Furman 90, Coastal Carolina 56
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Whitney Bunn scored 17 points and set a new Furman single game record with 15 assists to lead hot shooting Furman to a 90-56 victory over Coastal Carolina in women's basketball action Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena.
Bunn, a sophomore from Bunn, N.C., and 2014 SoCon All-Freshman Team honoree, converted 6-of-7 shots, including both 3-point attempts, and three free throws for her 17 points to headline a parade of six Paladin double figure scorers, but the new assist standard made it a special evening for the 5-foot-7 guard, who registered her work in just 25 minutes of action.
The 15 dishes bested the previous Furman mark of 13 held by three players — Terra Greene vs. Coastal Carolina (1990), Haley Cook vs. UNC Greensboro (1998), and former teammate Brigid Morrissey vs. Western Carolina (2014) — and topped her career high of 11 assists registered in a 73-55 win over Winthrop on Nov. 17. She leads the SoCon with 58 assists.
In opening a season long five-game homestand, Furman (5-3) blitzed Coastal Carolina (4-2) with excellent shooting, finding the mark on a 32-of-54 shots (59.2 percent), highlighted by a school record 15 3-pointers (15x24, 62.5 percent). The 15 treys surpassed the 13 3-pointers the Paladins tallied against UNC Asheville in 2011.
Kelsey Ellis led Furman's assault from long range, knocking down 5-of-6 shots from the behind the arc for 15 points. Allison Beasley tallied 14 points, spurred by 4-of-6 3-point shooting, and Sarah Durdaller also finished with 14 points, making good on 3-of-4 treys to go along with nine rebounds and four steals. Holli Wilkins added 11 points, and Brittany Hodges rounded out the parade of six double figure scoring performances with 10 points, which she combined with 10 rebounds for her 26th career double-double.
A.J. Jordan and Stephanie Isaacs led Coastal Carolina with 14 points apiece.
Furman took command from the start, sprinting to a 16-4 lead on the strength of six baskets, four of which were set up by Bunn assists.
The Paladins increased their advantage to 28-8 on a Wilkins layup midway through the first half and all but cruised from that point, taking a 56-30 lead into halftime.
A Beasley 3-pointer off a Bunn assist a minute and half into the second half pushed the lead to 64-32, and it reached 42 at 85-43 on a Cierra Carter layup at the 9:17 mark, set up by Bunn's 15th and final assist of the contest.
The victory improved Furman to 14-2 in its last 16 home games and to 18-2 all-time against Coastal Carolina.
The Paladins return to action on Saturday when the play host to former SoCon foe Appalachian State in a 2:00 p.m. game at Timmons Arena.
ETSU 84, George Mason 71
FAIRFAX, Va. – Behind a career-high 26 points from senior forward Serena Clark, the ETSU women’s basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with an 84-71 victory over the George Mason Patriots on Wednesday evening inside the Patriot Center.
With the win, ETSU improves to 4-4 on the season while George Mason also evens up at 4-4 on the year.
Looking to bounce back from a tough defeat on Saturday at Virginia Tech, the Bucs took an early lead and then engaged in back-and-forth action during the first four minutes of the contest. With 15:52 to play in the opening period, a Tianna Tarter lay-in gave ETSU an advantage that they would hold onto for nearly the duration of the half. Converting on numerous opportunities from the free throw line and playing solid defense allowed the Blue & Gold to maintain a lead throughout the half. The Bucs then went up by a period-high 11 points on two separate occasions around the three-minute mark. The home team refused to go away lightly, though, and went on a 12-1 run over the final 2:41 of the period to pull even with ETSU at the halftime break.
With essentially a new start to the contest to begin the second half, the two teams went back and forth over the almost first four minutes. A lay-in by Clark gave the Blue & Gold the upper hand, 42-40, with 16:41 to go; a lead that the Bucs continued to increase over the course of the contest. A 19-9 ETSU run over the next seven minutes gave the Bucs a 12-point advantage and put them in control of the game. Over the duration, Mason tried to mount a comeback but was repeatedly answered by the visitors in Blue & Gold. In the end, ETSU got back to its winning ways with an 84-71 victory as it approaches the conclusion of a lengthy stay on the road.
In addition to Clark’s career night, the Bucs featured two more players in double-figures including Destiny Mitchell with 14 points and Shamauria Bridges with 11. ETSU also got huge contributions from its bench; highlighted by a season-high nine points from freshman guard Malloree Schurr and eight from senior forward Maria Bond. Meanwhile, the Patriots featured two players with double-digit scoring performances including a game-high tying 26 points from Taylor Brown.
The Bucs dominated the Patriots in the paint, 54-34, and turned 19 Mason turnovers into 22 points. ETSU also shot a solid 44 percent from the field and knocked down a season-high 26 free throws on 34 attempts. In addition, the Blue & Gold’s 11 turnovers is a season-low.
ETSU held Mason to 38 percent shooting for the game and limited the Patriots to only 2-of-15 makes from behind the arc. The Patriots did outrebound the Bucs , 44-38, and converted 17 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points. Mason also racked up 13 assists on 23 made field goals.
The Bucs’ will conclude their lengthy six-game road swing with a trip to Huntsville, Alabama to take on Alabama A&M on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m.
Western Carolina 75, North Greenville 74
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Freshman forward Emily Hatfield drained a pair of free throws, with 2.1 seconds left in the game, to propel Western Carolina women’s basketball to a 74-75 win over North Greenville Wednesday in the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts move above .500 for the first time this season improving to 4-3 on the year while North Greenville falls to 2-6.
