UNCG 76, Georgia Southern 65
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s basketball team jumped all over Georgia Southern to start Monday night’s Southern Conference contest at Fleming Gymnasium and never surrendered the lead as the Spartans recorded a 76-65 victory. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak overall and a four-game skid to the Eagles. 

UNCG (6-17, 2-10 SoCon) shot the ball well in the contest, finishing with a season second-best 51.7 percent efficiency in knocking down 30 of 58 attempts from the field, while also limiting Georgia Southern to 38.2 percent overall (26 of 68). The Spartans did most of their damage down low, out-scoring the Eagles 40-36 in the paint. The Blue and Gold also got out in transition, recording 21 fast-break points. Despite hitting just 12 of 31 attempts from the free throw line, UNCG made up for it with its performance from the field. Georgia Southern owned the final rebounding advantage to the tune of 45-40.

Freshman guard Shanese Harris netted a career high offensively for the second-straight game, pouring in 15 points as one of four Spartans to tally double figures. Sophomore guard Lucy Mason paced the team with 18 points while freshman guard Bailey Williams and senior forward Janae’ Stevenson chipped in with 12 each. Stevenson also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds – a total which included three offensive boards. For the Eagles, Anna Claire Knight led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds.

The Blue and Gold recorded an assist on more than half of its made baskets, racking up a season second-best 18 helpers of which Mason and Williams tallied five each. UNCG also forced 17 GSU turnovers, scoring 20 points off those miscues, while committing just 13 as a team.

Mason provided the game’s first points via a fast-break layup at the 18:51 mark and would score the first seven points for the Spartans. UNCG held a 10-2 advantage after a Williams triple with 16:29 on the clock and would keep the clamps down on defense, extending the lead to 23-6 when Harris put in a layup at 9:47.

The home side would not let the cushion slide under double figures for much of the remainder of the period. However, with the Blue and Gold leading 37-22 after a Harris three-pointer with 2:06 to play, the Eagles closed the stanza on an 8-0 run to slice their deficit to 37-30 heading into the break.

Knight led all scorers with 11 points in the first 20 minutes while Harris netted nine for UNCG. The Spartans were on fire from the field in the half, hitting 15 of 26 to shoot 57.7 percent. In terms of the rebounding battle, Georgia Southern posted 11 offensive boards as a part of a 23-15 advantage.

UNCG came out with purpose in the second half, netting eight of the first 10 points to lead 45-32 at the 18:14 mark. The Eagles were able to cut into the advantage as the second half wore on, going on a 7-0 run that was capped by a Knight jumper to leave the score at 45-39 with 13:58 to play.

Williams would put a stop to the run at the 12:30 mark, hitting a three to push the Spartan lead back to nine. Georgia Southern put forth another rally, this time pulling all the way to within 51-47 after two free throws by Knight with 8:51 remaining. The Blue and Gold absorbed the run successfully though and scored the next six to push ahead 57-47 and force a timeout from the visitor bench at the 7:18 mark.

A jumper by Mason saw the Spartans lead by as much as 13 at 64-51 with 5:42 to play in the contest, but UNCG had to survive one last Georgia Southern rally. Angel McGown would hit a three-point field goal at 3:16 to pull the Eagles within five, 66-61. However, that was as close as GSU would come the rest of the way as the Spartans out-scored their guests 10-5 in the final minutes to seal the victory.

 

Samford 55, Appalachian State 47
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women’s basketball team earned a 55-47 Southern Conference win over Appalachian State Monday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.

With the win, Samford pulls even with Appalachian State in the SoCon standings, with both teams holding 6-7 league marks. Samford has a record of 8-16 overall, while the Mountaineers fall to 9-14 overall.

In the win, Samford was led by senior Christy Robinson with 14 points. Sophomore Krista Stricklin followed with 13 points, going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Freshmen Clara Young and Hannah Nichols added nine points each for the Bulldogs. Redshirt freshman Lydia McGee led Samford in rebounding with six boards.

For Appalachian State, Keke Cooper had 12 points and 13 rebounds. Maryah Sydnor followed with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

In the first half, Appalachian State jumped out to an early 10-3 lead with 16:15 to go in the first half after a jumper by Bria Hoffman. Samford answered with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 10-10 with 13:34 left in the first half following a pair of free throws by Stricklin.

Samford took the lead at 16-15 with 7:09 to go in the first half after a layup by Young. Appalachian State came back to take a 21-18 lead with 2:42 left in the opening period following a layup by Joi Jones. Samford closed the half with an 8-0 run to take a 26-21 lead heading into halftime.

Samford pushed its lead to six points at 27-21 early in the second half on a free throw by Brittany Stevens. Appalachian State then went on a 9-2 run to take a 30-29 lead with 13:46 to go after a three-pointer by Farrahn Wood.

The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes until, with Appalachian State leading, 39-36, Samford went on a 10-2 run to take a 46-41 lead with 4:33 to go after a layup by Robinson. ASU fought back to cut the lead to one at 46-45, but Samford scored the next five points to stretch its lead to 51-45 with 20 seconds to go after two free throws by Young. Stricklin and Young each hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to help Samford come away with the 55-47 win.

