Chattanooga 70, ETSU 61
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team posted its sixth straight win defeating East Tennessee State 70-61 Saturday afternoon at the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center. Chattanooga improves to 10-3 on the year while the Buccaneers fall to 3-7 overall.

Senior Ashlen Dewart led three UTC players in double figures with a team-high 16 points, adding six rebounds, two steals and one block in 22 minutes. Freshman Chelsey Shumpert was 3-of-3 from the field with a 3-pointer and was 3-of-3 from the free throw line while sophomore Tatianna Jackson was 4-of-6 with 10 points and five rebounds, four offensive.

The game started off slow with ETSU missing a pair of 3-pointers and both free throw attempts before Chattanooga’s Taylor Hall sank a pair of shots from the charity stripe. The Buccaneers got the next five points to take the lead and would only lead once more in the game.

With 8:49 to play in the first half, junior Ka’Vonne Towns drained a 3-pointer from the right side to tie it up 18-18 to start an 11-2 run that was capped off by a three-point play by Dewart to make it 26-20 at the 4:55 mark of the first half. At the half, UTC led 32-26 at the break.

In the second half, Chattanooga was 12-of-21 (57.1%) from the field and 13-of-16 from the free throw line.

UTC started off the second half on a 7-2 run to move the lead up to 39-28 with 18:05 to play. ETSU cut the lead back to 39-31 two minutes later and that was as close as it would get the rest of the way. Chattanooga’s largest lead of the game, 61-45, came with 5:12 to play on a 3-pointer from Hall.

East Tennessee State’s Serena Clark, Maria Bond and Cara Bowling combined for the majority of the Buccaneer offense. Bowling put up a game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Clark had 15 points and a game-high seven boards. Bond scored 11 of her 17 points in the second half, most down the stretch.

Hall had eight points, five boards and four assists. Towns added eight points and had four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior Faith Dupree had seven points and four rebounds. Chattanooga’s bench outscored ETSU 33-3.

This is the last non-conference meeting between the two teams as the Buccaneers will rejoin the Southern Conference next fall.

 

North Florida 56, Georgia Southern 47
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ki Conner scored 17 points, and Paulina Zaveckaite hit two consecutive big shots off the bench to lead North Florida to a 56-47 women’s basketball victory over Georgia Southern in the final game of the Hampton Inn Oceanfront Holiday Classic Saturday afternoon.

Anna Claire Knight and Lacie Dowling each scored 14 points to lead Georgia Southern (3-9). Sierra Kirkland tallied eight points and five rebounds, and Dowling added four steals. Knight was named to the all-tournament team.

Conner was 5-for-10 from the field, made two 3-pointers and hit all five of her free throws as the Ospreys (4-7) went 12-for-12 from the foul line. Raneisha Lamar had nine points and six rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and Chandler Merkerson scored eight.

The Eagles were stingy defensively, holding UNF to 37 percent shooting in the game and forcing 19 turnovers. But Georgia Southern could never find a rhythm on the offensive end and managed to shoot just 28 percent. Rebounding was also a factor as the Ospreys used 14 offensive rebounds to score 12 second-chance points.

With the Eagles down 35-34 midway through the second half, Knight and Kirkland scored consecutive hoops to bring Georgia Southern to within one point. The Eagles got four straight defensive stops but could not get points on the offensive end.

Danielle Spencer was fouled getting a defensive board on a fifth straight stop and hit two free throws to put GSU on top 40-39 with 6:35 to play. Conner answered with a 3-pointer, and Zaveckaite knocked down a pair of jumpers from the elbow as UNF scored nine in a row to open a 48-40 cushion.

Dowling made it a five-point game with a triple, but Merkerson was fouled going to the bucket and made two free throws. The Eagles missed a 3-pointer and a couple of free throws on their next possession, and Merkerson scored on a driving layup for a 52-43 cushion with 2:26 to play.

Knight cut the lead to seven points with a layup, and the Eagles got two defensive stops but could not score on the other end. Conner made all four of her free throws inside the last minute to ice the game.

Bailey Florin hit two 3-pointers and Conner added a third as the Ospreys scored 11 straight points to open a 19-8 lead in the first half. Dowling scored four points to lead the Eagles in a 9-4 run that trimmed the margin to 23-19, and UNF took a four-point cushion into halftime.

The Eagles take a break for Christmas and return to action at home Dec. 30, for a 7 p.m. contest against George Mason in Hanner Fieldhouse. It will be the final non-conference contest of the season for Georgia Southern.

 

Utah 69, Samford 49
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. – The Samford women’s basketball team dropped a 69-49 decision at Utah Saturday afternoon at Utah’s Huntsman Arena.

With the loss, Samford falls to 3-8 on the season. Utah improves to 6-4 with the win.

As a team, Utah shot 54.2 percent overall and 53.8 percent from three-point range. Samford made just 38.8 percent of its shots overall and 24.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Samford was led in the loss by senior Christy Robinson and freshman Brittany Stevens with nine points each. Freshman Hannah Nichols scored seven points, while sophomore Keke Fletcher added six points for the Bulldogs.

Utah was led by Emily Potter and Malia Nawahine with 18 points each. Danielle Rodriguez scored 11 points, while Nakia Arquette added nine points for the Utes.

