Chattanooga 63, Samford 50CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team remains undefeated in Southern Conference action with a 63-50 win over Samford at the McKenzie Arena. The win was No. 800 for Chattanooga Hall of Fame Head Coach Jim Foster and the 35th consecutive home court victory for UTC, the longest active streak in the nation.
Chattanooga improves to 17-3 on the year and completes the first half of Southern Conference play with a stout 9-0 mark. Samford drops to 5-15 overall and 3-6 in league action.
After allowing Samford the first goal of the game, senior Ashlen Dewart reeled off the next eight points, including a 3-pointer and a three-point play to put Chattanooga out front 8-2.
The Bulldogs, however, battled back and would take a 16-15 lead on a pair of free throws from Ellen Riggins with 10:11 to go in the first. Chattanooga would not let that lead last long as four different players combined for nine points over the next 3:41 to put UTC up 24-16. Senior Taylor Hall hit a 3-pointer with 58 second left in the half to give UTC its largest lead of the opening period, 33-21 and the Lady Mocs would lead 33-23 at intermission.
The second half started with the two teams trading buckets over the first 5:14 before Chattanooga put together a 6-0 run to get its largest lead of the game, 43-27, with 13:46 to play. The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run of its own to cut the lead to 43-33 and would even get as close as nine points, 46-37 at the 8:44 mark, but Chattanooga would never trail in the final stanza.
Hall led all scorers with 22 points and tied her career-high for steals with six. She was 7-of-8 from the free throw line and dished out three assists while grabbing six boards. Dewart was the only other Chattanooga player in double figures with 10 points and had a team-high seven rebounds and four assists and added two blocked shots.
Senior Alex Black added seven points and four rebounds while senior Faith Dupree had six points and for boards.
Samford was led in scoring by Riggins with 15 points and six rebounds. She was 4-of-4 from the free throw line and 5-of-7 from the field. Kassidy Blevins scored 13 points for the Bulldogs in 31 minutes on the floor while Hannah Nichols had nine points and six rebounds.
The game was tight inside with Chattanooga edging Samford 36-30 in the paint and 13-10 on second chance points. UTC forced 17 turnovers and scored 13 points compared to Samford’s six points on 10 UTC mistakes. UTC was one shy of its season-high for steals with 12 and for the eighth time this year, had 10 or fewer turnovers.
The win was Chattanooga’s 13th straight. Combined with the men’s nine consecutive wins, UTC has 22, second longest in the country behind Wichita State’s 33 (men 20, women 13). The win was also UTC’s 25th straight Southern Conference regular season victory.
Appalachian State 74, Davidson 66BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball gained a victory on Saturday, beating Davidson with a final score of 74-66.
Led by Maryah Sydnor's 36 points and 15 rebounds, the Mountaineers (7-11, 4-4 SoCon) got the win over the number two ranked team in the Southern Conference, Davidson (9-10, 6-2), battling until the very end of the game.
Appalachian would begin the game strong, scoring twice in the first 20 seconds to lead 4-0. The Wildcats quickly regained composure and showed their talent from behind the arc, tying the game 6-6 with a three-pointer.
From there it would be a fight as Appalachian pulled ahead by two, but the Wildcats stayed with them, never falling behind by more than five until the 10:36 mark. A three-pointer from Sydnor would lengthen the Mountaineers' lead to 25-19.
The Apps began to gain control of the half, pulling ahead by ten points with four minutes to go. Appalachian led at halftime 36-29.
Sydnor led the team in the first half, already notching a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds. KeKe Cooper followed with seven rebounds.
The Mountaineers shot 38.1 percent (16-42) in the first half, while Davidson shot 35.7 (10-28) from the floor. Dakota Dukes led the Wildcats with 12 points in the first half of the game.
Davidson would score the first two points of the second half, but Appalachian responded with a jumper from Bria Huffman and layup from Sydnor. The Apps would look to have the game under control, but the Wildcats would suddenly go on a 9-2 run to pull within three points with 15:30 left to play.
Appalachian began to find points, pulling ahead by 11 after a three-pointer from Sydnor at the 9:13 minute mark. The game would not be over though, as Davidson began to climb back, going on a 12-0 run to find the lead and make the score 55-54 with 6:10 left to play. Katie Mallow ended Appalachian's drought, hitting a huge shot from behind the arc to put them back in the lead.
The Mountaineers would score again immediately afterwards and refuse to give up the lead for the rest of the game. Despite the Wildcats only trailing by one point with 2:56 left to play, the Apps would connect for 13 points in the last 2:30 of the game to make the final score 74-66.
Sydnor finshed the game with her ninth double-double of the season and a new career-high of 36 points, while pulling down 15 rebounds. Huffman scored in double-figures for the fifth straight game, recording 10 points.
