Furman 67, Davidson 60
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Brittany Hodges, the Southern Conference’s Preseason Player of the Year, opened her senior season in recording setting fashion, scoring 17 points and grabbing a school record 24 rebounds to power Furman to a 67-60 victory over Davidson in the 2014-15 season opener for both teams Friday evening at Timmons Arena.
Hodges, a consensus All-SoCon forward, capped her brilliant performance by draining two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to become the 19th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club. The 6-foot-1 Powder Springs, Ga., native also tacked on three blocks and a steal in 36 minutes of action to key Furman’s successful opener.
Hodges’ 24 caroms topped her previous career high of 17 rebounds recorded last year in a win over Wofford and bested the old Furman standard of 23 rebounds registered by Natalie Cleckley versus Western Carolina in 1991. The double-double was the 23rd of her career. She made 6-of-14 shots from the field and converted 5-of-7 free throws.
Furman (1-0) got a game high 18 points, including 14 in the second half, from sophomore point guard Whitney Bunn, who also tallied seven assist, and 12 points and nine rebounds from Sarah Durdaller.
Davidson (0-1) placed four players in double figures, led by Hannah Early’s 15 points. Dakota Dukes finished with 12 points, and Makenzie Latt garnered 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats.
A year ago Furman used a late season, 69-62 win over Davidson in Greenville to slip past the Wildcats for second place in the standings, and Friday’s opener proved to be near replay as the game proved close throughout.
Davidson’s Mellissa Giegerich gave the Wildcats a 48-45 lead, their largest of the second half, with a layup with 5:39 to go, but a Kelsey Ellis 3-pointer from the right wing tied it 27 seconds later.
Knotted at 52-52 following a pair of Early free throws with 4:05 remaining, the game’s balance shifted at that point behind Bunn, who rolled in back-to-back running bank shots in the lane to give the Paladins a 56-52 advantage.
After Davidson cut it to 56-54 on a Dukes layup at the 3:15 mark, Furman’s Allison Beasley took a pass from Holli Wilkins and nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to stretch the Paladin lead to 59-54.
Bunn upped it to 60-54 with a free throw with two and half minutes to go and then answered a Davidson tally with another driving layup for a 62-56 Furman advantage.
Saadia Timpton pulled the Wildcats to within four at 62-58 with a minute remaining, but two free throws by Durdaller and Hodges — the latter coming with 21 second remaining to get her to 1,000 career points — sealed the game’s outcome.
Furman finished the contest shooting 39.1 percent from the field, making 25-of-64 shots but just 2-of-10 from 3-point range. Davidson shot 38.0 percent (27-of-71) and made just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The Paladins outscored the Wildcats by 10 points at the free throw line, converting 15-of-22 attempts to Davidson’s 5-of-10.
Hodges accounted for 24 of the Paladins’ 45 rebounds.
Furman plays at Winthrop on Monday evening in a 7:00 p.m. game.
Chattanooga 49, Villanova 45
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Jasmine Joyner drained two free throws with 4.7 seconds on the clock to secure a narrow 49-45 victory over visiting Villanova in the season-opener for both teams at the Chattanooga Tip-Off Challenge.
The free throws added to her first career double-double with 16 points and 20 rebounds. That ties for fifth most rebounds in a game and the first time a UTC has had that many since Feb. 6, 1988 when Regina Kirk pulled down 20 against Furman.
With 4:38 to play, Joyner was fouled on a back door pass, making the layup and sinking the free throw to put the Mocs up 47-39. However, Villanova would cut that lead to 47-45 with a 6-0 run on a 3-pointer and a trio of free throws with 2:31 to play.
The two teams combined to go 0-6 over the final couple of minutes and a Villanova turnover with five seconds to play led to the foul that sent Joyner to the stripe.
After a bit of back-and-forth to start the game, Villanova put up six straight points to take its largest lead of the game, 13-8 at the 12:33 mark of the first half.
