Chattanooga 80, Auburn 52
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team shot 55 percent in the second half to snare an 80-52 win over Auburn Sunday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga improves to 4-1 on the year and adds one more to its home court win streak while Auburn falls to 3-2 overall.

The Lady Mocs jumped out to a 14-0 lead to start the game before Auburn could catch its breath and get back into the game. It would take the Tigers two time outs and almost 10 minutes to get to within three points, making it 23-20 with 5:46 to play in the first. However, Chattanooga, who never trailed, outscored Auburn 12-4 down the stretch and led 35-24 at the break.

Senior Meghan Downes scored all eight of her first half points in the opening run and closed out the contest with a game-high 17 points and adding a career-high three steals.

In the second, the Lady Mocs held on to its double-digit lead. Auburn scored the first point of the second half to get as close as 10 points twice, but Chattanooga pushed the offense and on the strength of a 21-2 run, achieved its greatest lead, 58-29 with 12:38 to play.

Senior Ashlen Dewart tied her season-high with 13 points and added five rebounds. Classmate Alex Black went 5-of-6 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the 3-point line for her season-best 13 points. Senior Taylor Hall had eight points and eight rebounds, tied her career-high for assists with seven and topped her career-best for steals with five.

Chattanooga dished out 18 assists and had a season-low seven turnovers to go along with 11 steals. The Lady Mocs shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field and was 7-of-16 (43.8%) from beyond the arc. In the first half, UTC was 7-of-7 from the free throw line and added eight more on 12 attempts in the second half making 78.9 percent.

In the paint, the Lady Mocs outscored Auburn 40-23 and had 29 points off 22 Tiger miscues. Chattanooga’s bench, with a combined 22 points from Black and junior Ka’Vonne Towns, outscored Auburn 35-17.

Auburn was 19-of-43 (44.2%) from the field led by Tra’Cee Tanner off the bench with 14 points and eight rebounds. Kiani Parker had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Tyrese Tanner added eight points and five rebounds while Katie Frerkinjg had seven points off a 4-of-6 free throw effort.

Auburn shot just 36 percent in the first half making 9-of25, but stepped up its game in the second making 10-of-18 (55.6%) from the field.

Chattanooga’s home court win streak is now at 30 games, the second-longest active win streak in the nation behind Baylor’s 61.

 

High Point 100, Davidson 65
HIGH POINT, N.C. — The Davidson women’s basketball team ran into a hot-shooting High Point squad that hit 55.7 percent of its shots Sunday afternoon and the Wildcats fell 100-65 on the road at the Millis Center.

High Point (4-1), which won its third straight, hit its first nine shots of the second half, with three of them from behind the arc, and ran off a 22-6 run to open up a 69-38 lead and put the game out of reach for Davidson.

The Panthers finished the half shooting a blistering 62.5 percent (20-32) and went 39-for-70 overall for the game, including 11-of-19 from behind the three-line. They put six in double figures led by Kaylah Keys’ 17 points. Lindsay Puckett had 14 points, 12 of them on four three-pointers, followed by Stacia Roberston (13), DeAnneisha Jackson (13), Latrice Phelps (10) and Teddy Vincent (10).

All eight Davidson (2-4) players scored with Shneeka Center leading the way with a season-high tying 18 points. Laura Murray had 12 points, hitting three of the Wildcats’ eight triples on the day and Lillian McCabe added nine points.

High Point shot an even 50 percent in the first half to grab a 47-32 lead. It was a half of momentum shifts. The Wildcats found themselves down 7-0 just a minute in, but came right back with a quick seven of its own to tie things up. The Panthers countered with another 7-0 run for a 14-7 lead.

Davidson would trail until rattling off 10-5 run, sparked by three straight three-pointers to tie things up again at 27-all with 8:52 left in the half. Center along with Murray and Hannah Early (seven points, four rebounds) each hit a three-ball in the run.

The tie again was quickly broken when HPU used a 13-0 run in a four-minute span to make it 40-27. Shannon Eriksson stopped the run with Davidson’s sixth shot from downtown in the half, but the Panthers scored seven more, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Tayler Tremblay, for the 15-point halftime lead.

The Wildcats finished the game shooting 42.9 percent, including 44.4 percent from downtown on 8-of-18 shooting.

 

Jacksonville 79, Georgia Southern 58
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Leading scorer Sherranda Reddick netted 15 points, including seven in a decisive second-half run, to lead Jacksonville to a 79-58 women’s basketball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at Swisher Arena.

