Mercer 46, Alabama 39
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Precious Bridges scored 13 of Mercer’s final 16 points to lead the Bears to a 46-39 win over Alabama on Sunday afternoon.
The victory marked the first Mercer win against an SEC opponent since an 87-85 win over Florida on Dec. 19, 1981.
Bridges scored a game-high 17 points and added seven rebounds, an assist and a steal to lead Mercer. Kahlia Lawrence tallied 13 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Alicia Williams notched seven points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Briana Williams pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and added four points, two assists and a steal on the day. Teanna Robinson recorded nine rebounds and four blocks before fouling out in the second half, and Madi Mitchell had five points, two assists and two rebounds.
Mercer (6-3) led for 35:26 and did not allow Alabama (8-4) to lead at all. The Crimson Tide forced a couple of ties in the first half, but could not overtake the Bears.
The teams traded baskets for most of the second half, with Alabama cutting Mercer’s lead to four a couple of times, lastly with 10:20 left in the game. The Bears worked their way to a 40-30 lead with 5:03 on the clock.
As the Crimson Tide made a push in the final five minutes of the game, the Bears held them at bay, never letting Alabama come closer than five points, 42-37. Mercer connected on four of six free throws in the final 32 seconds to move the score to 46-39 and earn the win.
Mercer shot 30 percent from the floor, while holding Alabama to a 24.6 field goal percentage. The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Bears, 55-49, and each team recorded 15 turnovers.
The first half was one of runs, as Mercer used a 6-0 run to take an early lead just 3:46 into the game. Alabama answered with a 6-0 spurt of its own to tie the score, 6-6, with 12:14 left in the half.
Mitchell hit a jumper and a trey to sandwich a Bridges layup as Mercer scored seven unanswered points to go up 13-6 with 11:05 on the clock. The Crimson Tide also had a 7-0 run to knot the score again, 13-13, this time with just 5:11 remaining in the period.
Mercer closed out the half with a 6-0 run to give the Bears a 19-13 advantage entering halftime.
As a team, Mercer shot 25 percent from the field in the first half, while holding Alabama to 16.7 percent. The Bears also outrebounded the Crimson Tide, 26-24.
Next up, Mercer will host Kennesaw State on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 5 p.m.
Auburn 64, Samford 41
AUBURN, Ala. – The Samford women’s basketball team committed 27 turnovers on its way to a 64-41 loss at Auburn Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
Samford was led in the game by sophomore guard Hannah Nichols with 13 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Destiney Elliott scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds, while junior guard Krista Stricklin had nine points and six rebounds.
For Auburn, Jazmine Jones led the way with 12 points. Katie Frerking scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Tra’Cee Tanner added 10 points for the Tigers.
Auburn jumped out to an early 9-2 lead with 16:46 to go in the first half following a basket by Tanner. Samford fought back to cut the lead to one point at 10-9 with 14:51 to go in the half after two free throws by Ellen Riggins.
Auburn then went on a 7-0 run to push its lead to 17-9 with 12:39 left in the first half after a basket by Brandy Montgomery. Samford came back with a 10-2 run to tie the score at 19-19 with 8:30 to go in the first half following a layup by Elliott. Auburn closed the half on a 13-1 run to take a 32-20 lead into halftime.
Samford opened the second half with a 9-2 run to cut the Auburn lead to 34-29 with 16:27 to go following a three-pointer by Stricklin. Auburn answered with an 8-2 run of its own to make the score 42-31 with 10:54 to go after a jumper by Frerking.
With Samford trailing, 42-34, Auburn went on a 10-1 run to take a 17-point lead at 52-35 with 7:08 to go after a basket by Montgomery. Samford could get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way as Auburn pulled away for the 64-41 win.
As a team, Samford made 37.5 percent of its shots overall, while Auburn made 41.0 percent of its shots. The rebounding battle was even, with each team grabbing 36 rebounds.
With the loss, Samford falls to 5-4 on the young season. Auburn improves to 6-2 with the win.
Samford will return to action on Dec. 18, when the Bulldogs play at Tulane on the first day of the Tulane Double Tree Classic in New Orleans, La. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
Virginia Tech 79, Western Carolina 58
BLACKSBURG. Va. - Senior guard Justin Taylor scored a career-high 32 points in Western Carolina women's basketball's 79-58 loss at Virginia Tech Sunday in Cassell Coliseum.
Taylor's 32 points is the third most points scored in a game, by a Western Carolina player, in school history. The record is held by former Catamount Lori Lyons who scored 48 points in 1993 against ETSU. Past WCU player Jenifer Gardner scored 45 in 2005 against Georgia Southern in the finals of the Socon Tournament. Taylor eclipsed her previous career-high of 27 points set against Campbell on Nov. 22.
The 32 points scored by Taylor, from Gastonia, N.C., was also the second most points scored by a Virginia Tech opponent in Cassell Coliseum. Former Southern Conference member Appalachian State's Anna Freeman scored 36 on Nov. 14, 2012.