It wouldn’t last long, however, as the Mocs went on a 17-2 run over the next 9:41 to move back out front 25-15 with 1:32 to go in the half. Chattanooga would not trail again and led 27-19 at the break.
After outscoring the Wildcats 9-3 to start the second half, Villanova put together a 13-3 run to cut the Mocs’ lead to four points, 39-35 with 7:17 to play. They would make it a three point game twice more and get as close as two but the Mocs’ survived the push.
Sophomore Moses Johnson was the only other Chattanooga player in double figures scoring a career-best 13 points and matched her career-high for rebounds with six.
UTC converted 18 turnovers into 19 points and outscored the Wildcats 28-16. Both teams got 16 points from the bench while the Mocs edged Villanova 11-9 on second chance points. Chattanooga won the rebound battle 44-37 and had 18 offensive boards compared to 11 for the Wildcats.
Chattanooga (1-0) shot 31.6 percent for the game and was 8-of-28 in the second half while making 2-of-13 from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, UTC was 11-of-17 and had just six assists.
Villanova (0-1) shot 34 percent for the game, making 17-of-50 while hitting 6-of-16 from the 3-point line. The Wildcats made 5-of-9 from the free throw line while dishing out 12 assists and racking up seven blocked shots.
Chattanooga improves its nation’s-best home court win streak to 40 consecutive games dating back to the home opener in 2011-12.
Villanova will take on South Florida Saturday at 4 p.m. on Day Two of the Tip-Off Challenge. Admission to the game and parking will be free to the public. The game will be aired on the SoCon Digital Network (SDN) with Larry Ward handing play-by-play.
The Mocs will take on South Florida Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
ETSU 81, UNC Asheville 68
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Freshman point guard Tianna Tarter added a game-high 21 points in her regular season collegiate debut as the ETSU women’s basketball team bested the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 81-68, on Friday evening inside Kimmel Arena.
With the win, ETSU moves to 1-0 to begin the season while UNCA drops to 0-1.
Fresh off of two exhibition wins, the Bucs got off to a hot start in their kickoff to the regular season. The Blue & Gold built up an 11-6 advantage after Shamauria Bridges splashed home a three with 15:30 to go in the first half. The Bulldogs then battled back to tie the game at 13 with 13 minutes to go. This surge continued as UNCA went on an 11-5 run to take a six-point lead with 9:30 left to play in the period The duo of Tarter and Destiny Mitchell answered back to put the Bucs ahead 24-23 over the next minute. The two teams went back and forth over the next few minutes before the Blue & Gold pulled ahead by four after a Chandler Christopher jumper with 1:26 to play. The Bulldogs then fired back with a pair of jumpers in the final minute to send the two teams to the break deadlocked at 38.
The two squads traded baskets to start the second half, but a 12-0 run by ETSU over the next five minutes allowed it build up a solid advantage with 13 minutes to go. Shooting at a more-efficient clip and limiting UNCA’s offensive attack allowed the Bucs to build a game-high 15 point lead, 64-49, with nine minutes left to play. Over the next five minutes, though, the home team refused to go away and chipped its deficit down to six points with 3:18 remaining. With time winding down and UNCA’s defense playing more aggressive, ETSU was able to get to the free-throw line and convert at a consistent rate over the final few minutes. The second-half offensive explosion, coupled with sound defense, allowed the Blue & Gold to come away with an 81-68 victory.
In addition to Tarter’s game-high in points, the Science Hill High School product added six rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes. Included in the Bucs’ five double-digit scoring efforts was redshirt senior Mitchell joining the ETSU 1,000-point club with 16 points after entering the game needing seven to reach the plateau. The redshirt senior is now the 21st member of said club. Bridges, Maria Bond and Christopher, too, reached double-figures with 15, 14 and 10, respectively. The Bulldogs had two players in double-digits and were led by Tianna Knuckles’ 19 points.