Mallow came up big for App State at the end of the game, finishing with eight points and seven assists. The Mountaineers shot 41.5 percent in the game, while grabbing 46 rebounds and turning the ball over 19 times.
Davidson was led by Dukes' 23 points and nine rebounds, followed by Laura Murray's 13 points and Hannah Early's 12 points. The Wildcats shot 36.5 percent from the floor, grabbed 29 rebounds and recorded 15 turnovers.
With the win, Appalachian improves to 4-4 in the conference while also giving Davidson just their second SoCon loss this season.
Furman 66, Elon 65GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Sarah Durdaller drained a 3-point shot with nine seconds remaining in the game to propel Furman past Elon, 66-65, in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
The win marked the fourth consecutive home triumph for Furman (11-8, 5-3 SoCon), which improved to 7-1 in Timmons Arena this season, and halted a three-game winning streak by Elon (8-11, 4-4 SoCon).
Durdaller’s decisive trey from the right wing, which represented her only basket of the second half, came off an assist from Whitney Bunn and completed the Paladins’ comeback from a three-point deficit in the final minute.
A Lauren Brown 3-pointer from the left corner gave the Phoenix a 64-61 lead with 1:07 remaining, but Furman answered behind Brittany Hodges, who followed a Durdaller miss with a layup to make it 64-63.
Elon’s Kelsey Harris converted one of two free throws with 40 seconds to go to put the Phoenix up 65-63, setting the stage for a Durdaller’s game winning 3-pointer, which followed a pair of timeouts.
Elon’s bid to win the game failed after Nicole Razor’s dribble penetration along the baseline was cut off by three Paladin defenders under the basket, leading to a loose ball as time expired.
Furman appeared on the way to suffering its third straight defeat after Zora Stephenson connected on a jump shot to give Elon a 52-43 lead with 11:03 to go in the contest.
The Paladins, however, responded by holding the Phoenix scoreless over the next five minutes and fashioning a 14-1 run to take a 57-53 lead on a Holli Wilkins 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining.
A Harris layup at the 3:57 mark ended a seven-minute field goal drought for Elon, which recovered to grab a 61-59 advantage on Harris’ three-point play with 1:30 showing on the clock.
Two Brigid Morrissey free throws knotted the game at 61-61, leading to the dramatic final minute.
Wilkins led all scorers and rebounders with 17 points and eight caroms, respectively. She was followed by Durdaller with 14 points, Bunn with 13 points, and Hodges with 12 points.
Stephenson paced Elon with 13 points and Jenifer Rhodes tallied 14 points for the Phoenix, which got 13 points from Sam Coffer and 11 from Harris.
Furman helped offset 23 turnovers with a 49-38 rebounding advantage, and the Paladins shot 41.7 percent from the field, aided by a 52.0 percent shooting effort (13-for-25) over the final 20 minutes.
Elon hit on 24-of-66 shots (36.4 percent) but made just 12-of-21 free throw attempts (57.1 percent).
The Phoenix jumped out to a 15-4 lead before Furman answered with 13-2 stretch to tie the game at 17-17 on a layup by Shianne Goodwin eight minutes into the first half.
Wofford 76, UNCG 70SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior Logan Morris scored a career-high 26 points and the Wofford women’s basketball team defeated UNC Greensboro in overtime, 76-70, on Saturday afternoon inside Benjamin Johnson Arena.
In a game that never saw either team lead by more than six points, UNCG scored seven straight to take a 61-57 lead with 3:03 remaining in regulation. Sophomore Ashton Fleming hit a jumper on the next possession and, with a minute to play, classmate Chanel Stokes poked the ball from Bailey Williams, allowing Morris to hit the game-tying jumper.
In overtime, India Timpton gave the Spartans (5-14, 1-7 SoCon) the initial lead, but sophomore Jordan Frazier responded with the last of her three triples, putting the Terriers (4-14, 2-6 SoCon) on top for good. Frazier was big for Wofford in the extra period, scoring eight points on 2-of-2 shooting and knocking down three of her four free throws. She finished the game with 22 points and four steals.
Morris shot 10-of-18 from the field, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and going 4-of-6 from the free throw line. She also tied her career-high of four steals and filled up the stat sheet with five rebounds, two assists and a block.
Junior Lauren Kirby was big on the boards, posting a game-high 11 to help Wofford edge the Spartans 41-39. Fleming had six rebounds and joined Morris and Frazier in the double-figure scoring column with 10.
For UNCG, Lucy Mason scored a team-high 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Mason was 2-of-6 from 3-point land and added four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Bailey Williams had six assists to lead UNCG, but also committed 10 turnovers in a game that saw the Spartans turn the ball over 32 times. The Terriers were turnover prone as well, ending the game with 28.
