Davidson 59, UNCG 56 (OT)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – A fastbreak layup by Sophia Alexsandravicius with 39 seconds to play tied things up in regulation, before the Davidson women’s basketball team went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line in the extra minutes to earn a hard-fought 59-56 win over UNCG at Fleming Gymnasium Wednesday evening.

Alexsandravicius recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Laura Murray also put up 16 points, including a pair at the charity stripe in overtime, while Barbara Sitton finished the night with 12 points and a game-high five assists.

Sitton also added six steals, helping the Wildcats put up 24 points off of 22 UNCG turnovers. Davidson totaled 16 steals on the night, shooting 31.3 percent from the floor and 78.9 percent at the charity stripe.

Janae Stevenson and Breonna Patterson led the Spartans with 12 points apiece. Sidnei Harmon led the rebounding effort with 14 boards, chipping in 10 points as well. Ebona Goins added 10 points as UNCG shot 35.0 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from the line. The Spartans out-rebounded the Wildcats, 49-42.

Patterson sunk an early jumper for the Spartans, then picked up a point at the line to put UNCG ahead 56-53. However, the Wildcats would not allow another Spartan point for the final three minutes of overtime. Alexsandravicius, Sitton and Murray each earned a trip to the charity stripe and were a perfect 6-for-6 to seal the 59-56 victory.

The Spartans took an early 4-0 lead off a pair of buckets from Lucy Mason, but the Wildcats would battle back to take a four-point advantage at 13-9 on a layup by Sarah Davis midway through the half. UNCG tied things up 14-14 soon thereafter, and the Wildcats would hit a 7-0 run to lead 20-14 on a three-point play from Alexsandravicius. The squads traded 3-pointers to end the half with the ‘Cats on top 27-23.

UNCG came out on fire in the opening minutes of the second half, putting up eight straight points to take a 31-27 lead. Sitton broke the Spartan streak 2:30 into the half before a fastbreak lay up by Murray pushed the ‘Cats in front once again, 32-31, just over three minutes in. The Spartans then went on a 7-0 streak midway through the half, putting the Wildcats in a six-point hole down 50-44.

Davidson held UNCG without a field goal for nearly seven minutes to take a one-point advantage on a free-throw by Dakota Dukes with just over two to play. A three-point play by Stevenson would be matched by Alexsandravicius’ bucket in the closing minutes as the two teams tied things up 53-53 to head to overtime.

Appalachian State 74, College of Charleston 65

BOONE, N.C. - Kelsey Sharkey’s career day propelled Appalachian State to a 74-65 win against Southern Conference foe College of Charleston on Wednesday night at the Holmes Center.

Courtney Freeman led the Mountaineers (18-6, 12-4 SoCon) in scoring with 19 points to edge the Cougars (12-14, 8-9 SoCon) for a season-sweep.

The Mountaineers jumped to a quick 10-6 lead following a 6-0 run at 16:21 in the first, but CofC would persist and eventually climb back ahead by three (16-13) with 12:34 remaining. The Cougars would maintain control until a Keke Cooper layup placed Appalachian ahead (22-20) with 7:35 left in the first. Appalachian controlled the remainder of the period and held CofC to just 32.4 percent shooting (11-for-34) in the first half on its way to a 37-30 halftime lead.

Appalachian maintained control throughout the second period, earning their first double-digit lead early off a pair of Sharkey free-throws (40-30). Charleston would continue to fight and cut the Mountaineer lead down to seven (46-39) with 12:45 on the clock. The Apps responded and pushed the lead to as many as 19 points (67-48) following a Katie Mallow layup with 4:10 remaining in the period. Despite fatigue across the bench, the Cougars climbed back within 10 (71-61) with less than a minute remaining in the period to score twice more, but the Mountaineers would close with a 74-65 victory.

Kelsey Sharkey recorded a career-high five blocks and tied her career high of 14 points. Courtney Freeman led all players in scoring with 19 points on the night, while Anna Freeman finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds, while putting up five blocks for the Mountaineers and grabbing three steals.

Cathryn Hardy paced College of Charleston with 17 points and nine boards. Afreyea Tolbert pulled down nine rebounds as well, along with four steals.

Appalachian shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) on the night, while CofC connected on just 29.1 percent (23-for-79) of its shots.

Elon 62, Wofford 58

ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team survived a tight game against Wofford to claim a 62-58 win tonight, Feb. 20, marking the team’s eighth straight win in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix is now 14-11 (11-5 SoCon), while the Terriers fall to 7-17 (2-14 SoCon).

With Elon trailing with under a minute to play, a defensive rebound by Kelsey Evans got the ball into the hands of Ali Ford who passed off to Kelsey Harris for the go-ahead jumper to give the Phoenix a 59-58 lead.

Evans and Harris made free throws in the final seconds to secure the win for the maroon and gold as the duo combined to score the team’s final 17 points.

Evans finished with a game-high 21 points, along with seven boards and three blocks. Harris scored a new career-high 18 points after going 5-of-9 from the field and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe. The junior also handed out five assists and grabbed two steals. Ford finished the night with 11 points, marking her 100th career game in double figures.

The Phoenix shot 40 percent from the field after making 21-of-52 and went 18-of-26 from the free throw line (69 percent). Wofford finished with a 41 percent shooting mark after going 23-of-56 from the field, but managed only 42 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-26).

With the game tied at 14 with under 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Elon used a 12-4 run to claim its largest lead of the game, 26-18. The Terriers chipped away at the Phoenix advantage and pulled even at 27 with just over two minutes remaining until the break. A jumper by Wofford’s Chanel Stokes with nine ticks on the clock gave the visitors a 31-29 edge at halftime.

In the second half, Wofford took its largest lead of the game, 45-39, at the 13:05 mark. The Terriers held the advantage for the next nine minutes until a layup by Harris with four minutes to go put the Phoenix up 55-54. A jumper by the Terriers’ Morgan Wrightson gave the edge back to Wofford with 1:27 on the clock before Harris and Evans’ clutch play led Elon to the eventually victory.