Auburn 69, Georgia Southern 59AUBURN, Ala. – Tyrese Tanner collected 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead Auburn to a 69-59 women’s basketball victory over Georgia Southern in Auburn Arena Saturday night. It was the season opener for both teams.
MiMi DuBose recorded 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Eagles (0-1), and Anna Claire Knight scored 14 points. Alexis Sams finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and Briana Jones tallied 10 points and nine rebounds in her Eagle debut. Danielle Spencer corralled 10 rebounds.
Peyton Davis collected 15 points and 11 rebounds for Auburn, and Tra’Cee Tanner finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Georgia Southern trimmed a 13-point, second-half deficit down to five on a pair of Angel McGowan (7 pts, 3 reb) free throws midway through the period and had the ball after a defensive stop but could not get any closer. An 8-0 Auburn run, keyed by six points from Tra’Cee Tanner, pushed the lead back to 13 points.
The Eagles cut the advantage down to seven twice in the final 2:41, but each time, Davis scored a layup off a Tyrese Tanner pass on the Tigers’ ensuing possession.
Georgia Southern committed 16 turnovers for the game and just four in the second half against Auburn’s full-court pressing style.
The Eagles held the Tigers to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor, but Auburn tallied 25 second-chance points and 40 points in the paint.
Leading 14-12, Auburn used a 13-1 run to open a 14-point lead on a Kiani Parker fast-break layup with 7:23 left in the half. Sams ended the drought with a triple from the wing for the Eagles and sparked a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Knight jumper.
A DuBose triple from the wing cut the margin to 29-23, and the senior scored the last seven GSU points of the frame as Auburn went into halftime with a 34-27 advantage.
The Eagles return to action Wednesday, Nov. 13, as they travel to No. 7 Kentucky for an 11 a.m. contest. Georgia Southern opens its home schedule Nov. 16 as the Eagles take on Jacksonville State at 5:30 p.m., the middle contest of a tripleheader with the GSU volleyball and men’s basketball teams.
UNC Asheville 68, Furman 65
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- UNC Asheville’s Paige Love drained a running shot from beyond half court as the time expired to deliver a 68-65 season opening win over Furman in women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Kimmel Arena.
Love’s dramatic shot came after Furman’s Holli Wilkins missed a 15-foot jumper with four seconds remaining The Bulldogs’ Brittany Gwyn claimed the rebound and handed it off to Love, who dribbled twice and let fly with the shot, which hit the backboard and through net as the buzzer sounded.
Furman (0-1) had battled back from a 65-61 deficit to tie the game following a layup by Brittany Hodges and the two-minute mark and two free throws by Wilkins with 1:35 to go.
UNCA misfired on its next three shots, and the Paladins also failed to connect on three opportunities before the Gwyn corraled Wilkins’ miss to set up Love’s game winner.
The Paladins led by as many as six in the first half after Allison Beasley’s 3-pointer at the 4:03 mark put the Paladins up 28-22, but UNCA closed with a 12-2 run to go into intermission with a 34-30 advantage.
UNCA extended its margin to 10 points at 46-36 following a layup by Tianna Knuckles five minutes into the second half before Furman rallied with a 15-0 run over the next four minutes to claim a 51-46 lead following a Shianne Goodwin free throw.
Furrman led 61-55 with 4:30 to go but a Gwyn jump shot, layup by Love, and six straight free throws keyed a 10-0 spurt that gave the Bulldogs a 65-61 lead with 2:13 showing on the clock.
Gwyn led all scorers with 19 points, and Shonese Jones finished with 14 and Love 12.
Wilkins topped Furman with 16 points and seven rebounds. Four Paladins registered eight points, including Beasley, Goodwin, Whitney Bunn, and Erica Norwood.
The Paladins shot 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the field and connected on just 11-of-20 free throws. UNCA canned just 22-of-65 field goal attempts (33.8 percent), but outscored Furman by seven points at the free throw line by draining 18-of-23 charity striple chances.