Furman 60, San Diego State 43
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Holli Wilkins scored 13 points and Furman used a strong second half start to take command on the way to a 60-43 victory over San Diego State in women's basketball action Friday evening at Timmons Arena.
The win improves Furman to 3-0, its best start to a season in six seasons, while San Diego State falls to 1-2 on the campaign.
Wilkins, a junior All-Southern Conference forward who scored just two points in the Paladins' 73-55 win over Winthrop on Monday, rebounded in solid fashion against the Aztecs, converting 6-of-12 shot attempts, including a 3-pointer, for her game high 13 points. She also added four rebounds and three assists.
Brittany Hodges posted her 24th career double-double, tallying 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Sarah Durdaller added 10 points to round out Furman's trio of double figure scorers.
McKynzie Fort led San Diego State with 13 points, the only Aztec to register double figures.
Furman closed the first half with a 12-6 run to take a 29-21 lead into halftime. After the break Allison Beasley drained a pair of 3-pointers to key a 10-3 run to give the Paladins a 39-24 advantage four minutes into the second period.
The Paladins stretched the margin to 20 points at 49-29 on a layup by Shianne Goodwin with 11:22 remaining.
The Aztecs could get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Furman fueled its second half run with 42.9 percent shooting in the second half to finish at 38.2 percent (21-of-55).
San Diego State shot 30.9 percent from the field, connecting on just 17-of-55 shot attempts.
Furman registered a 42-37 rebounding advantage in the contest.
The Paladins play at Clemson on Sunday in a 2:00 p.m. game.
Mercer 80, Jackson State 48
MACON, Ga. – Precious Bridges scored a game-high 27 points as the Mercer women’s basketball team rolled past Jackson State, 80-48, on Friday night at Hawkins Arena. Three Bears recorded double-figure games, including Alicia Williams, who notched her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Kahlia Lawrence scored 12 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Mercer; she also dished out a team-high five assists. Alex Williams pulled down a team-leading 11 rebounds and added seven points, while Teanna Robinson and Briana Williams both recorded seven points and eight rebounds on the night. Robinson also had six blocks, while Williams tallied four baskets-to-be and a block.
Jackson State (0-3) took a quick 6-2 lead in the first 2:26, but Mercer (1-1) went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-8 lead with 13:16 left in the first half. The Bears held on to that lead for the remainder of the game, never looking back.
After trading baskets for several minutes, JSU brought the score to 26-22 with 3:00 remaining in the first stanza. Mercer then closed out the final minutes with an 8-0 run to stretch its advantage to 34-22 at intermission.
Mercer connected on 36.7 percent of its shots from the field and went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe in the first half, while Jackson State shot 30.8 percent in the first half, which includes going 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Mercer and Jackson State went basket-for-basket for the first three minutes of the second half, before the Bears broke away and went on a 10-0 run that increased their lead to 48-27 with 13:54 left in the game.
Jackson State only came within 20 points of Mercer twice in the final 13:44, as the Bears continued to dominate on both ends of the court.
Overall, Mercer shot 44.1 percent from the field and pulled down 55 rebounds, while holding Jackson State to a field goal percentage of 28.4, including just 10 percent from behind the three-point line.
Eastern Kentucky defeated Central Arkansas, 56-55, in the first game of the evening. Eastern Kentucky was led by Shameekia Murray and Michaela Hunter, who scored 15 and 14 points, respectively. Central Arkansas also had two double-figure scorers, with Maggie Proffitt recording 16 points and Terai Sadler tallying 10.
Mercer will face Eastern Kentucky at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday in the final game of the weekend. Central Arkansas will face Jackson State at 4:00 p.m.
Samford 61, Alabama A&M 50
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women’s basketball team used a strong second half to pull away for a 61-50 win over Alabama A&M Friday night in the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford was led in the game by Hannah Nichols with 13 points. Taylor Reece scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Kassidy Blevins added 11 points for the Bulldogs in the win. Destiney Elliott scored eight points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for Samford.
For Alabama A&M, Brittney Strickland led the way with 24 points. Brooke Dixon scored 10 points in the loss for the Lady Bulldogs.
In the first half, Alabama A&M jumped out to an early lead at 10-5 with 14:26 left in the half after a layup by Dixon. Samford fought back to cut the lead to one point at 14-13 with 9:02 remaining in the first half following a layup by Elliott.
Samford took its first lead of the game at 18-16 with 5:31 left before halftime on a layup by Reece. Alabama A&M scored the next six points to take a 22-18 lead with 34 seconds left in the first half after a jumper by Taylor Sippial. Blevins then hit a three-pointer for Samford with 11 seconds left to cut the Alabama A&M lead to 22-21 heading into halftime.
Samford took the lead again on the first possession of the second half, taking a 24-22 lead on a three-pointer by Krista Stricklin with 19:43 left in the game. With Samford leading, 29-28, the Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to push their lead to 11 points at 39-28 with 9:56 left in the game after a layup by Reece.
Samford pushed its lead out to as much as 15 points at 50-35 with 6:50 to go following a three-point play by Amara Mayers. Alabama A&M then went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to eight points at 52-44 with 4:34 left after a three-pointer by Strickland. Samford pushed the lead back out to 12 at 56-44 with 2:44 left after a jumper by Reece. Alabama A&M could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 61-50 win.
As a team, Samford shot 44.2 percent from the floor, compared to 38.8 percent for Alabama A&M. Samford made 42.9 percent of its three-pointers, while Alabama A&M shot just 10.0 percent from beyond the arc. Samford won the rebounding battle over Alabama A&M, 35-29.