In the first half, Utah raced out to an early 11-3 lead with 17:54 to go in the half after a basket by Arquette. Samford scored eight of the next 10 points to cut the lead to two points at 13-11 with 15:45 to go in the first half after a layup by Robinson. Utah pushed its lead back out to seven at 18-11 with 13:58 to go in the opening period.

Samford fought back to close to within one point at 24-23 with 7:51 to go in the half after a basket by Nichols. Utah, however, pushed its lead out to nine points at 36-27 with 1:44 left in the first half after a basket by Nawahine. A late basket by Robinson made the score 36-29 heading into halftime.

Utah opened the second half with a 10-2 run to push its lead to 15 points at 46-31 with 16:06 to go after a three-point play by Rodriguez. Samford fought back to cut the lead to nine points at 47-38 with 11:55 left in the game after a layup by Krista Stricklin.

With Utah holding a 55-44 advantage, the Utes went on an 8-0 run to make the score 63-44 with 5:35 to go after a layup by Potter. Samford could get no closer than 16 points the rest of the way as Utah came away with the 69-49 win.

 

USC Upstate 65, Furman 55
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Alex Stanford scored a career high 19 points and USC Upstate overcame a seven-point second half deficit to claim a 65-55 victory over Furman in women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

Stanford, a 5-foot-6 sophomore, connected on 8-of-13 shots, mostly off dribble penetration, and 3-of-5 free throws to help the Spartans (5-6) halt a four-game series losing skid to the Paladins (6-6).

She was followed in the scoring column by Brittany Clency with 17 points and Raven Jefferson with 10 points.

Furman placed three players in double figures, led by Sarah Durdaller's 15 points.  Holli Wilkins added 12, as did Brittany Hodges, who played just 18 minutes before fouling out.  Durdaller led all rebounders with 12 caroms, and Hodges collected 10 rebounds for the Paladins, who posted a 47-39 advantage on the boards but were hurt by 20 turnovers.

The Paladins trailed 31-26 at intermission but used a strong second half start to grab a 34-33 lead following a Hodges layup less than three minutes into the second period.

Leading 40-39, Furman got a basket and two free throws from Durdaller and a Whitney Bunn layup to go up 46-39 with just under 12 minutes remaining.  It wouldn't last, however, as the Spartans fashioned a 10-2 spurt over the next six minutes to grab a 51-50 lead following a Stanford layup with 6:01 left.

Trailing 55-53 with four minutes remaining, Furman missed four straight free throws while USC Upstate used a Brittany Starling free throw and basket by Clency to go up, 58-53, at the 3:08 juncture and secured the decision at the free throw line.

The Spartans shot 39.1 percent from the field, making good on 25-of-64 shots.  Furman, meanwhile, finished with a 36.4 percent shooting mark, draining 20-of-55 attempts but a season low 1-of-13 from 3-point range, well below their 35.2 percent season average from beyond the arc.

 

Charlotte 76, Davidson 60
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Despite getting another 20-point outing from Laura Murray, Davidson came out on the wrong end of a 76-60 decision to cross-county rival Charlotte Saturday afternoon at John M. Belk Arena in women's basketball.
 
The Wildcats (5-7) fell for the fifth time in the series and saw their two-game win streak come to an end.
 
Charlotte (5-6) outscored Davidson 45-31 in the second half, shooting 56 percent from the floor and hitting 15-for-19 at the charity stripe.
 
Murray led all scorers by hitting seven field goals, two of them from behind the arc, and another seven at the free throw line, while hauling in six boards and dishing out three assists. She scored 18 of her 23 in the first half to keep the Wildcats within striking distance.
 
Dakota Dukes and Shneeka Center gave Davidson three double-figure scorers with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Dukes pulled in 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
 
Kira Gordon led four 49ers in double digits with 19 points, while Ciara Gregory (12 points all from three-land), Lefty Webster (12, eight points from free throw line) and Ny Hammonds (10) followed.
 
A Center three-ball in the early going of the second half gave Davidson its first, and only, lead of the game at 34-33 after trailing 31-29 at the half. The Wildcats were unable to hold onto the momentum as Charlotte, coming out of a 30-second timeout, responded with a 14-3 run over the next few minutes to grab back the lead for good at 47-37 with 12:56 on the clock.
 
A three-pointer by Gregory, her fourth of the game, followed by a three-point play from Gordon later made it 61-45 with 9:14 left.
 
Davidson made one last push, going on a 9-1 run capped off by two Murray free throws to get within eight at 64-56 with 3:50 remaining. It was as close as the 'Cats got the rest of the way with Charlotte pushing its lead back to 16 on the final score.
 
The Wildcats showed a little rust from a 12-day layoff, falling behind three times in the first half by 10 points while shooting just 3-of-13.
 
Murray then caught fire, scoring 13 of Davidson's last 16 points in the half as the Wildcats used a 16-3 run to turn a 26-13 deficit into just a two-point deficit at the break.
 
Davidson finished shooting just 36.2 percent and pulled in 36 rebounds compared to Charlotte's 44.
 
Davidson takes some time off for Christmas, before closing out a six-game homestand with a 2 p.m. contest against Richmond, Dec. 28.