Elon 71, Samford 61
ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team snapped its five-game losing skid and opened up Southern Conference play with a 71-61 victory of Samford tonight, Dec. 14, in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix (3-5, 1-0) was led by a season-high 23 points from Zora Stephenson, who knocked down six threes, while the Bulldogs (2-7, 0-1) saw 28 points off 11 field goals from Shelby Campbell.

Elon only shot 39 percent from the field (22-of-57) but took advantage of its trips to the charity stripe, hitting 21-of-27 to shoot 78 percent. The maroon and gold also took a 45-27 advantage on the boards and scored 14 points on second-chance opportunities. All baskets from long distance for Elon came from the hands of Stephenson as the Phoenix earned a 67 percent mark after six threes on nine attempts.

The Bulldogs finished 24-of-51 from the field (47 percent), scoring 30 points in the paint, but only shot 47 percent from the line (7-of-15).

Kelsey Harris tallied 13 points, hitting nine free throws, while grabbing seven rebounds and handing out four assists. Sam Coffer finished with 11 points and recorded a game-high eight rebounds. Jenifer Rhodes made it four players in double-figures for the Phoenix after scoring 10 points.

Samford took as much as an eight-point lead, 16-8, in the first half before a three by Stephenson sparked a 13-3 run for the Phoenix to put Elon up, 21-19, at the 9:12 mark. The Bulldogs regained the lead, 24-23, but another triple by Stephenson followed by a layup by Jessica Farmer gave Elon a four-point edge, 28-24, with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Samford’s Shelby Campbell cut the Bulldog deficit to one, 32-31, before an offensive board by Lauren Brown got the ball to Stephenson to hit a three at the buzzer, her third of the half, to put the maroon and gold up by four, 35-31, at the break.

Elon shot 41 percent in the first half, hitting 14-of-34 shots from the field, including a 60 percent mark from three-point range, while Samford went 11-of-21 to shoot 52 percent.

The Phoenix kept the momentum going in the second half, opening with an 11-4 run in the first five minutes to open up an 11-point lead, 46-35, after scores by Shannen Cochraham, Stephenson and Harris. Elon took its largest lead of the game by 15, 57-42, with 8:52 to play after a freebie by Brown.

Samford responded and held the maroon and gold to one point in the next three minutes to close the gap to three, 58-55. Stephenson’s fifth three of the game broke the Phoenix’s dry spell to stop the surging Bulldogs and gave Elon a 61-55 edge with 4:50 remaining. Elon was knocked down seven of its eight free throw opportunities in the final few minutes to secure the win and top Samford by 10.

 

Chattanooga 86, UNCG 53
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team dominated the paint Saturday afternoon, defeating UNCG 86-53 in the Southern Conference opener for both teams. Chattanooga improves to 7-3 overall and 1-0 in league play while the Spartans drop below .500 at 4-5 and 0-1 in the SoCon.

Senior Taylor Hall recorded her sixth double-double of the year and her fifth straight, with a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. She was joined in double figure shooting by freshmen Aryanna Gilbert with a career-high 13 points and Chelsey Shumpert with 12.

Chattanooga was 34-of-60 from the field for a season-high 56.7 field goal percentage and outscored UNCG 54-30 in the paint. UTC outrebounded UNCG 43-29 after the two were even at the break with 17 apiece. On 12 offensive boards, UTC scored 17 points compared to the Spartans’ eight off 13 offensive rebounds.

In the first half, the score was fairly tight with four lead changes and eight ties before Chattanooga gave itself some breathing room outscoring UNCG 10-2 over the final 4:37 of the opening stanza. Hall drained the second of her two 3-pointers to start the run and freshman Jasmine Joyner capped off the run with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 10 seconds remaining in the half.

In the second half, UTC pulled further out front getting its first double-digit lead, 38-28 with 18:53 to play on a steal and fastbreak layup by Hall. Foster cleared the bench Saturday and 12 players found the nets.

With just under five minutes to play in the game, Foster pulled seniors Hall and Faith Dupree and sent Gilbert and Joyner to the floor to join Shumpert, Whitney Hartlage and Moses Johnson on the floor. That marked the first time that all five freshmen were on the court at the same time.

The rookies scored the final 16 points of the game and allowed seven points by the Spartan offense for the final 86-53 tally. Hartlage scored a career-best nine points making 4-of-7 from the field and draining her one free throw.

Chattanooga was 15-of-22 (68.2%) from the free throw line and had a season-high 22 assists with 13 turnovers. UTC tied its best for blocked shots with seven with Joyner accounting for three of the rejections.