As a team, Samford made 19-of-25 free-throw attempts. The Bulldogs shot 36.4 percent from the floor, while Appalachian State made 38.6 percent of its shots. Samford has now won five of its last seven games, including its last four at home.

 

Chattanooga 68, Western Carolina 46
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga used a pair of runs to pull away from Western Carolina Monday night at the McKenzie Arena for a 68-46 Southern Conference victory. UTC improves to 21-3 on the year and 13-0 in league play while the Catamounts drop to 11-13 overall and 5-8 in SoCon action.

The game started slow with Western Carolina getting out to a 5-3 lead on Chattanooga. The two teams combined for six missed shots in the first 2:57 before UTC senior Alex Black drained a 3-pointer from the right corner. WCU’s Rena Wakama evened it out nearly a minute later with a trey and the Catamounts took its only lead of the game on a jumper from Shauna Terry with 15:32 to play in the first half to make it 5-3.

Sophomore Alicia Payne drove the lane with 13:57 on the clock to knot it up and spark a 16-0 run over the next 9:22 of the first. Junior Ka’Vonne Towns capped off the run with a layup to put UTC on top 19-5 with 4:35 to go in the opening stanza.

WCU’s Makensey Campbell and Lindsay Simpson combined for 11 of the Catamounts final 12 points of the first half, but UTC would maintain its double-digit lead going into the break leading 28-17.

After trading buckets to start the second half, Chattanooga senior Taylor Hall combined with Black and sophomore Tatianna Jackson to put together a 12-2 run to give UTC a 46-26 lead with 12 minutes to play.

Chattanooga dominated the paint 42-10 and scored 29 points off 19 Western Carolina turnovers. Western Carolina’s bench scored 31 of its 46 points led by Campbell’s 11 points. Simpson had a game-high 14 points making 4-of-9 from beyond the arc while Campbell was 3-of-3.

Chattanooga senior Ashlen Dewart was 7-of-13 from the field with a game-high 14 points, matching the 14 put up by Black who was 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Hall was the third UTC player in double figures with 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds to go along with six assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Freshman Jasmine Joyner had three blocked shots Monday night pushing her to a team-high 26, even with Hall on the year, and pulled down seven boards. Freshman Chelsey Shumpert dished out a career-high seven assists as UTC reached 20 or more for the fifth time this season.

UTC was 28-of-53 from the field, 60.7 percent in the second half, topping the 50% mark for the eighth time this year, and 5-of-15 (33.3%) from the 3-point line. Western Carolina made 8-of-15 (53.3%) from 3-point land but shot just 14-of-51 from the field.

 

Elon 66, Davidson 63
ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team erased a 16-point deficit to claim a 66-63 win over Davidson tonight, Feb. 10, in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix picked up its third straight victory and fifth straight at home to improve to 11-12 on the season (7-5 SoCon), while the Wildcats fall to 12-12 (9-4 SoCon).

Elon outscored the Wildcats, 44-28, in the second half and overcame a rough first half to shoot 52 percent in the second frame, including 63 percent from three. Overall, the Phoenix went 19-of-54 from the field to shoot 35 percent and went 8-of-17 from long distance for a 47 percent mark. Thanks to a 9-of-10 performance from Sam Coffer at the line, the maroon and gold converted 20-of-28 opportunities for 71 percent.

Zora Stephenson scored a game-high 19 points with the help of five threes and seven total field goals. Coffer finished with 15 points, while Kelsey Harris hit double figures for the third straight game with 14 points.

Davidson finished with a 41 percent mark from the field (41-of-58), but was held to a 3-of-15 mark from three. The Wildcats won the slight advantage on the boards, 41-37.

With the maroon and gold trailing by four in the first half, 9-5, a three by Stephenson pulled the Phoenix within one at the 14:27 mark. That was the closest Elon would get in the first frame as the Wildcats built up a 16-point lead, 35-19. Lauren Brown turned a steal into a fast-break layup with 34 seconds left in the half to make it a 35-22 game at intermission.

The Phoenix struggled offensively in the first 20, going only 7-of-31 from the field for a 23 percent clip. Davidson went 16-of-32 (30 percent) with the help of a 7-of-8 performance and 14 points from Dakota Dukes.

Davidson led 48-33 with 11:20 to play in the game before Elon put together a 13-0 run that included back-to-back-to-back threes by Stephenson, Lenaira Ruffin and Coffer to cut the deficit to two, 48-46, with under nine minutes remaining. The Phoenix regained its first lead since the first minute of the game after a fast-break Stephenson jumper made it 57-56 with 4:41 left.

The Wildcats took back the lead by as much as three points, 60-57, before a pair of free throws by Harris tied the game for the second time and then put Elon ahead, 60-61. Davidson immediately responded with a basket by Dukes but Coffer was sent to the line and knocked down both chances for the Phoenix to take a 63-62 edge with 1:29 left on the clock.

Elon clung to a two-point advantage, 65-63, with the ball in the hands of the Wildcats with less than 30 ticks on the clock. Great defense under the basket by Shannen Cochraham frustrated Davidson and made them miss as Coffer grabbed a rebound with one second to play and was fouled. Coffer hit one of the opportunities to make it 66-63 and leave the Wildcats unable to respond with 00.5 left on the clock.