No. 8 Georgia Southern 75, No. 9 Wofford 62
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Georgia Southern’s MiMi DuBose scored a game-high 20 points and the eighth-seeded Eagles never trailed, downing No. 9 seed Wofford 75-62 in the first round of the 2014 Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at Kimmel Arena on Friday.
The Eagles (10-20) advance to face No. 1 seed Chattanooga on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Anna Claire Knight had 15 points for GSU, while Briana Jones had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Angel McGowan added 11 points off the bench.
For Wofford, Jordan Frazier and Chanel Stokes scored 17 points each. Logan Morris scored 10 points to give the Terriers (6-23) three players in double figures.
DuBose controlled the opening tip and raced in for a layup to quickly give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish. GSU scored the first six points of the contest to set the tone before Wofford would get within a point on Stokes’ three-point play with 17:22 left in the first. After that, however, a Danielle Spencer layup sparked a 12-1 run that put the Eagles comfortable ahead, 18-6 with 12:21 left in the opening period.
Wofford would chip away at the lead from there, and Kentra Washington’s free throw pulled the Terriers back within five points at 26-21 with 6:32 until the break.
The Eagles stretched their lead back to nine points later in the frame, but Frazier’s layup at the buzzer made it a 37-30 game at halftime.
Wofford opened the second half with another Frazier layup, but Spencer countered with one of her own to restore the seven-point lead. Stokes then hit a 3-pointer to make it a 39-35 game as the Terriers got as close as they had been since nearly four minutes into the game.
Western Carolina again had an answer to the run, as Jones hit consecutive jumpers to open up some breathing room for the Eagles.
GSU would push its lead back up to 15 on a Seirra Kirkland free throw that made it 52-37 with 9:14 left, but Wofford had one more run left in it, led by Stokes. The Terriers pulled within seven points at 64-57 with 2:35, as Stokes had eight of the Terriers’ next 20 points to keep the game close.
DuBose hit a pair of free throws to make it a nine-point bulge, and GSU’s lead never dipped below nine the rest of the way.
No. 7 Western Carolina 77, No. 10 UNCG 60
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Western Carolina guard Justin Taylor came off the bench to score 11 second-half points and a game-high 21 total to lead the seventh-seeded Catamounts to a 77-60 win over No. 10 seed UNCG in the first round of the 2014 Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at Kimmel Arena on Friday.
The Catamounts (14-16) will advance to take on No. 2 seed Furman on Saturday at approximately 4:30 p.m.
The Spartans trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half but cut it to six points at 43-37 with 15:50 left to play in the game. Western Carolina answered with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take control of the game for good, with Taylor scoring seven points in the run on a layup, a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
A pair of Jarae Savage free throws briefly halted the run, but Western Carolina continued to extend its lead, with Erika Joseph scoring four straight to push it to 62-41 with 10:23 left to play.
The Spartans never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Western fell one 3-pointer shy of its school record on the afternoon, going 10-for-19 from long range. Taylor led the way with a 4-for-4 effort from beyond the arc, while Rena Wakama and Makensey Campbell had two each.
The game was a close one early, with the teams trading the lead for the first three minutes. After Wakama’s layup tied the game at 8 with 17:04 to go in the first half, Taylor hit her first 3-pointer of the day to put the Catamounts back on top, ultimately for good.
The lead quickly ballooned to double digits, as another Taylor 3-pointer made it 28-16 with 9:21 to go in the first.
Two Lacy Mason free throws pulled UNCG back to within eight at 35-27 with 1:31 left before the break, but a Lane jumper made it a double-digit halftime lead for the Catamounts.
Wakama joined Taylor in double figure with 12 points, while Savage paced UNCG with 16. Mason (15), Janae’ Stevenson (11) and Shanese Harris (10) were also in double figures for the Spartans.
WCU shot 51.9 percent (28-for-54) from the floor for the game, including a 57.7-percent (15-for-26) showing in the first half. UNCG could never get going from the floor, shooting 34.4 percent (21-for-61) overall and just 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from 3-point range.
The Catamounts assisted on 20 of their 28 field goals, with Lane dishing out five and Taylor and Campbell notching four each.