Chattanooga 67, South Dakota 54
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Chelsey Shumpert drained a trio of 3-pointers in the second half to help the Mocs pull away from South Dakota Monday afternoon at the Convocation Center to claim the UTSA Holiday Classic title with a 67-54 win over the Coyotes.
Shumpert’s first 3-pointer of the game knotted the contest 7-7 with 15:06 to go in the first. She followed that with a pair of free throws and Chattanooga never trailed again. UTC built up a double-digit lead in the opening frame with a 23-7 run to get up 27-14 with 7:20 remaining in the period.
That would be the Mocs last jumper until Shumpert drained her second trey of the half with under a minute to go. The Coyotes went on a 12-0 run in the Mocs’ drought to get to within a point, 27-26, with 1:31 until intermission.
Shumpert’s basket gave Chattanooga a slight four-point cushion at the break.
The Mocs started the second half on an 11-0 run and outscored South Dakota 20-6 over the first 6:48 of the half for their largest lead of the game, 50-32 with 13:12 to play.
Sophomore Jasmine Joyner started the scoring in the half while a pair of turnovers and steals along with three straight shots put the Mocs up by 13 less than two minutes into the frame. Joyner capped off the 11-0 run she started with another layup to make it a 41-26 matchup.
The Coyotes continued to chip away at Chattanooga’s lead, but could not get any closer than seven in the waning minutes of the game. The Mocs led by double-figures most of the second half.
This is Chattanooga first game in five tries to top the 60-point mark and its first opponent in as many games to top the 50-point mark. UTC improves to 11-3 overall and will be on the road to Harvard next week.
Shumpert was 7-of-13 for the game for a career-high 21 points and matched her career-best for 3-pointers with five in the game. She also dished out four assists and had three steals. Freshman Keiana Gilbert had 13 points in the game with four steals while sophomore Jasmine Joyner had 11 points and six blocked shots.
Senior Destiny Bramblett and junior Alicia Payne added eight points apiece. Payne led the Mocs with six rebounds and added four assists and two blocked shots. Senior Ka’Vonne Towns made all six of her free throws in the minute of play for six points and five rebounds along with four assists.
Margaret McCloud was the lone South Dakota player to crack double figures with 13 points. She was 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Lisa Loeffler, Raeshel Contreras and Bridget Ahrens each added eight points while Loeffler had a game-high eight rebounds.
South Dakota outscored UTC 36-24 in the paint but the Mocs scored 24 points off 24 Coyote turnovers compared the South Dakota’s 15 points off 17 Chattanooga miscues. The Mocs had eight fastbreak points while USD had none and the Coyotes held a 20-8 scoring advantage off the bench.
Chattanooga will remain on the road with a trip to Boston to take on Harvard. It will be the first meeting between the two teams. The game will be Monday, Jan. 5 at Harvard.
ETSU 76, Iona 64
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – After going into halftime trailing 42-32, the ETSU women’s basketball team stormed out of the break to start the second half with a 23-2 surge which ultimately propelled it to a 76-64 victory over the Iona Gaels on Monday evening inside Brooks Gym.
With the win, ETSU snaps a two-game losing skid and improves to 8-6 on the season while Iona drops to 4-7 on the year.
The Blue & Gold was clicking on all cylinders offensively in the second half including being incredibly efficient with 17-of-23 makes (74 percent) from the field on 11 assists. The second-half flurry started with a quick 5-0 ETSU run followed by a jumper from Iona’s Damika Martinez. Over the next seven minutes, the Bucs held the Gaels without a point while scoring 18 to take control of the game, 55-44, with 11 minutes left to play. Facing a sizeable deficit, the visitors did not go away, though, and cut the ETSU lead to five, 62-57, on a 9-2 rally which was capped by an Aaliyah Robinson three-pointer with 6:08 to go. Leading by only five, again, with 3:33 left to play, junior guard Chandler Christopher nailed a huge triple to stymie the Iona momentum. Down the stretch, a Maria Bond conversion inside and clutch free throws from freshman point guard Tianna Tarter allowed the Blue & Gold to come away victorious, 76-64.
The Bucs needed every bit of their offensive explosion in the second half after Iona’s Martinez stole the show in the first. The senior guard scored 22 in the half including 7-of-14 makes from the field. ETSU countered throughout the half with conversions in the paint from both Serena Clark and Destiny Mitchell, but had no answer on the defensive end for Martinez. The two teams played back and forth for much of the period before the Gaels went on a 12-2 burst over the final 2:56 of the first period to go into the half leading ETSU, 42-32.
For the fourth time this season, the Bucs featured five players with double-digit scoring performances; led by 16 points from Tarter. The rookie also added seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists and was joined in double-figure scoring by senior forward Mitchell with 14, senior forward Clark and Christopher both with 13, and senior forward Bond with 10. These players also had huge contributions beyond their point totals including Mitchell with a career-high six assists and Clark with a team-high eight rebounds. For Iona, after a monster first half of 22 points, senior guard Martinez scored 29 total and was joined in double-figures by teammates junior forward Joy Adams with 17 – including a game-high 16 rebounds – and junior guard Robinson with 14. Martinez’s 29 points ties an ETSU opponent high this season.
