UNCG 52, Samford 51

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UNCG women’s basketball team outscored Samford by eight in the second half Saturday to come away with a 52-51 Southern Conference road win inside the Pete Hanna Center.

The Spartans handed the defending SoCon Tournament champion Bulldogs just their third home loss of the year, improving to 5-17 overall and 2-11 in league play while Samford falls to 11-12 and 8-6. The win also marks the first for UNCG at the Pete Hanna Center.

Junior forward Janae’ Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Eau Claire) scored seven points in the second half to end up with a team-best 11 while also pulling down eight rebounds. Classmate and guard Breonna Patterson (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) also finished in double figures with 10, including a 4-for-6 performance at the charity stripe. For the second-straight game, senior forward Sidnei Harmon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) paced the Spartans in rebounding with nine (five offensive). Every UNCG player who entered the game scored while all but one pulled down a rebound.

The Blue and Gold did not shoot for a high percentage, but a 17-2 advantage in offensive rebounding allowed the Spartans to put up 13 more attempts (58-45) than the home team. UNCG finished at 28 percent from the floor (16-for-58) while the Bulldogs shot 38 percent (17-for-45). The Spartans also used that cushion on the offensive glass to out-rebound Samford 43-32 overall.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to baskets by Taylor Reece and Jazmine Martin. Harmon dropped in a pair of free throws to cut the advantage to 4-2 before Reece answered with two of her own. UNCG was able to knot the score at six with 15:12 on the clock when Stevenson hit a jumper. Freshman guard Jazmine Missouri (Kensington, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) then gave the Spartans an 8-6 lead when she nailed two foul shots, but Reece came through again, this time with a three to make it a one-point Samford cushion.

A steal and score at the 10:49 mark by Krista Strickland extended the Bulldog edge to 18-12. However, Collins knocked down the first of her two triples in the half to pull UNCG to within 18-15. The teams struggled to score over the next couple of minutes until Kendall Schwantz hit a jumper to make the score 20-15. Collins would keep the Blue and Gold close with another three, but a Martin layup allowed the Bulldogs to move in front by seven, 27-20, with 2:48 on the clock. Both squads scored two more points in the final minutes as Samford led 29-22 at the break.

The Spartans shot just 21 percent in the first 20 minutes on a 6-for-28 performance from the field. Conversely, the Bulldogs nailed 10 of their 23 attempts to end up at 44 percent. Samford also racked up a slight 19-18 advantage in terms of rebounding. Martin led all scorers with 12 points while Collins paced UNCG with eight.

A layup by Reece left the Bulldogs with a 32-26 lead with 17:40 remaining, but the Spartans went on a 7-1 run that was capped by a layup from freshman guard Ebona Goins (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) to knot the score at 33 at the 14:30 mark. Samford held a slim one-possession advantage for the next eight minutes, but UNCG made its run from there.

Another layup from Goins gave the Spartans their first lead of the second half at 43-42 with 5:37 left before a jumper by Schwantz allowed the Bulldogs to forge ahead by two, 49-47, at the 2:39 mark. A key offensive rebound by Harmon allowed freshman guard Lucy Mason to go to the line for a pair of foul shots and she would knock down one of the two to tie the contest at 49 with 1:04 remaining. Harmon came through again as she secured another offensive rebound off a free throw miss. It was then Patterson’s turn for heroics as she made a nice move around a screen and went in uncontested for a layup, giving UNCG a 51-49 edge with 34 seconds on the clock.

Taylor missed a jumper on the Bulldogs’ next possession and Mason reached high for a defensive rebound and was fouled in the process. She hit one of two foul shots to extend the Spartan lead to 52-49 with 10 seconds left. With one final chance, Hannah Dawson misfired on a three and Schwantz could only manage a two-point field goal after Patterson lost the ball down low. Her jumper found the net, but UNCG emerged with the one-point victory.

College of Charleston 65, Georgia Southern 60

STATESBORO, Ga. – Alyssa Frye scored 18 points, and College of Charleston outscored Georgia Southern 10-3 in the final four minutes to earn a 65-60 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory Saturday evening in Hanner Fieldhouse.

After Meredyth Frye gave Georgia Southern (4-18, 3-10 SoCon) a 57-55 lead on a pair of free throws, Cathryn Hardy tied the game with a jumper and Latisha Harris scored on a putback. Hardy added a fastbreak layup to give the Cougars a four-point lead with 1:28 to play.

