards. Senior Kelsey Harris finished with 14 points.
Elon shot an efficient 54 percent (30-of-56) from the field, but the Pirates capitalized on 25 turnovers by the Phoenix with 33 points. ECU also took advantage of 21 offensive rebounds, outscoring Elon in second-chance points, 31-9.
ECU’s Jada Payne led all players with 23 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field.
The Phoenix limited ECU to just a three-point lead, 43-40, at the half. Elon shot 58 percent in the opening frame and took advantage of its opportunities at the charity stripe, knocking down 11-of-15 (73 percent) from the line.
Lenaira Ruffin quickly tied the game at 43-all out of the locker room, as the rookie banked in a three from the wing as the shot clock winded down. But the Pirates responded with two quick baskets to take a four-point lead, 47-43.
ECU controlled play over the next six minutes, as a 15-2 run put Elon behind by 18 points, 66-48, with 12:01 to play. The Pirates led by as many as 19 points in the second half.
Elon managed to make it an eight-point game, 86-78, with 1:13 to play following a Rhodes layup, but ECU knocked down free throws down the stretch with Elon in a must-foul situation in the waning moments.