The Blue & Gold shot a pretty-efficient 52 percent from the field and were impressive from behind the arc with 12 makes. ETSU also assisted on 16 of their 27 made field goals and converted 14 UNCA turnovers into 17 points. Additionally, the Bucs remained strong in the paint with 36 points.
The Bulldogs shot the ball at a 38 percent clip and only converted on 3-of-13 tries from long range. UNCA did get a huge contribution from its bench with 35 points and knocked down 21-of-28 free throws (75 percent).
The Bucs will welcome High Point to Brooks Gym on Monday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. in their regular season home opener.
Clemson 80, UNCG 51
CLEMSON, S.C. – A late first half run from Clemson proved to be the difference as the UNCG women’s basketball team fell 80-51 in the 2014-15 season opener Friday afternoon at the Little John Coliseum.
UNCG took 68 shots but only 18 went down as the Spartans finished the game shooting 26.5 percent from the floor. Clemson had a hot-shooting second half and finished the game 30-for-58 from the field at 51.7 percent. The Tigers used their size to score 40 points in the paint but UNCG out-rebounded them 44-41 with 24 on the offensive end.
Senior guard Jessica Collins finished the game with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, including two treys. Junior guard Lucy Mason scored nine second half points to finish with a team-high 11 points but was only 3-for-13 from the field. Mason was one rebound shy of tying her career high after grabbing seven rebounds along with two steals and two assists.
Senior forward Jarae Savage was the third Spartan in double-figures with 10 points off the bench and finished with six rebounds.
Freshman Shelbie Davenport paced Clemson with 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting in her first collegiate contest. Nikki Dixon chipped in 15 points off the bench and freshman Cha’nelle Perry added 13 points for the Tigers.
Clemson opened the second half with a 13-6 run after a three-point shot from Daneesha Provo at the 16:05 mark. The Tigers would continue to push the lead after a 14-9 streak with just under 10 minutes left in the game increasing their largest lead to 62-39.
Mason would end a 10-0 run with a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 67-41 with just under six minutes to play. The Spartans committed a game-high 20 turnovers leading to 20 points for Clemson.
Savage would score the final bucket for UNCG with a jumper with just under two minutes left.
In the first half, Clemson ended the half on a 14-5 run to take a 35-24 lead thanks to eight first half points from Shelbie Davenport. Collins led the Spartans in scoring finishing with a team-high six points on 2-for-6 shooting.
The Blue and Gold pulled down 22 rebounds in the first half, including 10 offensively. The Spartans opened the game holding a 9-5 lead off four points from freshman Skye Jefferson.
The Tigers answered with a 10-0 run to take a 15-10 lead by the second media timeout. UNCG would respond cutting the lead to one point at the seven-minute mark at 18-17 on a layup from freshman Keli Foster.
Clemson would open up its biggest lead of the half thanks to an 8-0 run at the 4:30 mark on a layup by Ivy Atkism to make the score 26-17. UNCG scored seven points the rest of the half to trail by 11 at intermission.
The Blue and Gold return to action Sunday, Nov. 16 to face the College of Charleston at 2 p.m. inside TD Arena.
Mississippi State 97, Mercer 66
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Three Bears scored in double digits, but it was not enough to keep Mercer from falling, 97-66, to Mississippi State in the first round of the Preseason WNIT on Friday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
Senior Precious Bridges led Mercer (0-1) with 22 points, including going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Freshman Kahlia Lawrence scored 13 points and added four rebounds, two steals and an assist, while senior Briana Williams notched 11 points and four rebounds for the night.
Senior Teanna Robinson pulled down eight rebounds and also recorded two points, three steals, a block and an assist. Senior Alicia Williams also had a team-leading three steals in addition to seven points, four rebounds and an assist.
Mississippi State (1-0) also had three double-digit scorers, who were led by Victoria Vivians’ 23 points.