With the win, Samford improves to 1-1 on the young season. Alabama A&M drops to 0-3 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Nov. 24, when the Bulldogs play host to North Florida. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
ETSU 79, Saint Francis (Pa.) 63
LORETTO, Pa. – Behind five players in double-figures -- including a team-high 20 points from Shamauria Bridges -- the ETSU women’s basketball team raced past the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash, 79-63, on Friday evening inside DeGol Arena.
With the win, ETSU improves to 3-1 on the young season while St. Francis drops to 0-3
Playing against a team that is known for its up and down pace, the Bucs flipped the script and sped St. Francis up in the first half. The Blue & Gold got out on the fast break for 11 points in the period and also did some damage in the paint with 18 points as well as six second-chance points off of six offensive rebounds. In addition, stellar defense on the offensively-potent team kept them in check while ETSU tried to take control of the game. A Bridges triple with 4:22 left in the half upped the Bucs’ advantage to a period-high 12 points, 29-17. Over the duration of the half, the Blue & Gold was able to contain SFU’s advances and went into the break with a 34-26 lead.
The home team came out energized out of halftime, scoring the opening basket of the period to begin a flurry that closed the gap to 34-30. ETSU responded with an 8-0 run to pull ahead 34-20 just a couple of minutes into the half. The Bucs stayed in control over the next four minutes before the Red Flash put an 11-2 run together to pull within four, 52-48, with 10 minutes remaining. Again, ETSU had an answer; this time a 16-6 surge to firmly take hold of the game. Over the final five minutes of play, the Blue & Gold held St. Francis at bay, resulting in a 79-63 victory.
In addition to Bridges’ team-high scoring performance, four other Bucs hit double-digits including Tianna Tarter with 16, Maria Bond with 14, as well as Serena Clark and Chandler Christopher each with 10. In addition, Destiny Mitchell grabbed a game and season-high 19 rebounds while Clark corralled 10 boards to notch her second double-double in as many games. For SFU, three players were in double-figures, led by Alexa Hayward with a game-best 22 points.
ETSU did not shoot it well from the field at 39 percent, but did knock down eight threes – including five by Bridges – as well as hit 13-of-18 free throws in the second half. The Blue & Gold also dominated on the boards, 62-48, and turned 19 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. The Bucs’ defense also played a pivotal role in holding the Red Flash well under their 89 points per game average.
SFU struggled from the field at 32 percent and only made three triples out of 25 tries. The free throw line was also problematic for the Red Flash with only 12-of-23 makes. Saint Francis did convert 16 ETSU turnovers into 12 points and got 14 points from its bench.
The Bucs will continue the road swing with a trip to Terre Haute, Ind. to take on Indiana State on Monday, Nov. 24, at 8 p.m.
No. 3/2 Notre Dame 88, Chattanooga 53
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team started strong and made a run at the end, but fell 88-53 to Notre Dame 88-53 at Purcell Pavilion Friday night on the Notre Dame campus.
After the Irish got the opening tip, Chattanooga’s Jasmine Joyner blocked a Brianna Turner shot and the Mocs took it the other way for a 3-pointer from sophomore Chelsey Shumpert giving UTC its first of many leads.
That block was the first of eight, a Chattanooga single-game and Purcell Pavilion record, for the 6-2 sophomore. She finished the game with six points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore Chelsey Shumpert led the Mocs with 12 points, making 3-of-9 from beyond the arc and had four steals. Freshman Keiana Gilbert found her way into double figures with 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers on the night.
The Mocs started strong and led by as much as four. Senior Ka’Vonne Towns put in a layup with 15:39 to go in the half to give the Mocs a 10-6 lead, it’s largest of the game. Chattanooga led for nearly six minutes but soon faltered after Joyner left the game with two fouls with 14:02 to play.
The Irish went on a 26-3 run over the final 9:58 and led 46-21 at halftime.
The second half started as the first half ended with Notre Dame outscoring Chattanooga 29-7 over the first 10:20 to make it 73-30 with 9:23 to play. The Mocs struck back, however, and put together an 11-2 run with sophomore Moses Johnson scoring seven points in the run. That was part of a 23-15 Chattanooga advantage over the final 8:31 of the game.
The Irish had five players in double figures led by Jewel Lloyd with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting in just 20 minutes of play. Mychal Johnson had 17 points off the bench making 5-of-6 3-pointers while Brainna Turner added 12, Lyndsey Allen had 11 and Taya Reimer had 10 points and a team-high seven boards. Allen and Michaela Mabrey each dished out six assists for Notre Dame.
The Mocs were 19-of-54 (35.2%) from the field and 8-of-25 from beyond the arc. Freshman Anna Claire Noblit hit for a pair in her nine minutes on the court, including a thrilling trey at the buzzer. After a 2-for-7 performance from the free throw line in the first half, the Mocs were 5-of-7 in the second.
The Irish out rebounded Chattanooga 40-25 and outscored UTC 54-16 in the paint. Both teams had 11 offensive boards but neither made much out of it with Chattanooga outscoring ND 5-4 on second chance points.
Chattanooga scored 14 points off 14 Irish turnovers, and Notre Dame had 23 points off 18 UTC miscues. The Mocs bench contributed 20 points led by Johnson.
Notre Dame shot 76 percent in the first half and had a 50 percent performance in the second half and were 38-of-63 for the game. From beyond the arc, ND was 7-of-12 and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Chattanooga evens its mark at 2-2 while the Irish remain perfect at 3-0. The Mocs will return home for a pair beginning with Austin Peay Monday night at the Roundhouse at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, Chattanooga will face its second Top 5 team in five days when Tennessee comes calling. That game is set to tip at 7 p.m.