Davidson 88, Wofford 74
DAVIDSON, N.C. —  Dakota Dukes scored a career-high 30 points and matched her personal-best with 12 rebounds to lead Davidson to an 88-74 victory over Wofford in both teams Southern Conference opener Saturday afternoon at John M. Belk Arena.
 
In addition to missing just one of her 11 attempts from the field, Dukes went a career-best 10-of-14 from the charity stripe to become the first Wildcat since Sophia Aleksandravicius to hit the 30-point plateau. 

Laura Murray was just as impressive for Davidson (4-6, 1-0 SoCon) scoring a season-high 25 points, while going 8-of-12 overall, including four 3-pointers to go along with a game-high tying six assists in 31 minutes.
 
The Wildcats, who won their 12th straight at home vs. Wofford, shot 59.4 percent after intermission to finish the contest at 54.7 percent, while holding the Terriers to just 37.7 percent.
 
Jordan Frazier paced four Wofford (2-5, 0-1 SoCon) players in double figures with 20 points. Logan Morris added 14, Lauren Kirby had 12 and Kentra Washington finished with 10 off the bench.
 
After the Terriers reeled off nine unanswered to grab their first lead of the contest, 19-16, the Wildcats responded with a 14-4 run highlighted by seven points from Shneeka Center before going to the half up 32-27.
 
Dukes led all players at the break with 14 points, including an 8-for-9 effort at the charity stripe.
 
Murray scored seven straight points early in the second half to spark another Wildcat spurt, which pushed their lead to 60-44, with 9:32 to play. Wofford cut deficit to 10 on separate occasions, but couldn't get any closer as Davidson stretched the margin to as many as 18, 75-57.
 
Murray (18) and Dukes (16) combined for 34 of the Wildcats' 56 second-half points.

 

Mercer 56, Samford 52
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A late surge by Mercer helped the Bears’ women’s basketball team come back for a 56-52 win at Samford Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.

In the game for Samford, senior center Christy Robinson scored a career-high 15 points. Freshman Ellen Riggins and sophomore Krista Stricklin scored eight points each for the Bulldogs.

For Mercer, Briana Williams scored 19 points. Precious Bridges scored 14 points, while Kendra Grant scored nine points and Sharnea Boykin had eight points and 11 rebounds.

In the first half, Samford jumped out to an early 6-2 lead with 16:13 to go after a three-pointer by Stricklin. Mercer fought back to take a three-point lead at 14-11 with 11:06 to go in the half following a free throw by Williams.

After Samford came back to take a 15-14 lead, Mercer went on an 8-0 run to take a 22-15 lead with 6:12 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Williams. Samford, however, answered with an 11-0 run of its own to take a 26-22 lead with 2:07 left in the half after a layup by Robinson. Samford took a six-point lead into halftime at 31-25.

Mercer cut the Samford lead to one point early in the second half at 37-36, but Samford went on a 9-2 run to take a 46-38 advantage with 10:24 to go after a pair of free throws by Keke Fletcher. Mercer cut the lead to four points at 46-42, but a three-pointer by Kassidy Blevins gave Samford a 49-42 advantage with 5:39 to go.

Mercer then went on a 12-0 run to take a 54-49 lead with just 16 seconds left after a pair of free throws by Boykin. During the run, Samford went over five minutes without scoring. The Bulldogs ended the drought when Stricklin hit a three-pointer with five seconds left to make the score 54-52. A pair of free throws by Bridges with three seconds left made the final score 56-52.

As a team, Samford shot 37.3 percent for the game, 48.0 percent in the first half and 26.9 percent in the second half. Mercer made 36.4 percent of its shots, 31.3 percent in the first half and 43.5 percent in the second half.

With the loss, Samford drops to 2-6 on the season. Mercer improves to 5-4 with the win.

 

Furman 67, Georgia Southern 62
STATESBORO, GA. -- Brittany Hodges and Holli Wilkins tallied 18 points apiece, and Brigid Morrissey registered a career high 15 points for a depleted Furman backcourt, helping the Paladins erase a 12-point second half deficit on the way to a 67-62 victory over Georgia Southern in the Southern Conference women's baskettball season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The win was the fourth straight for Furman (5-4, 1-0 SoCon) and the Paladins' seventh consecutive triumph over Georgia Southern (2-7, 0-1 SoCon).

Furman trailed 48-36 with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game before putting together a 19-5 run over an eight-minute stretch to grab a 55-53 lead following a Morrissey 3-pointer with 7:03 remaining.

A Siera Kirkland layup pulled Georgia Southern even at 55-55, but Furman quickly answered, taking the lead for good on a Wilkins layup on the next possession.

A layup and two free throws by Hodges stretched the Paladins' lead to 61-55 with 5:31 remaining.

The Palains survived one last push by the Eagles, who used a Lacie Dowling 3-pointer to pull within 61-60, getting free throws from Wilkins and Morrissey over the final four minutes to secure the win.

 

 

Idaho 83, Appalachian State 60
MISSOULA, Mont. - Appalachian State University women's basketball dropped its second game of the Lady Griz Classic on Saturday against Idaho, losing 83-60.

The Vandals would take a quick 8-0 lead in the first half, but the Mountaineers would hit their stride, storming back and pulling ahead 11-10 off a jumper from Katie Mallow. The Apps found a 20-12 lead and continued to score, leading Idaho 35-29 at the half.

Maryah Sydnor led the team in the first notching 13 points and seven rebounds. The team shot 41.2 percent from the floor, while holding the Vandals to 34.4 percent shooting. Alyssa Charlston led Idaho with 10 points at the half.

The Vandals quickly tied the game at 41 in the first five minutes of the second half before taking complete control of the game. Idaho's Stacey Barr scored 20 points in the second half to help the Vandals pull ahead for good and win the game 83-60.

Sydnor recorded her fifth double-double of the season in the loss, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for the team. Joi Jones tallied 11 points for the Mountaineers, while Mallow followed with eight on the game.

KeKe Cooper helped lead the Apps by pulling down 12 rebounds in the game.

FIve of the Vandals scored in double-figures in the game, with Barr leading the team with a total of 23 points and 12 rebounds. Charlston followed with 16 points.

The Apps shot 35.5 percent on the game, while the Vandals shot 46.4 percent from the floor. The Mountaineers outrebounded Idaho 44 to 40, while recording 14 turnovers and forcing four form the Vandals.