Chattanooga 73, College of Charleston 58

CHARLESTON, S.C. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Ashlen Dewart scored 20 second half points to lead the Lady Mocs to a 73-58 win over the College of Charleston Saturday afternoon at TD Arena.

Chattanooga improves to 22-3 overall, remains atop the Southern Conference standings at 15-1 and improves its win streak to 12 games, seventh longest in school history. The Cougars drop to 11-13 on the year and 7-8 in league play.

With the score tied 39-39 at halftime, Dewart came out strong to start the second outscoring CofC 10-2 over the first 3:06 and the Lady Mocs went on to put together a 13-3 run sparked by back-to-back layups from junior Alex Black (Memphis, Tenn.) and capped off by a 3-pointer from reserve point freshman Alicia Payne (Memphis, Tenn.) to give UTC its largest lead of the game, 62-46, with 8:03 to play.

Afreyea Tolbert hit a jumper for the Cougars with 15:41 to play, but couldn’t connect on another field goal over the next 9:03 as Chattanooga built up its 16-point lead. Latisha Harris stepped up for the Cougars and scored six of their eight straight points over the next 1:43 to cut Chattanooga’s lead to 62-54 with 4:55 to play. However, Chattanooga, led by Dewart’s six points, outscored the College of Charleston 11-4 over the final 4:01 of the game for the win.

In the first half, senior Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) drained a 3-pointer at the 15:17 mark to put the Lady Mocs up 11-5. The Cougars came back with six straight points to knot it up 11-11 with 13:23 to play in the first and the two teams would trade the lead 10 times and tie it up four more times before half.

Dupree was 6-of-10 from the field in the first half, including a 3-pointer, in just 12 minutes of play. The Lady Mocs went 16-of-33 (48.5%) in the first half and was 4-of-4 in the frame.

Dewart led three Chattanooga players in double figures with her fifth double-double of the year scoring a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds. Fellow center junior Faith Dupree (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 13 points, all in the first half and junior Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds.

Freshman Tatianna Jackson (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) each pulled down seven rebounds. Jackson had four offensive boards and two steals while Christopher dished out a team-high four assists and took sole possession of second on the Lady Mocs 3-pointers made chart with 217.

The Lady Mocs outrebounded the Cougars 53-36, 24-15 in the second half, with 18 offensive boards. UTC outscored the College of Charleston 40-18 in the paint and 25-12 off the bench. The Cougars scored 11 points off 15 Chattanooga turnovers compared to the Lady Mocs’ five points off 10 Cougar mistakes.

Elon 70, UNCG 57

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team got back in the win column today, Feb. 16, after a 70-57 win at Southern Conference rival UNCG in Fleming Gym. The Phoenix improves to 13-11 on the season (10-5 SoCon), while the Spartans fall to 5-19 (2-13 SoCon).

Elon shot 64 percent in the second half to finish 28-of-59 for a 47-percent shooting mark from the field. The Phoenix hit 5-of-11 shots from beyond the arc to claim a 45 three-point percentage.

The Spartans finished 23-of-57 from the field to shoot 40 percent, including 42 percent from three-point range. Breonna Patterson led all players in scoring with 18 points.

Ali Ford led the Phoenix with 15 points, hitting 3-of-5 from long distance, and dishing out five assists. Zora Stephenson and Jessica Farmer also finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Kelsey Evans hauled down a game-high 14 boards to give the Phoenix a 40-33 overall advantage. The senior also finished with two blocks and two steals.

The momentum shifted constantly through the entire first half as both teams scored its points on significant runs.

Elon took the early lead, 7-0, thanks in part to five points by Stephenson. UNCG answered with eight straight to take the one-point advantage at the 14:37 mark.

A layup by Shon Redmond sparked a five-minute 14-0 run for the maroon and gold that gave the Phoenix its largest lead of the half, 21-8. Once again, the Spartans answered and claimed a 22-21 advantage, holding Elon without a basket for six minutes.

Redmond broke the drought for Elon with a layup with 3:04 to play to put the Phoenix back on top, 23-22. A basket at the shot clock buzzer by UNCG’s Janae’ Stevenson with nine ticks left on the game clock gave the Spartans a one-point edge, 26-25, at the break.

The Phoenix came out aggressive in the second frame, opening the half in a 13-4 run to take an eight-point lead, 38-30. Elon went up by as much as 16 after a Farmer jumper put the maroon and gold ahead, 53-37, with 9:57 to play.

The Spartans pulled within seven, 60-53, with just over three minutes remaining before Stephenson drained a three to put the maroon and gold back up by double digits.

Elon made free throws down the stretch to keep the game out-of-reach for UNCG and claim the win by a differential of 13 points.

Davidson 71, Furman 49

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Senior Sophia Aleksandravicius had a game for the record books, registering her first career triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and a new Davidson single-game record 10 blocks, and the Wildcats cruised to a 71-49 win at John M. Belk Arena against Furman Saturday in women’s Southern Conference basketball action.

The senior, who has 12 double-doubles this year and 42 for her career, etched another milestone into her outstanding Wildcat career with the program’s first unofficial triple-double. Aleksandravicius nearly had one last year at home vs. Furman when she tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds and a then program-best nine blocks.

Aleksandravicius went a personal-best 10-for-13 from the charity stripe and added four assists. Her 10 blocks alone gave Davidson a season-high and it’s the most blocks it has had in a game since swatting away 11 against Furman on Jan. 30, 2012.