After shooting 74 percent in the second half, the Blue & Gold shot the ball at a 56 percent clip for the game and converted on 6-of-14 from three-point range and 10-of-15 from the free throw line. ETSU also dished out 20 assists on 30 made baskets and dominated in the paint, 42-22. In addition, the Bucs turned 13 Iona turnovers into 17 points and got 12 points from their bench.
The Gaels shot it from the floor at 34 percent for the contest following a 25 percent second half. Iona was inefficient from behind the arc with only 7-of-23 conversions, but did knock down 15-of-20 free throws. The visitors also turned 13 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points and posted eight assists.
The Bucs will conclude non-conference play with a visit to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to take on the UNC Tar Heels on Friday, Jan. 2, at 2 p.m.
Kansas 66, Samford 44
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Samford women’s basketball team dropped a 66-44 decision at Kansas Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
In the loss, Samford was led by sophomore guard Hannah Nichols with 12 points. Freshman forward Destiney Elliott followed with nine points for the Bulldogs.
For Kansas, Asia Boyd and Natalie Knight scored 13 points each. Chayla Cheadle and Lauren Aldridge added 10 points apiece for the Jayhawks
The teams traded baskets early in the first half. Samford held a 10-7 lead with 16:04 left in the half after a three-pointer by Nichols. With Samford leading 14-13, Kansas went on a 15-2 run to take a 28-16 lead with 6:40 left in the first half after a basket by Boyd.
Kansas pushed its lead out to as much as 17 points in the first half at 35-18 with 1:17 to go following a basket by Jada Brown. The Jayhawks took a 35-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Samford scored the first five points of the second half to close to within 10 points at 35-25 with 18:26 left in the game after a jumper by Taylor Reece. Kansas, however, scored the next 10 points to push its lead out to 20 points at 45-25 with 15:00 left in the game after a three-pointer by Aldridge.
Samford fought back to close to within 14 points at 50-36 with 8:33 left in the game following a jumper by Krista Stricklin. Kansas scored the next seven points to take a 21-point lead at 57-36 with 6:40 to go after a layup by Boyd. Samford could get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way as Kansas came away with the 66-44 win.
As a team, Samford made 37.5 percent of its shots overall and 36.4 percent from three-point range. Kansas shot 44.6 percent overall and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc. Kansas won the rebounding battle, 34-26.
With the loss, Samford falls to 6-7 on the season. Kansas improves to 9-4 with the win.
Samford will play again Tuesday night when the Bulldogs play at Kansas State. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
Elon 81, Furman 71
ELON, N.C. - Shay Burnett scored 18 points to headline an attack featuring six double figure scorers that powered Elon to an 81-71 victory over visiting Furman in women's basketball action Monday evening at Alumni Gym.
In a battle of former Southern Conference foes, Elon (6-4), now in its first year in the Colonial Athletic Association, used an 11-0 run at the end of the first half to grab the lead and never trailed in the second half en route to the victory, halting a three-game series losing skid to Furman (9-5).
Burnett, a freshman guard, converted 6-of-11 shots and all five free throws for her 18 points, which she complemented with six rebounds in 31 minutes of action before fouling out. Her accuracy keyed a solid shooting effort by the Phoenix, who found the mark on 30-of-63 field goal attempts (47.6 percent), including 51.7 percent in the second half.
Jennifer Rhodes tallied 15 points and was followed by Essence Baucom and Malya Johnson with 13 points each. Zora Stpehenson and Sam Coffer rounded out the balanced Elon scoring effort with 10 points each.
Whitney Bunn and Holli Wilkins paced the Paladins with 17 points apiece.
Furman senior All-SoCon forward Brittany Hodges was marginalized for much of the game due to foul trouble, contributing just six points and seven rebounds in only 15 minutes of action before fouling out.
With Hodges on the bench for much of the contest, Elon feasted inside, outscoring Furman in the paint, 46-22, and posting a 45-39 rebounding advantage.
The Paladins got off to a solid start, using a Bunn 3-pointer to claim an early 14-5 lead.
A Bunn layup with just under four minutes to go in the first period put Furman up 31-26, but the advantage didn't last as Elon, behind a pair of Coffer layups, responded with an 11-0 spurt the rest of the way to take a 37-31 lead into intermission.
Furman managed to get within one at 44-43 following a Bunn 3-pointer with 14:33 to go, but Burnett answered with her only trey of the contest 16 seconds later to push Elon's lead back to 47-43.
The Paladins play at South Carolina State on Jan. 4. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
Jacksonville State 67, Mercer 66
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – A trio of double-digit scorers led a second-half rally for the Mercer women’s basketball team, but the Bears were unable to hold on, falling 67-66 to Jacksonville State on Monday night.
Precious Bridges led all scorers with 23 points, followed by Briana Williams with 19 points and Kahlia Lawrence with 12. Alex Williams led the Bears on the boards with nine rebounds, while Bridges added eight and Lawrence pulled down seven.
