Davidson 69, Western Carolina 65
CULLOWHEE, N.C.  — The Davidson women’s basketball team shook off a cold-shooting first half to hit 56 percent of its second-half attempts and four Wildcats scored in double digits, including Shneeka Center and Dakota Dukes with double-doubles, to lead Davidson to a 69-65 road win at Western Carolina Monday in the Ramsey Center on Education Day.

Davidson (10-10, 7-2 SoCon) shot just 27 percent in the first half, but came out and hit 14-of-25 shots in the new half, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc, for 47 points on its way to winning its fifth game in the past seven.

Center finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, scoring 12 of her points in the second half. Dukes registered 11 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.

Center brought the Wildcats back from five down (49-44) in the second half, helping spark a 11-3 run by canning a three-ball and then capped it off with a three-point play for a 55-52 Wildcat advantage and 5:25 of the clock. Davidson never trailed the rest of the way.

Laura Murray led all scores with 18 points, swishing home all seven of her free throws, and Hannah Early rounded out the four double-figure scorers with 12 points and eight boards.

Western Carolina (9-11, 3-6 SoCon) kept within five points in the final five minutes, but Davidson answered every time it scored.

The Wildcats sealed up the win by going 7-for-7 at the charity stripe in the last 19 seconds, with the two biggest free throws coming with two ticks left on the clock. Lindsay Simpson drained a three-pointer to cut the lead to two, 67-65, with three seconds left and Western quickly fouled Alex Long (9 points). Long hit the first of two free throws, and then after the Catamounts tried to ice her with a timeout, calmly hit the second for the final score of 69-65.

Justin Taylor led three Catamounts in double figures with 12 points off the bench, while Makensey Campbell and Kristen Lyon had 10 apiece.

Davidson went 18-for-21 at the free-throw line, including 14-for-16 in its big second half performance.

Neither team found any offensive rhythm in the first half, combining to shoot 19-for-66 from the field and 2-of-22 from three-land. The Wildcats started out just 5-of-22, including 0-for-7 from long range, but trailed just 14-13 after Center had an offensive putback with 7:35 on the clock.

Long gave Davidson a brief 22-21 lead later with 2:19 left on baseline jumper with the shot clock winding down, but Western scored the last five points to go up 26-22 at halftime.

 

Wofford 68, Elon 65
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Jordan Frazier’s drive to the basket put Wofford ahead by three with 10.6 seconds to play, and the Terriers fended off a 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Elon, 68-65, in front of a women’s basketball record crowd of 1,592 on Monday afternoon at Benjamin Johnson Arena. Wofford held its 2nd annual “Growing Up Gold: Education Day” with over 1,300 third through fifth graders from Spartanburg County in attendance. 

Senior Logan Morris hit 1-of-2 free throws with 53 seconds remaining to put the Terriers ahead by four. Zora Stephenson drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing Elon possession, cutting the lead to one, and Wofford head coach Edgar I. Farmer, Jr., called a timeout with 29.6 seconds remaining and 19 showing on the shot clock.

Out of the timeout, Frazier drove the right side of the lane for an open lay-in. Elon (8-12, 4-5 SoCon) used a timeout to set up a potential, game-tying shot, but Stephenson’s buzzer-beater was challenged well and drew no iron as Wofford (5-14, 3-6 SoCon) celebrated its second straight Southern Conference victory.

Morris finished with a game-high 25 points and four steals, two days after setting her new career-high of 26 points in a win over UNCG. Frazier had 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two swipes, while junior Lauren Kirby had 11 points and came up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Sophomore Ashton Fleming had a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Terriers posted their best shooting game of the season, connecting at 46.6 percent (27-58 FG) and outdueling Elon’s mark of 40 percent (24-60 FG). Wofford edged the battle of the boards, 38-37, and won the scoring battle down low as well with a 40-32 advantage in the paint. 

For the Phoenix, Jessica Farmer scored a team-high 14 points along with five rebounds. Lauren Brown had 12 points and tied Kelsey Harris with a game-high five assists. Elon’s top two scorers heading into the game were Harris and Zora Stephenson, averaging 23.1 points combined. The two were held to just eight and seven, respectively.

It was about more than just basketball on Monday. Every student in attendance on Education Day got to visit Wofford’s campus, some taking tours prior to the game, and learn about college and what the future has in store.

The Education Day crowd saw Kirby get it going early with Wofford’s first two baskets for a 4-2 lead. Elon responded with six straight to go on top 8-4 at the 15:21 mark, and held its lead until Morris drained a trey with 11:34 on the clock, tying the game at 13. The Morris triple sparked a 7-0 Terrier run that saw junior Michelle Merritt hit a layup and draw a foul, and the Terriers were on top 17-13 with 8:55 remaining in the half.

Elon never took another lead the rest of the afternoon. Farmer tied the game once more at 19, but the Terriers never allowed the Phoenix to go on top, answering each run with timely baskets. It included freshman Kentra Washington hitting a three from the left baseline with Elon down just one, and fellow classmate Maria Corella draining another triple off the bench just 12 seconds after entering the game. It gave Wofford its largest lead of the half, 30-23, at the 3:03 mark.

Frazier padded the cushion to seven once more with eight seconds on the clock, but Lauren Brown raced down the court and hit a jumper at the first-half buzzer to make it 37-32 at the half. Morris paced all scorers with 10 at the break, while Frazier and Elon’s Brown each had nine. Wofford shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc while Elon had yet to attempt a three – the Phoenix entered the game as the league’s top 3-point shooting team at 37 percent.

Morris and Frazier combined to score the first 11 Terrier points of the second half, with a Frazier 3-pointer at the 13:59 mark sparking a 7-0 run. Kirby was good on back-to-back possessions following Frazier’s three, giving Wofford its largest lead of the afternoon, 52-43, ahead by nine with 12:32 on the clock. 