Danielle Spencer hit 1-of-2 free throws for the Eagles, but on the second attempt, Harris was whistled for elbowing Eagle guard Anna Claire Knight, giving the Eagles two shots and possession of the ball.

Jordi Cook hit 1-of-2 from the line, but MiMi DuBose’s runner rolled out, leaving the margin at two points with 40 seconds to go.

The Eagles fouled Jillian Brown, who entered the game shooting 54.8 percent from the free-throw line, but the junior drilled them both.

Frye missed a runner on the other end for the Eagles, and Harris got the board and made two free throws to seal the win.

Spencer finished with career highs of 15 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia Southern, Knight collected 14 points and six rebounds and Frye finished with 14 points and four assists.

Hardy and Brown each scored 11 for College of Charleston (10-12, 6-7 SoCon), and Harris finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

With the Eagles leading 38-37 early in the second half, Cook hit consecutive triples and Frye hit a pair of free throws to push the margin to 46-37. Alyssa Frye scored six points in an 11-2 CofC run that tied the game 48-48. The game saw three ties and three lead changes from there to set up the frantic finish.

Back-to-back buckets by Meredyth Frye sparked an 8-2 Georgia Southern run, and the Eagles took a 16-9 lead on a Spencer putback midway through the first half. After a jumper by Ronnesha Smith made the score 21-14, the Cougars surged ahead with a 13-0 run, sparked by triples from Frye and Megan Fischer, and a Hardy free throw put CofC ahead 27-21 with 3:03 to go in the half.

Knight answered with a 3-pointer for the Eagles, and after a free throw by CofC’s Afreyea Tolbert, Spencer scored the final four points of the period to tie the score 28-28 at the break.

Chattanooga 63, Elon 40

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga freshman Tatianna Jackson (Atlanta, Ga.) scored a career-high to lead the Lady Mocs to a 10th straight win, downing Elon 63-40 in front of 2,449 fans on Legends Night at the Roundhouse.

Chattanooga improves to 20-3 overall for Head Coach Wes Moore’s 13th 20-win season and sits atop the Southern Conference standings at 13-1. The win was also the Lady Mocs’ 23rd straight in McKenzie Arena. Elon falls to 12-10 on the year and 9-4 in league play.

Jackson was 6-for-8 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers for a team-high 14 points.  She was joined in double-figures by juniors Ashlen Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Faith Dupree (Knoxville, Tenn.) with 12 and 11 points respectively. Dewart pulled down eight boards for the Lady Mocs while Dupree drained her one 3-point attempt in just seven minutes on the floor. Junior Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) recorded eight points and nine rebounds with two blocked shots.

Elon got out to an 8-2 start on the Lady Mocs and stretched the lead to 14-5 at the 11:52 mark. With a “small” lineup on the court that included freshman Alicia “Red” Payne (Memphis, Tenn.) at the point, classmate Tatianna Jackson (Atlanta, Ga.)  on the wing and sophomore Ka’Vonne Towns (Lilburn, Ga.) at small forward, the Lady Mocs turned up the heat. Payne drove the lane and hit a layup sparking a 28-4 run that spanned the final 9:22 of the first half and the first 2:44 of the second to put Chattanooga out front by a commanding 33-18 lead.

Chattanooga held the Phoenix to a season-low 40 points and no 3-pointers. Ali Ford hit for just five points on the night, a season-low for the SoCon’s second leading scorer who averages 17.0 points per game. Elon was led by Kelsey Evans’ game-high 19 points and team-best eight rebounds. Kelsey Harris hit for eight points, four assists and three boards.

With Elon out front by nine midway through the first half, Payne hit her layup followed by a layup from Jackson. The pair teamed up on the ensuing Elon possession with Payne forcing a turnover and feeding Jackson on the fastbreak for another layup and Chattanooga was closing in, forcing the Phoenix to call for time with 7:37 to play and UTC trialing 14-11.

Following the timeout, Payne fed Dewart inside whose layup cut it to 14-13 with 6:27 to play. After a layup from Evans put the Phoenix out front 16-13, Jackson drained the first of her two 3-pointers at the 5:15 mark to tie it up 16-16. Towns grabbed a steal from Ford and fed senior Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) down the court for a fastbreak layup to give Chattanooga an 18-16 lead and the Lady Mocs would never trail again.