Lawrence joined the four seniors in the starting lineup, making her the fourth freshman to start a season opener under Head Coach Susie Gardner.
Mercer started the game strong, working its way to a 7-4 lead with less than two minutes off the clock. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, before Mississippi State went on a 7-2 run over just 1:24, to take a 16-11 lead with 14:04 left in the first half.
Over the next four minutes, the teams went back and forth, but two free throws and a trey for the Bulldogs stretched MSU’s advantage to 26-17 with 8:25 on the clock. The Bears then went on a run of their own, scoring six unanswered points in 2:15 to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 26-23 with 5:48 remaining in the half.
After going back and forth for 2:44, Mississippi State went on an 8-0 run over the final 1:37 of the half to take a 41-29 lead at halftime. MSU’s offensive spurt came after Bridges was taken out of the game with 1:55 on the clock after picking up her third foul of the half.
The Bulldogs started the second stanza with a 6-0 run over the two minutes and increased their advantage to 47-29. Mercer scored its first points of the half when Lawrence grabbed a quick layup and Bridges added one of her own less than a minute later to move the score to 47-33.
Mississippi State used a 13-1 spurt over 1:03 to stretch its lead to 60-34 with 14:57 left in the game. From that point, the Bears kept the Bulldogs from having another big run, but were unable to build any momentum themselves.
Mercer shot 37 percent from the field and also connected on 83.3 percent of its free throws, while Mississippi State shot 47.1 percent from the field, including 38.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
The Bears will continue play in the Preseason WNIT and will learn their next opponent on Sunday, Nov. 16.
NC Central 64, Western Carolina 59
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Freshman Sherae Bonner recorded a double-double, 16 points and 13 rebounds, in Catamount women's basketball's 64-59 loss to North Carolina Central in its home and season opener Friday in the Ramsey Center.
Bonner, a forward from Whitesburg, Ga., scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half and ripped down eight of her 13 rebounds in the first half. Bonner was one of three Catamount players to post double figures in scoring followed by senior Justin Taylor's 13 points and junior Lindsay Simpson's 10 points.
On the night, Western Carolina couldn't overcome the quick start by North Carolina Central. After Western Carolina scored the first point of the game, 1-of-2 free throws by Bonner, the Eagles poured in seven unanswered points to lead 7-1. NC Central relied on the three-pointer early as their first two buckets were treys.
The Catamounts played behind for most of the night. With 9:10 left in the first half the Catamounts trimmed the Eagles' lead to two, 18-16, on a lay-up by Brianne Mack. NC Central answered with a lay-up by Racquel Davis.
A Simpson three-pointer, with 7:44 left in the half, trimmed the NC Central lead back to three, 27-24. It was the closest Western Carolina would get to the Eagles the rest of the first half.
Trailing 33-26 at the half, Bonner opened the second half just like she started the first - hitting one of two free throws.
Down by nine, 41-32, with 15:10 left in the game, Western Carolina went on a mini run to trim the Eagle lead to one, 44-43. In the Catamount's 11-3 run, it all began with a pair of free throws by Taylor. A jumper by Mack, a three pointer by Makensey Campbell and a pair of lay-ups by Bonner got the Catamounts to within one.
Just as they had all night, NC Central had an answer. The Eagles went on a 6-0 run to push its lead back to seven, 50-43. Campbell drained her second three pointer of the night and Bonner hit another bucket and the Eagle lead was back to two, 50-48, with 6:48 left.
In the final six minutes NC Central outscored WCU 14 to 11, including building its largest lead of the game, 11 points, to secure the win.
After a slow start, Western Carolina did outscore NC Central 33-31 in the second half. The Eagles also won the rebounding battle 44 to 41. It was a low turnover affair with both teams giving up the ball 10 times a piece. NC Central just benefitted from its 40 percent shooting in the first half.
Western Carolina returns to action Monday hosting Livingstone College. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. in the Ramsey Center.