The Terriers went on a lull and Elon scored eight straight to bring it to a one-point game. Morris hit a layup at the 8:33 mark to end a nearly four-minute scoring drought.

The game took an emotional turn at the 7:24 mark. Lenaira Ruffin missed a 3-point attempt and the battle for the rebound saw Elon’s Nicole Razor go down hard. Razor stayed down and had to be escorted away by EMTs, but gave the crowd a wave from her stretcher as a good sign.

After a nearly 30-minute delay, the two teams warmed back up with the Terriers ahead, 54-53. Both teams seemed to be scoring at will once play resumed, but the Terriers grabbed the momentum and pushed back in front by seven with 3:56 to play.

Five straight Elon points brought it back to a two-point game with 1:38 remaining, but the Phoenix could not score on consecutive possessions and the Terriers went back in front by four after Frazier and Morris each hit 1-of-2 free throws. Stephenson’s late three gave Elon a chance, but it was not to be and Wofford improved to 5-2 at home. 

 

Georgia Southern 68, Appalachian State 59
BOONE, N.C. – MiMi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga./Jefferson) led five Eagles in double figures in the scoring column with 15 points, and Georgia Southern outscored Appalachian State 24-0 from the 3-point line to post a 68-59 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory over the Mountaineers Monday night in the Holmes Center.

MiMi DuBose hit four 3-pointers, all in the first half, to pass Svetlana Trjeskal (1995-99) and move into first on the Georgia Southern career list with 171. DuBose hit the record-breaking triple 1:20 into the game as she got free at the top of the key in transition.

Angel McGowan tallied 13 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Sierra Kirkland collected a career-high 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists for the Eagles (7-13, 5-4). Danielle Spencer chipped in 11 points and six rebounds, and Anna Claire Knight scored 10.

Bria Huffman scored 19 points to lead Appalachian State (7-12, 4-5), and Maryah Sydnor posted 15 points and nine rebounds. KeKe Cooper collected nine points and eight rebounds.

Georgia Southern shot 43.6 percent from the floor for the game and canned 8-of-19 3-pointers with seven coming in the first half as the Eagles built a 12-point lead at the break. The Mountaineers missed on all eight of their attempts from long distance in the contest.

Leading by three late in the first frame, Georgia Southern capped the period with an 11-2 run to take a 37-25 cushion into the locker room. DuBose hit three triples during the spurt.

The Eagles withstood a couple Mountaineer runs in the second half but responded each time. Appalachian State worked the double-digit margin down to seven points late, and the teams traded buckets until the Mountaineers scored five straight to come within four points on a Mia Marshall putback with 2:35 to play.

Kirkland used a pump fake to get to the rim for a layup on the Eagles’ next possession and after a defensive stop, Knight grabbed the rebound and went coast to coast for a layup to make the score 65-57 with 1:32 left. The Eagles held the Mountaineers scoreless inside the last minute and went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line to seal the win.

A conventional 3-point play by Spencer put the Eagles on top 42-29, their largest lead of the game, early in the second half. Sydnor scored four points in an 8-2 Mountaineer run to trim the margin 48-43 with 10:24 remaining, but DuBose hit two free throws and McGowan scored four straight points to push the lead back to 11.

 

Furman 73, UNCG 64
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Holli Wilkins scored 21 points and Brittany Hodges delivered 17 points and a game high 11 rebounds to help Furman claim its fifth straight home victory with a 73-64 triumph over UNCG in Southern Conference women’s basketball play Monday evening at Timmons Arena.

Wilkins, Furman’s leading scorer this season, hit on 9-of-13 shots, including both 3-point attempts, and a free throw to pace the Paladins (12-8, 6-3 SoCon), who improved to 8-1 at home on the campaign.  With her father, former NBA standout Gerald Wilkins in attendance, the sophomore forward tallied 11 points in the first half and 10 over the game’s final 20 minutes.

Lucy Mason registered a game high 27 points for UNCG (5-15, 1-8 SoCon), which dropped its sixth straight game.

Hodges, who went 7-for-7 from the field to help Furman grab a 36-29 halftime lead, was held in check in the second half until she delivered a key 3-point play with 1:39 remaining to blunt a late surge by the Spartans.  The double-double was her team leading eighth of the season.

Sarah Durdaller rounded out Furman’s double figure scoring attack with 15 points, highlighted by a 9-for-9 performance at the free throw line.

Furman extended its seven-point halftime lead to 12 points at 47-35 following a Wilkins layup three minutes into the second period.

UNCG responded with a 10-0 run over the next six minutes to slice the Paladin lead to 47-45 following a Janae’ Stevenson free throw at the 12:12 mark.

At that point Durdaller stepped up with game deciding play, tallying the Paladins’ next seven points to check the Spartans’ rally and give Furman a 54-47 lead.  After a Whitney Bunn layup, Durdaller capped her personal rally with a pair of free throws at the 9:50 juncture to put the Paladins ahead, 58-47.

Furman kept UNCG in check over the next six minutes until the Spartans fashioned an 8-0 spurt to cut the Paladins’ advantage to 67-62 on a Jade Scaife rebound and stickback with 2:08 to go.

That’s as close as UNCG would get however, as Furman answered on the ensuing possession with Hodges’ layup set up by Brigid Morrissey’s 11th assist of the game.

For Morrissey, the SoCon’s leader in assists, the 11 dishes marked her second straight double digit assist performance, fourth of the season, and seventh of her career.

Furman shot 52.9 percent from the field — its second best shooting performance on the campaign.  That helped offset UNCG’s 44-34 rebounding advantage, which included a 23-6 margin on the offensive glass.  The Spartans made just 23-of-71 shots (32.4 percent) from the field.