Alex Williams and Madi Mitchell each notched six points for Mercer to round out the scoring for the Bears. Bridges also dished out a team-high six assists and tallied two steals.
The Bears (6-7) opened the second half with a commanding 24-5 run that gave them a 47-44 lead with 9:44 left in the game. Five different players scored during the spurt, led by Briana Williams’ 11 points.
Jacksonville State (9-3) answered with a 10-2 run of its own to retake the lead, 54-49, just three minutes later. The Gamecocks maintained the lead, but never by much, until Bridges sank a jumper with eight ticks left on the clock to put the Bears up 66-65.
Unfortunately, the advantage was short-lived, as Briana Benson hit a layup with just 0.6 seconds on the clock to put JSU back up, 67-66. Mercer was unable to get a shot off before time expired, narrowly falling to Jacksonville State.
Mercer shot 54.8 percent in the second half and outscored JSU 43-28, holding the Gamecocks to 29.4 percent from the field. Overall, the Bears connected on 41.6 percent of their shots and outrebounded the Gamecocks 40-39.
The Bears started off strong, working their way to an 11-7 lead less than five minutes into the game. However, a jumper from Miranda Cantrell sparked a 13-3 Jacksonville State run that put the Gamecocks on top 20-14 with 10:29 left in the first half.
A pair of free throws from Bridges momentarily slowed JSU, before it embarked on an 11-0 run that stretched its advantage to 31-16 with 7:03 to play before intermission. The Bears connected on a few shots in the final minutes of the half, but were unable to string two together and cut into the Gamecocks’ lead.
Jacksonville State entered the locker room with a 39-23 advantage over Mercer. The Gamecocks shot 53.1 percent from the field in the first half, including 42.9 percent from behind the three point line, while Mercer recorded a 28.1 field goal percentage. Each team pulled down 20 rebounds in the first period.
The Bears will hit the road again to face North Florida on Thursday at 2 p.m. in Jacksonville, Fla.
Florida A&M 70, UNCG 63
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The UNCG women’s basketball fell short to Florida A&M, 70-64, Monday afternoon in the final game of the Miami Holiday Tournament at the Bank United Center.
The Spartans fall to 5-9 on the season while FAMU improves to 4-7 with the victory. Despite leading the game for almost 30 minutes, UNCG couldn’t hold on as the Rattlers scored 41 second half points to earn the win.
The Blue and Gold shot 42.6 percent from the field on 26-of-61 shots. FAMU shot 57.1 percent in the second half and was 3-for-4 from the three point line to earn the comeback win.
UNCG did force 22 turnovers for FAMU and came away with nine steals but only converted 16 points off turnovers. The Rattlers had 32 bench points and outscored the Spartans 40-to-30 in points in the paint. On the glass, FAMU pulled down 41 rebounds with 16 coming offensively.
Sophomore forward Jade Scaife tied her career high with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Classmate Bailey Williams had 13 points, scoring all 13 in the first half.
Sophomore Shanese Harris added 12 points with five rebounds and junior guard Lucy Mason finished with 11 points, scoring in double figures for the 12th time this season.
FAMU opened the second half on a 10-4 run to cut the UNCG’s lead to four just three minutes into the final period. Scaife would hit a jumper to push the advantage to 47-43 with 15:28 remaining. The Rattlers would answer with a three-pointer from Oliva Antilla to make it 47-46 at the 12:31 mark.
Both team would trade baskets but senior Jessica Collins hit a three-pointer to give UNCG a 59-56 lead with 7:53 left. FAMU tied the game on a three-pointer from Dawn King and took its first lead with a layup from Khaderja Young with 5:23 remaining.
FAMU would push its lead to five on a jumper from Antilla to make the score 66-61 with only 3:16 left. Senior Jarae Savage hit a layup with two minutes to go to cut the lead to three at 66-63 but the Spartans only scored one point the rest of the game falling to Florida A&M 70-64.
UNCG used a late first-half run to lead FAMU, 39-29, at halftime thanks to Williams who had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three point land. Scaife added 10 points (4-of-7) with two rebounds.
The Spartans held an early 10-9 lead off a jumper from Harris with 14:05 in the first half. Williams drilled a three-pointer to push the lead to 13-9 and back-to-back baskets from Scaife and Williams increased the lead to 17-9 at the 11:45 mark.
With 8:06 remaining in the period, Collins hit a jumper to give UNCG a 25-17 lead. FAMU would make a run to close the gap to just two points thanks to a 10-6 run over the next four minutes. Olivia Antilla hit a jumper to cut the Spartans’ lead to two at 31-29 with 2:29 left in the half.
The Blue and Gold would end the half on an 8-0 run to lead by 10 at halftime.
Mason was named to the Miami Holiday All-Tournament team after scoring 18 points and 11 points in the two games.
The Blue and Gold head to the island of Oahu to face Hawai’i Friday, Jan 2 to kick off the new year in Honolulu at 10 p.m. eastern time.