Evans was fouled on her game-tying layup with 4:44 to play, but missed the free throw. Hall, Jackson and Towns combined for the final seven Chattanooga points and the Lady Mocs led 25-18 at the half.

With the starters back in the game for Chattanooga, junior Alex Black (Memphis, Tenn.) hit a jumper 30 seconds into the half sparking an 8-0 run capped off by a steal and layup by senior Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) to make it 33-18, UTC’s largest lead of the game so far.

Chattanooga outscored Elon 16-7 over the final 7:42 to get a 23-point win over the Phoenix, 63-40. The Lady Mocs’ bench outscored the Phoenix 31-8 with UTC gaining a 36-24 advantage in the paint. Chattanooga forced 17 turnovers and capitalized with 18 points compared to the Phoenix’ six points off 11 miscues. The Lady Mocs had 11 steals on the night and outscored Elon 14-2 on fast break points and dished out 19 assists – second most this season.

The two teams were even on the board at halftime at 22-22, but the Lady Mocs outrebounded the Phoenix 24-14 in the second with 16 offensive rebounds to Elon’s 11.

At halftime, Chattanooga honored its Legends with players and coaches from the last 38 years in attendance. Former head coaches Grace Keith (1974-76) and Sharon Fanning-Otis (1976-1987) anchored the honorees that featured several of the all-time statistical leaders.

Davidson 56, Appalachian State 49

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State women's basketball suffered a 56-49 loss to Davidson this afternoon at the Holmes Convocation Center.

Senior Anna Freeman put the Mountaineers on the board early in the game as she scored the first nine points of the half.

The Mountaineers managed to knot the score three times in the first half, courtesy of an A. Freeman three-pointer at 14:22 in the period (9-9), followed by another Freeman jumper with 11:28 remaining on the clock (15-15). The Wildcats then jumped ahead with an eight point run (23-15) before Maryah Sydnor shot a jumper at 4:16 in the first (23-17). Davidson's Laura Murray laid in a two-pointer with just over two minutes remaining in the first half (25-17).

Katie Mallow nailed a three-pointer with 45 seconds on the clock to bring Appalachian within five (25-20) of the Wildcats heading into the locker room.

Maryah Sydnor dropped 16 of her 18 points in the first half of play and Kelsey Sharkey pulled down seven rebounds.

Senior Courtney Freeman opened the second half as she found a wide open layup off a pass from Sharkey. The Wildcats would control the lead for the remainder of the half, and climb ahead by as much as nine with 5:52 to go (50-41). Appalachian continued to fight, however, and cut Davidson's lead to just two following Sydnor's pair of trips to the line (51-49). The Wildcat defense forced three turnovers in the final minute of play, sending three different players to the charity strip to grab five extra points and the 56-49 final.

Furman 46, Western Carolina 45

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women’s basketball (6-16, 4-9 Southern Conference) was edged by Furman (10-12, 6-7 SoCon) 46-45 Saturday in the Ramsey Center.

It was a balanced attack by the Catamounts as nine of the 11 players who saw action in the game scored, but the key basket was elusive for Western Carolina down the stretch. Trailing by one point, with 45 seconds remaining, Furman forced a shot clock violation on the Catamounts and got the ball back.

Western Carolina had yet one more chance after the Paladin’s Teshia Griswold missed the front end of a one-and-one with 10 seconds left. The Catamounts turned the ball over with two seconds remaining and Furman held on to win the game.

Neither team scored in the final 2:48 of the game after Western Carolina junior forward Alex Abraham hit a jumper to trim the Furman lead to one.

Western Carolina trailed 29-21 at the half. In the first six plus minutes of the second half, the Catamounts went on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 33 with 13:26 remaining. The game would be tied twice more before the Catamounts took their first lead of the second half when senior forward Janae’ McKinney hit a jumper and was fouled, completing the three point play, by hitting the free throw.

Back-to-back lay-ups by Furman’s Brittany Hodges and Patrice Butler helped Furman regain the lead, 44-43, at the 5:26 mark. In the final six minutes of the game Furman outscored Western Carolina 6-2.

Furman won the rebounding battle ripping down 35 rebounds, 23 on the defensive end, to Western Carolina’s 29. The Catamounts were 13-of-17 from the free throw line.  The Catamounts outscored the Paladins 24-17 in the second half.

Diamond Hunnicutt, Lindsay Simpson and Makensey Campbell each had seven points in the contest to lead Western Carolina. Furman’s Griswold was the only double figure with 10.