The big difference maker was at the free throw line, where the Terriers were 24-of-34 (71 pct.), while UNCG only had 10 attempts and made six. The 24 made free throws were a season-high for Wofford, eclipsing their 23-of-31 performance in the season opener at Clemson.
Wofford got off to a good start by scoring eight of the game’s first 11 points. Frazier hit her first trey of the afternoon at the 17:13 mark to post the first points for either side, and Morris hit her first triple a minute later. Stokes was good for the game’s first two free throws to cap the 8-3 run.
The Spartans came back with a 13-2 run to take a 16-10 lead. Jessica Collins hit a three and followed it with a jumper to score five straight UNCG points. Mariah Wilson brought the score even at the 13:32 mark, before Mason scored on back-to-back possessions and Whitney Coleman hit Shanese Harris for a fast-break layup. Morris ended the run with her second trey.
With UNCG leading 22-18, Morris and Frazier teamed up for a 7-0 run to push Wofford back in front. Morris hit a layup to make it a two-point game, and Frazier knocked down another 3-ball to get the Terriers back ahead. Morris was good for another basket at the 6:52 mark to close the run.
Williams gave UNCG the lead back with less than four minutes to play in the half, knocking down a 3-pointer at the 3:47 mark and handing UNCG a 29-28 advantage. Wofford took it back before halftime as Aliyah Johnson came up with a steal and raced down the court with a minute to play. It would be the final two points of the half as the Terriers went into the locker rooms with a 32-31 lead.
UNCG was outshooting Wofford 50 percent (14-28) to 35 percent (10-29) at the break. The Terriers made up for it with an 8-of-12 showing at the free throw line, while the Spartans had yet to attempt any. Morris had 12 points to lead all scorers, while Frazier was one behind with 11. Kirby had six rebounds of her 11 rebounds.
Jarae Savage put UNCG on top 50 seconds into the second half. Wofford tied the game three times through the first six minutes and regained the lead at the 13:35 mark on a Morris steal that led to a wide-open layup for Stokes, 41-39.
The two sides battled with Wofford leading by no more than four over the next five and a half minutes. UNCG tied the score twice and got to the free throw line for the first time in the game at the 8:41 mark as Mason hit both to bring the game to 47-all tie. Wofford then scored five straight for a 52-47 lead with 7:30 on the clock.
The Spartans dug deep and put together a 7-0 run that put them ahead by two. Morris tied it with a pair of free throws and Fleming hit a big three with 4:33 remaining to hand the Terriers a 57-54 lead.
Another 7-0 UNCG run ensued that saw the Spartans take a 61-57 lead with three minutes to play. Wofford’s defense hunkered down and did not allow UNCG to score another point through the remainder of regulation, helping the Terriers bring the game to overtime and eventually earn their second SoCon win.
The victory improved Wofford to 4-2 this season inside Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Georgia Southern 63, Western Carolina 56CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Anna Claire Knight scored 17 points, and Georgia Southern held Western Carolina scoreless for a six-minute stretch in the second half to post a 63-56 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory over the Catamounts Saturday afternoon in the Ramsey Activity Center.
MiMi DuBose scored 14 points and hit two 3-pointers to tie the school career record of 167. The senior shares the mark with Svetlana Trjeskal (1995-99).
Knight was 6-of-12 from the floor and hit all three of her 3-point attempts after leaving the game early with a bloody nose. Briana Jones collected 10 points and six rebounds for the Eagles (6-13, 4-4), and Danielle Spencer tallied six points and seven rebounds. Lacie Dowling chipped in seven assists with just one turnover.
Rena Wakama led Western Carolina (9-10, 3-5 SoCon) with 17 points, and Shauna Terry notched 14 points and nine rebounds. Justin Taylor added 11 points and three assists.
Georgia Southern shot a season-high 51 percent for the game, including a 53 percent mark in the second stanza (16-for-30). After giving up 13 offensive rebounds in the first frame, the Eagles allowed one in the second half and held the Catamounts to 34 percent shooting for the contest.
Georgia Southern held Western Carolina without a basket for a stretch of 6:38 in the second half, which helped the Eagles take control of the game, pushing a one-point lead into a 13-point cushion.
Clinging to a slim 41-40 advantage, the Eagles went on a 14-2 run as Angel McGowan came off the bench to score all six of her points during the stretch. The margin increased to 14 points on a pair of Knight free throws with 2:19 remaining.
The Eagles were down 23-15 with 4:38 to go in the first half but DuBose and Knight hit consecutive triples to spark an 11-4 run to finish the half as GSU trailed 27-26 at halftime. Georgia Southern shot 48 percent in the period while holding Western Carolina to 31 percent.
The Eagles return to action Monday at Appalachian State. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in the Holmes Center.