Laura Murray reached the double-digit mark for the 12th time in the past 16 games with 14 points to go with four steals.

Davidson (15-9, 12-2 SoCon) shot 46.3 percent from the floor, including an even 50 percent in the second half (12-for-24).

The defense forced Furman (10-14, 6-9 SoCon) into 23 turnovers and 29.5 percent shooting for the game. The Paladins were held to just nine points through 17 minutes of play in the second half.

Furman was paced by Janice Roberts' 13 points, while Holli Wilkins had nine points and five rebounds.

Davidson turned a 6-4 advantage in the early goings of the game into a 25-10 lead after back-to-back treys from Murray, who had 10 first-half points. The lead grew to 37-21 on a pair of Aleksandravicius free throws at the 3:31 mark and the Wildcats went into the break up 37-27.

The second half saw Aleksandravicius give Davidson a 53-31 lead on two more free throws. The lead would grow to as much as 31 (67-36) after four consecutive points by Hannah Early.

The ‘Cats scored 36 points in the paint and got 28 points off Furman’s 23 turnovers.

Appalachian State 77, Wofford 50

BOONE, N.C. - Anna Freeman recorded another double-double as Appalachian State University women's basketball cruised past Southern Conference rival Wofford, 77-50, on Saturday at the Holmes Center.

The Mountaineers (16-6, 10-2 SoCon) jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never trailed as they picked up their 12th-straight win over the Terriers (7-15, 2-12).

Appalachian stormed out of the gates to take an 8-0 lead just three minutes into the contest and would extend the advantage to 15-5 on Maryah Sydnor's three-pointer with 10:53 left to play.

Wofford would trail by as many as 14 points in the first 13 minutes when Kelsey Sharkey converted a layup with 7:20 on the clock, but the Terriers were able to battle back and cut the deficit to 10 points (19-9) when Morgan Wrightson connected from beyond the arc just a minute later.

A pair of free-throws from A. Freeman would put Appalachian up by 15 points (31-16) when the teams entered the locker room at halftime.

The Mountaineers pushed the lead to 21 points (41-20) when Sydnor drained a pair from the charity stripe at the 15:42 mark of the second half and the Terriers never threatened as App State led by at least 20 points over the final 14 minutes of the game.

A. Freeman led all players with 19 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks while Sydnor tallied 14 points and ripped down eight boards. Courtney Freeman (11) and Raven Gary (10) rounded out Appalachian's double-digit scorers.

Wrightson and Rachel Brittinham scored 14 apiece for the Terriers while Brittenham dished out three assists, but turned the ball over seven times.

The Mountaineers shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the floor including 15-of-20 from the free-throw line and ripped down 51 rebounds.

The Terriers were limited to 28.3 percent (17-of-60) from the field and connected on just 13-of-26 free throws while grabbing 37 boards.

Appalachian State forced 19 Wofford turnovers, which it converted into 14 points, and outscored the Terriers 44-20 in the paint.

Georgia Southern 52, Samford 51

STATESBORO, Ga. – Meredyth Frye hit two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, and Hannah Dawson’s long 3-point try as the buzzer sounded came up short as Georgia Southern defeated Samford 52-51 in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Frye scored the last seven points of the game for the Eagles (5-19, 4-11 SoCon), who overcame a 42-35 deficit with 7:04 left in the game.

With GSU trailing 47-45, Frye hit a triple from the top of the key and after Taylor Reece scored on a layup for Samford, Frye blew past two Bulldogs with a nifty shot fake and got to the hoop for a layup that gave the Eagles a 50-49 lead with 39.5 seconds left.

Jazmine Martin drove baseline on Samford’s trip down the floor, was fouled and made her free throws with 26.9 seconds left. After a Georgia Southern timeout with 11 seconds remaining, Frye got the ball at the top of the key, drove right, got fouled and had her runner kiss off the glass and roll off the front of the rim. The senior calmly knocked down two free throws for the 52-51 win.

Frye finished with 17 points and three steals. Anna Claire Knight scored 10 and dished out a career-high seven assists, and MiMi DuBose netted nine points.

Martin led Samford (12-13, 9-7 SoCon) with a game-high 19 points, and Dawson scored 13.

Leading 31-30, Georgia Southern went cold from the field, and Samford went on a 12-4 spurt to open up a 42-35 cushion with 7:04 left in the game. Taylor Reece scored four points from the free-throw line during the run, and Kendall Schwantz hit a layup and capped the stretch with a long triple from the wing.

DuBose was fouled on a 3-point try and made two free throws to spark a

10-2 run for the Eagles. DuBose hit a triple, and Ronnesha Smith nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down to put the Eagles ahead 45-44 with 3:52 remaining. Dawson answered with a long triple from the wing that kissed off the glass to put the Bulldogs back on top by two points just 26 seconds later.

The Eagles forced 20 Samford turnovers and scored 23 points off the miscues while committing just 13. GSU shot 29 percent from the floor but canned 16-of-18 from the charity stripe.

Frye scored seven of Georgia Southern’s first 10 points as the Eagles jumped out to a 10-3 advantage. GSU led 23-15 following a 3-pointer by Maggie Davis, but Samford responded with a 10-2 run, capped by consecutive Dawson triples, to tie the score 25-25 with 4:23 left in the frame. Knight hit a pair of free throws for GSU, and Martin connected on a driving layup for Samford as the teams went into the break tied 27-27.