Anna Claire Knight led four Eagles in double figures in the scoring column with 18 points, and Danielle Spencer posted 10 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, her second double-double of the season. MiMi Dubose tallied 13 points to go along with four assists, and Briana Jones finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Reddick was 9-of-11 from the free-throw line as the Dolphins (1-2) made 22-of-31 as a team. Madison Scott was 5-of-6 from the field and the charity stripe to score 15 points, while Queen Alford tallied 12 points and eight rebounds. Stephanie Edwards finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

After the Eagles (1-4) tied the game 43-43, Reddick was fouled on a 3-point try and made all three from the charity stripe to ignite a decisive 18-2 Dolphin run, capped by a Deja McPhee fast-break layup, that made the margin 61-45 with 8:38 to play.

The Eagles trailed 43-35 early in the second half, but Jones and Spencer scored four points each in an 8-0 run as Georgia Southern tied the game with 12:22 left in the contest.

The Eagles committed 15 turnovers in the first half, and Jacksonville made them pay, scoring 21 points off the miscues. Jacksonville started the contest with an 8-0 run and never trailed in the game, and the Eagles were plagued by foul trouble most of the contest as post players Jones, Spencer and Sierra Kirkland were whistled for a combined 14 infractions with Jones and Kirkland fouling out.

Jones scored five points in an 11-4 run that cut a 10-point deficit to 26-23 with 4:52 to play in the first half. The Dolphins answered and were able to push the lead back to 10 at 33-23 on an Edwards fast-break layup on a long rebound with 2:11 remaining. 

Spencer scored four points, and Knight added a jumper to trim the margin to four points, but Edwards struck again, this time stealing a pass to the wing and going in alone for a fast-break layup as Jacksonville led 35-29 at the break.

 

Mercer 71, Furman 67
MACON, GA -- Precious Bridges scored a game high 24 points and sank a pair of free throws in the final second of play to help Mercer claim a 71-67 victory over visiting Furman at Hawkins Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Bridges converted 8-of-12 field goal attempts and 7-of-9 free throws while adding four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 36 minutes of action to spark the Bears (3-2), who next year will join the Southern Conference.

Kendra Grant added 18 points, Briana Williams 11 points, and Alicia Williams 10 points for Mercer.

Furman got a career high 21 points from Holli Wilkins, who logged 39 minutes of action for the Paladins (1-4).  Sarah Durdaller joined Wilkins with 16 points and Brittany Hodges added 11 points and a game high 13 rebounds.

Both teams shot 44 percent from the field and battled to a virtual deadlock on the boards, but Furman committed 18 turnovers to the Mercer’s 11, which helped the Bears claim the win.

Hodges gave Furman a 57-55 lead with seven minutes remaining before Mercer tied it a minute later on a Williams jump shot and then took the lead for good on a pair of Teanna Robinson free throws with 5:15 to go.

Grant’s jumper and a Williams layup put the Bears up 67-61 with three minutes remaining, and Mercer  used two Bridges free throws with 2:18 remaining to extend its advantage to seven points, 69-62.

Furman cut it to 69-67 with a Hodges layup, Durdaller free throw, and two free throws from Wilkins, but the Paladins’ bid to tie the game was denied when Robinson blocked a shot by Wilkins with two second to go, and the Bears claimed the rebound.  Bridges then nailed down the verdict with a two free throws  with one second remaining.

 

UAB 83, Samford 50
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women’s basketball team dropped an 83-50 decision at UAB Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena.

Samford made just 29.6 percent of its shots from the floor and 40.0 percent from three-point range. UAB shot 57.1 percent overall and 75.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Individually for Samford, Amara Mayers led the way with 12 points. Brittany Stevens scored eight points and Shelby Campbell added seven points.

UAB was led by Karisma Chapman, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Ashley Grimes scored 16 points, Miranda Burroughs had 14 points, and Chelsee Black added 13 points for the Blazers.

UAB scored the first nine points of the game, racing out to a 9-0 lead with 15:39 to go in the first half. A three-pointer by Campbell put Samford on the scoreboard, cutting the lead to 9-3 with 15:09 left in the first half. UAB then pushed its lead out to 13 points at 19-6 with 10:00 to go in the half after a pair of free throws by Grimes.

Samford fought back to cut the lead to seven points at 28-21 with 2:19 to go in the first half following a jumper by Campbell. UAB, however, closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 38-21 lead into halftime.

With 15:04 to go in the second half, UAB pushed its lead out to 25 points at 51-26 after a three-pointer by Burroughs. The Blazers’ lead reached 30 points at 60-30 with 9:14 to go in the game after a free throw by Dy’man Webb.