Trailing by two points, 74-73, Western Carolina forced North Greenville’s Alisha Hope to throw the ball out of bounds, on the inbound play, under the Catamount’s basket to get the ball back with eight seconds left. Freshman guard Ace Easter had just sliced the Crusader’s lead to one when she nailed a jumper just inside the three point line for a two-pointer.
Senior guard Justin Taylor attempted a potential winning jumper and missed it but Hatfield was there for the offensive rebound. Hatfield went up for a lay-up and was fouled setting up the pair of game-winning free throws.
Western Carolina came out on fire in the first half, even leading by 13, 27-14, with 9:08 left. In the final nine minutes of the first half North Greenville went on a 21-12 run to take a 35-34 lead into the locker room.
Early in the second half, North Greenville built its largest lead of the game, 49-41, when Hope hit of three-pointer. It was one of 11 three pointers the Crusaders hit in the game.
The Catamounts weathered the long-range shooting of North Greenville and battled back. WCU took its first lead of the second half, 50-49 with 10:39 left, when Taylor hit 1-of-2 free throws.
It was a back-and-forth affair after that between Western Carolina and North Greenville. After each team enjoyed the lead from the four minute mark on the game was tied for the sixth time, 66-66, with 1:01 left.
Taylor hit 1-of-2 free throws to put WCU up by one but North Greenville answered when Cameron Carter hit a jumper to take the lead, 68-67 with 47 seconds left in the contest.
In the final 40 seconds North Greenville did all it could to fend off Western Carolina. The Crusaders led by three, 70-67, with 34 seconds left after Carter hit a pair of free throws. In fact, North Greenville was 6-of-6 from the free throw line in those last 30 seconds but couldn’t shake off a determined Western Carolina squad.
For every pair of free throws North Greenville hit, in those last 30 seconds, Western Carolina answered with a basket or free throws of its own. From a lay-up by Ali Lane, with 22 seconds left, to Easter’s big jumper that was a hair’s breathe from being a three-pointer, to cut the North Greenville lead to 74-73 with eight seconds left, the Catamounts had an answer. Western Carolina played a gritty hard-nosed game in the final seconds of the game to earn the win.
Taylor led Western Carolina with 22 points – the fourth time this season she has scored 20 or more points. It is also the seventh straight game she has scored 20 or more points and the 12th overall, dating back to the 2013-14 season.
Following on Tayler’s heels, with double figure performances, was a pair of freshman. Rookie guard Ace Easter scored a career-high 16 points and fellow freshman Kyia Hough added career-high with 10 points, both off the bench.
Western Carolina out-rebounded North Greenville 44 to 31 including ripping down 32 on the defensive end. The Catamounts weathered turning the ball over 20 times but helped themselves out by shooting 46.8 percent from the field. The Catamounts also got 24 points inside the paint and 24 points from its bench.
North Greenville was led by Carter with 25 points. Hope followed with 21 and Tyler Powers had 12 – all coming from behind the three-point arch.
Former Western Carolina women’s basketball great Jayne Arledge, the head coach at North Greenville, was honored before the game by Catamount Head Coach Karen Middleton and WCU player Erika Joseph – who got Arledge’s permission to wear her retired jersey number, 25. Arledge is Western Carolina’s all-time leading scorer (1,928) and the first female to receive athletic grant-in aid at Western Carolina University in 1976.
Western Carolina will play its final home game of 2014 Saturday when it welcomes USC Upstate. Tip time is set for 4 p.m. in the Ramsey Center.
Troy 76, Samford 67
TROY, Ala. – The Samford women’s basketball team dropped a tough 76-67 decision at Troy Wednesday night at Trojan Arena.
Samford was led in scoring by Krista Stricklin with 15 points and five rebounds. Hannah Nichols had 14 points and five rebounds, while Taylor Reece scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds. Ellen Riggins added eight points and eight rebounds in the loss.
For Troy, Caitlyn Ramirez led the way with 21 points, making 8-of-13 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Ashley Beverly-Kelley had 17 points and six rebounds, and Kourtney Coleman added 16 points for the Trojans. Kristen Emerson was the game’s leading rebounder with 11 boards.
The teams traded baskets early until, with Samford leading, 11-8, Troy went on an 11-2 run to take a 19-13 lead with 12:14 to go in the first half after a basket by Lacey Buchanon. Samford cut the lead to two points at 19-17 with 9:43 left in the half following a layup by Stricklin.
Troy, however, answered with a 7-0 run to take a 26-17 lead with 7:29 left in the half after a basket by Beverly-Kelley. Troy pushed its lead to as much as 13 in the first half at 37-24, and the Trojans took a 40-28 advantage into halftime.
Samford opened the second half with a 9-0 run to cut the Troy lead to three points at 40-37 with 17:19 to go following a three-pointer by Nichols. Troy answered with a 9-0 run of its own to push its lead back out to 12 at 49-37 with 14:43 left after a three-pointer by Coleman. Samford then fought back to cut the lead back to five at 52-47 with 10:24 left after a layup by Riggins.
With Troy leading, 57-49, Samford went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to two points at 59-57 with 5:27 left in the game after a layup by Destiney Elliott. Troy answered with a 9-1 run to push its lead back out to 10 points at 68-58 with 2:59 left after a three-pointer by Ramirez. Samford made a late run to cut the lead back to four at 71-67 with 48 seconds left after a three-pointer by Stricklin. Troy, however, scored the final five points of the game to come away with the 76-67 win.
As a team, Samford made 48.1 percent of its shots from the floor, while Troy made 41.9 percent of its shots. Samford won the rebounding battle, 36-33.
With the loss, Samford drops to 4-3 on the young season. Troy improves to 3-3 with the win.
Samford will return to action Saturday, Dec. 6, when the Bulldogs play host to cross-town rival UAB. The game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.