Furman 75, North Greenville 50
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Kelsey Ellis connected on five 3-pointers — all in the first half — to give Furman an early spark on the way to a 75-50 victory over North Greenville in women's basketball play Monday evening at Timmons Arena.
Ellis, a junior wing from Pooler, Ga., came off the bench firing for Furman (7-3), connecting on the first of her 3-pointers six minutes into the contest to put the Paladins up 12-11. She drained four more treys over the next eight minutes, tickling nothing but net each time, to key a 23-3 run that gave Furman a 32-15 lead.
The Paladins were never threatened thereafter in posting their third straight win with two games remaining in the current season-long five-game homestand. The victory was the eighth straight for Furman in Timmons Arena, where the Paladins are now 17-2 in their last 19 games.
Ellis, whose 5-for-5 performance from 3-point range tied a Furman single game record for 3-point shooing percentage, registered her work in just 16 minutes of action as Paladin head coach Jackie Carson went deep into her bench for much of the second half.
Sidelined for a stretch in the first half with a cut on her forehead sustained in a collision with a teammate, sophomore point guard Whitney Bunn returned the floor to tally 14 points, which she combined with seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals.
Brittany Hodges finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in just 17 minutes, sitting out much of the second half after the Paladins opened the second period with a 12-0 run to take a 50-21 lead.
Erika Cobb led North Greenville (3-4) with 11 points.
The game marked the first meeting between the two Greenville County schools since the 1977-78 season.
Furman dominated nearly all phases of the contest, particularly in rebounding as the Paladins posted a 58-30 advantage on the boards led by freshman Cierra Carter's game high 11 caroms.
The Paladins' 10-for-17 shooting from 3-point range (58.8 percent) keyed the win. For the game Furman shot 42.3 percent, connecting on 30-of-71 shots.
North Greenville found the mark on just 19-of-62 field goal attempts (29.7 percent).
Furman will entertain UNC Asheville on Wednesday in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.
High Point 78, UNCG 67
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Sophomore Shanese Harris poured in a career-high 17 points and a career best nine rebounds but High Point rallied past the UNCG women’s basketball team, 78-67, Monday night at the Millis Center.
The Spartans fall to 3-5 on the season while High Point improves to 6-3 and continues an 11-game home winning streak.
Harris led the team with 17 points, a new career-high, on 6-of-15 shooting from the field. Harris also grabbed nine rebounds with three assists and two steals. Senior Jarae Savage scored 16 points off the bench, including 10 in the second half. Savage had eight rebounds and set a new career high with six steals. Sophomore guard Bailey Williams added a season-high 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
UNCG finished the game shooting 24-of-76 for 31.6 percent while High Point shot a solid 52.8 percent (28-of-53). The Spartans were able to force 22 turnovers for HPU and scored 30 points off those miscues. The Blue and Gold also had 12 steals and 14 fast-break points in the contest.
The Spartans went 16-for-21 from the free throw line but High Point took 27 free throws making 20. The Panthers outscored UNCG 46-29 in the second half. Stacia Robertson had 23 points and 12 rebounds along with five blocks to lead High Point. Kaylah Keys was held to just 12 points who came in averaging 19 points per game and three made threes a contest.
High Point would open the second half with a 12-5 run to take a 44-43 lead off a three-point play from Robertson, just five minutes into the second stanza.
UNCG would respond with made baskets by senior Jessica Collins and Savage to give the Spartans a 47-46 lead with 13:08 to play. After a layup by DeAnneisha Jackson, Savage would nailed a three-pointer to give UNCG a 50-48 advantage.
High Point would re-take the lead off a 12-2 run after a free throw from Robertson pushed the lead to 60-52 with under eight minutes remaining.
The Spartans would answer with a mini 7-2 spurt off a fast-break layup from junior guard Lucy Mason to make the score 62-59 with 5:12 left in the game.
With under three minutes left, Ashante Richard would hit a huge jumper with the shot clock winding down to give High Point a 68-61 lead. Richards would add seven more points down the stretch and the Panthers would come away with their four-straight win outscoring the Spartans 10-6 in the final minutes.
In the first half, the Spartans led by as many as 15 points but High Point rallied to cut the halftime deficit to 38-32 ending the half on a 9-0 run. Harris led the team with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Williams added eight points on 3-of-6 shooting.
High Point opened the game with a 6-3 lead off a 4-0 run thanks to baskets from Kaylah Keys at the 17:41 mark. The Panthers would increase their lead to 13-7 off a free throw from Kat Harris with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.
UNCG would race out to a huge lead after an impressive 25-4 run that included multiple fast-break layups giving the Spartans a 32-17 advantage. Junior Jazmine Missouri (Largo, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) would hit two free throws to push the lead to 38-23 with just two minutes in the half.
The Panthers would close the half on a 9-0 run thanks to five points from Keys as the Blue and Gold would take a 38-32 lead into intermission.
UNCG returns home to face South Carolina State Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at Fleming Gymnasium.