Samford could get no closer than 27 points the rest of the way. UAB eventually came away with the 83-50 win.

With the loss, Samford drops to 1-3 on the young season. UAB improves to 3-3 with the win.

 

Norfolk State 67, Wofford 59
NORFOLK, Va. – Sophomore guard Jordan Frazier scored a career-high 20 points and the Wofford women’s basketball team rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to tie the game, but came up short, 67-59, at Norfolk State, Sunday afternoon from Echols Hall.

Wofford (1-3) was outrebounded 32-12 in the first half and held to two points through the last 8:33 to trail 38-23 at halftime. After being benched with early foul trouble, sophomore guard Ashton Fleming sparked a comeback. Fleming scored the first basket of the second half and Wofford tied the game at 42 with a 15-0 run in the first six minutes.

Norfolk State (2-2) responded and regained a 10-point lead, but the Terriers cut it back down to four and called a timeout down 61-57 with 1:28 to play. A turnover followed and NSU got the ball back and hit its free throws to hold on for the win.

Frazier, who just came off a career-high 17 points in Wofford’s last game at Charleston Southern, scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half on 6-of-11 shooting. The Norcross, Ga., native also finished the game with four steals and three assists.

Sophomore guard Chanel Stokes lit up from 3-point range in the second half. After being held without a point in the opening 20 minutes, Stokes scored 14 in the second and finished the game 4-fo-6 from beyond the arc. Fleming scored eight points and had five rebounds, all in the second half, while senior guard Logan Morris had nine points, seven boards and two blocks.

For Norfolk State, Rae Corbo and Quineshia Leonard each scored a team-high 14 points. Rachel Gordon was huge on the glass for the Spartans, grabbing 15 rebounds. Logan Powell had eight points and eight boards.

On the afternoon, Wofford shot 36.5 percent from the field to NSU’s 35.1 percent. The Terriers were 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from 3-point range and great from the free throw line, draining 14 of 15 attempts (93.3 percent) to mark their first 90-percent outing since Jan. 5, 2012 against Samford. Norfolk State only outrebounded the Terriers by one in the second half, but finished the game with 50 to Wofford’s 29, leading to a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points.

A close game early saw Morris hit her first 3-pointer at the 15:09 mark, and the Terriers forced a Spartan turnover and turned it into two points for a 13-12 lead. NSU changed to a full-court press and forced a couple Terrier turnovers to regain a 17-13 advantage, but Frazier made her presence felt with a steal and a layup to keep Wofford within striking distance.

Halfway through the period, both teams were on fire, shooting above 50 percent from the field. Frazier got to 14 points at the 7:40 mark with a bucket and a foul, getting Wofford back within a basket, 23-21.

For the next three minutes neither side could find a point until NSU ended the drought with layups form Powell and Leonard. Wofford remained cold, unable to break NSU’s 2-3 zone, committing multiple shot clock violations, turnovers and missed baskets. Still, the deficit was just six after not scoring for five minutes.

Then, Norfolk State got hot. The Spartans scored nine points over the next three minutes, capped by a 3-pointer from Kierra Basey, and led 36-21 as Coach Farmer called timeout with 1:48 on the clock. Kirby ended a Wofford scoreless drought of 7:27 with a made jumper, but NSU took the momentum into the locker room as Corbo hit a jumper to put the home side back up 15 just before the first-half horn sounded.

At the half, the Terriers were being outrebounded by 20. Gordon and Powell each had seven boards for the Spartans, while Leonard had 10 points. Frazier led all players with 14 points, but Wofford’s leading rebounder was Lauren Kirby with just a pair.

Fleming got back on the floor to start the second half and made an immediate impact, making a layup 14 seconds in and grabbing a rebound off NSU’s first possession.

The run was on. Down 15, Stokes drained a 3-pointer and the Terriers scored the next 15 points to tie the score at 42 with 14:18 still left in the ball game. The run included another made 3-pointer from Stokes and a pair of 3-pointers from Morris, the second bringing the Terriers back even.

Norfolk State put together a response and scored the next seven points until another Stokes made 3-pointer ended the run. NSU got its lead back up to 10 at 61-51, but four made free throws and a bucket by Fleming brought it right back down to four with 2:48 on the clock.

Wofford got the ball back after a NSU missed 3-point attempt, but a fast-break opportunity for Frazier went by the wayside. The Terriers were fortunate enough to get the ball back again, still down just four, but a turnover out of a timeout with under 1:30 to play gave the Spartans an opportunity to cushion the lead from the charity stripe. They did just that, going 6-of-7 down the stretch to hold off Wofford’s comeback.