 

Gardner-Webb 68, Wofford 57
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Sophomore guard Jordan Frazier scored a career-high 26 points and came up with a career-high eight steals, but it was all in a losing effort as the Wofford women’s basketball team was defeated by Gardner-Webb in non-conference action, 68-57, Saturday night inside Paul Porter Arena.

Frazier was 6-of-14 from the field, 3-of-4 from long range, and hit 11 of her 13 free throws. It marked Frazier’s third 20-point game of the season. Heading into the night, she was also averaging 3.9 steals per contest to rank No. 4 in the NCAA. She went for eight on Saturday, upping her season average to 4.4.

After trailing by six at halftime and as many as 15 in the second half, Wofford (2-6, 0-1 SoCon) went on a 15-4 run to get within four, 53-49, with 6:37 to play. The Runnin’ Bulldogs (6-3, 1-1 Big South) responded with the next four points to re-extend the lead.

With Wofford down six and under four minutes to play, senior Logan Morris hit a 3-pointer from the corner, but it was waived off. A foul was called on sophomore Ashton Fleming underneath the basket, keeping it a two-possession game. The Terriers got back within four, but Gardner-Webb, which did not make a field goal after the 6:12 mark, went 14-of-15 from the line through the final six minutes to seal the victory.

Frazier was joined in double figures by Fleming, who tied her career-high with 10 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Terriers struggled from the field, shooting 26.2 percent (16-61) on the evening. Wofford was 5-28 (17.9 percent) at halftime and 11-33 (33.3 percent) in the second half. Gardner-Webb shot 42.9 percent (21-49) and was 74.2 percent (23-31) from the charity stripe – GWU was 58.9 percent from the free throw line heading into the contest.

On the glass, the Terriers edged GWU in rebounds, 41-40, and both teams had 22 turnovers. Gardner-Webb’s bench outscored Wofford’s, 20-7.   

For Gardner-Webb individually, Catrina Green went for a team-high 18 points and was responsible for the majority of the boards with a game-high 17. Green, who is No. 7 in the NCAA in field goal percentage, shot 8-of-10 from the field. Jasmine Dale scored 16 points and Olivia Parker rounded out the Runnin’ Bulldogs in double figures with 10. Candace Brown dished out a game-high six assists.

Frazier got the game off to a good start with steals on each of Gardner-Webb’s first two possessions. She put down her first points with a pair of free throws four minutes in, and got hot from the field midway through the period with a 3-pointer to give the Terriers a 12-11 lead. Frazier hit two more from the stripe to hit the 10-point mark with 10:03 to play in the half.

While Frazier was getting the work done for Wofford, Green was doing the same for the Runnin’ Bulldogs. She scored four straight GWU field goals in the opening 10 minutes to carry the home side to a 15-14 lead.

The lead changed hands for third time in the half a few minutes later, courtesy of Frazier. The 5-foot-2 guard made a layup and was fouled by Jessica Heilig, sinking the free throw to put Wofford back in front, 17-15, with 8:15 remaining in the half.

From there, Gardner-Webb went on a 10-0 run, keeping Wofford scoreless for the next six and a half minutes. At the 1:47 mark, Washington ended the drought with a pair of free throws, getting the Terriers back within six, 25-19. Wofford went into the locker room down by as many, 29-23.

Wofford made only five field goals and was shooting 17.9 percent in the first half, while GWU had 12 field goals and was 46.2 percent. Frazier led all scorers with 15 points. Green had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Frazier got the second half off to a good start as well, getting a steal and racing down the court to make a layup, and-1, cutting the deficit to one possession. GWU responded with a 9-0 run to open up a 12-point lead, before Frazier made another layup while getting fouled to reach 21 points with 16:46 still to play in the game.

GWU started to get into foul trouble, allowing the Terriers to claw back in the game. The Runnin’ Bulldogs took a timeout at the 14:18 mark after committing their sixth foul of the half and leading by 14. Wofford’s trouble was in the turnover department, chalking up eight in the first eight minutes of the half.

The Terriers changed to a full-court press with GWU ahead by 14. It worked, forcing turnovers and fouls, and allowing Wofford to go on a 9-0 run. Morris capped the run with a 3-pointer at the 7:34 mark, cutting the deficit to five. Doreen Richardson made a layup to get GWU back up by seven, but Frazier responded immediately with another Terrier 3-pointer, making it a four-point game with 6:37 remaining.

Gardner-Webb made its last field goal at the 6:12 mark to regain a six-point edge. Junior Lauren Kirby went to work with six straight Wofford points, making it a four-point game once more with her last at the 3:05 mark.

Still trailing by four with 90 second to play, Frazier came up with a steal, but missed a layup on the other end. GWU handed the ball to Green on the next possession, who got underneath the basket and was fouled by Kirby. Green made both free throws, and GWU polished off a home victory by hitting all but one of its free throws the rest of the way.