Catamount freshman Ace Easter also had a career-high performance with 18 points against the Hokies. Easter hit six field goals and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Western Carolina struggled early, in the first half, allowing Virginia Tech to build a 30-6 lead in the first 10 minutes. Easter snapped an eight minute Catamount scoring drought when she hit a three-pointer at 9:22.
Trailing 33-9, Western Carolina went on an 18-7 run in the final six minutes of the first half to trail by 13, 40-27, at the half. After going 0-5 to start the game, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line, Taylor scored 11 points, in the final six minutes, to post 13 first half points.
The Catamounts had a solid performance in the second half scoring 31 points to Virginia Tech's 39 in the final 20 minutes. Taylor scored 19 of her 32 points in the final frame accounting for almost half of WCU's second-half points.
Twice in the second half Western Carolina trimmed the Virginia Tech lead to 13, as it was at the half. At 17:10, Emily Hatfield hit a jumper to make the score 44-31. After Hatfield's field goal Virginia Tech went on a 16-7 run to build its second largest lead of the game, 22, with 11:39 left.
Western Carolina kept itself in the game at the free throw line hitting 18-of-22 for 71.4 percent. Virginia Tech only went to the charity stripe seven times hitting five.
Virginia Tech shot 45.7 percent from the field and drained 10 three-pointers - the second most given up by Western Carolina this season. The Catamounts shot 28.6 percent from the field and hit four three pointers.
On the glass, the Hokies ripped down 49 rebounds, also the second most given up by WCU this season, with 34 boards coming from the defensive end. Western Carolina had 31 rebounds with 20 on the defensive side.
Hokie freshman Rachel Camp led all scorers with 33 points - the second-most scored in a game by a Virginia Tech player. Vanessa Panousis added 24 for Virginia Tech.
Western Carolina continues its road swing Wednesday traveling to UNC Asheville for an 11:30 a.m. tip. The game is part of the Bulldogs' Education Day.
VCU 80, UNCG 73
RICHMOND, Va. – The UNCG women’s basketball team rallied back from a 15-point deficit but came just short at VCU, 80-73, Sunday afternoon at the Siegal Center.
The Spartans fall to 4-6 on the season after dropping a close one to VCU who improves to 5-4. It marks the first time this season that UNCG has lost when scoring 70 or more points.
Four Spartans had double-figures with senior guard Jessica Collins leading the way with a season-high 17 points, including 4-of-8 from downtown. Classmate Jarae Savage recorded her first double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds off the bench.
Junior guard Lucy Mason added 14 points (4-of-10) and dished out a career-high eight assists. Sophomore Bailey Williams scored 10 points and classmate India Timpton grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the loss.
The Blue and Gold finished the game shooting 36 percent (27-of-75) but were solid at the free throw line at 73 percent hitting 11-of-15. UNCG pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds, including 22 offensively holding VCU to just 37 on the glass. The Spartans also had a season-high with 22 assists marking the first time with 20-plus assists since November 15, 2013 against South Carolina State.
Sophomore Keira Robinson led the Rams with a game-high 19 points, including 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. VCU went to the free throw line 31 times making 26 to prove to be a key difference in the contest.
VCU took control in the second half with a 9-3 run to push its lead to 51-42 just three minutes in off a layup from Chadarryl Clay. With 11:25 remaining, the Rams would hold their biggest lead of the game after a made three from Ashley Pegram to make the score 64-49.
The Spartans would come roaring back with an impressive 14-0 run over four minutes to tie the score at 66-66 capped by a fast-break layup from sophomore Jade Scaife. During the run, Williams had five points with a key three-pointer at the 4:56 mark.
The Rams would take a 70-66 lead with 3:12 remaining but UNCG would not go away as Collins and Mason hit back-to-back threes to take a 72-70 advantage with 1:33 left in the contest.
VCU would not be denied outscoring UNCG 10-1 to finish the game as the Spartans fell short.
In the first half, VCU took a 42-39 lead but the Spartans played tough not letting the Rams have a lead larger than seven. Savage led the way with 10 first-half points with five rebounds. Collins chipped in with nine points off 2-of-4 shooting from three-point land. Mason had eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field.
VCU opened the game with a 5-0 advantage off back-to-back layups from Adaeze Alaeze and Keira Robinson. UNCG would respond cutting the lead to 9-7 off layups from Savage and Mason with 17:30 left in the half.
Timpton hit two free throws to tie the game at 11-11 at the 16:15 mark. The score would be tied seven times in the half and the lead would change hands four times.
VCU had its biggest lead after an 11-0 run late in the half to give the Rams a 40-33 lead off a three-pointer from Isis Thorpe at the 1:38 mark. The Spartans responded with a 6-2 spurt to trail by only three heading into intermission.
The Blue and Gold head to New York to face St. Bonaventure Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.