Chattanooga 47, Furman 40
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team rallied from a 12-point second half deficit at Furman to win 47-40 claiming its 36th consecutive regular season Southern Conference victory.
Chattanooga improves to 14-3 on the year and 2-0 in SoCon play while the Paladins drop to 11-7 overall and 0-2 in league action.
With 15:43 to play in the game, Furman’s Holli Wilkins hit a 3-pointer from the left corner to give the Paladins their largest lead of the game at 34-22. The Mocs would turn up the defensive pressure and the offense kicked in and UTC outscored Furman 25-6 over the remainder of the game.
The run started with a steal by freshman Keiana Gilbert who passed the ball along to junior Alicia Payne whose pass to sophomore Chelsey Shumpert cut the lead to 34-25 with a 3-pointer.
Senior Ka’Vonne Towns got one of her game-high five steals on the ensuing possession and a fastbreak pass to sophomore Jasmine Joyner made it a seven-point game with 14:20 on the clock.
Furman rebuilt its lead to 38-27 on three Chattanooga turnovers and a pair of layups from Brittany Hodges over the next three minutes. But the Mocs wouldn’t be held back for long.
With the shot clock winding down for Furman, Cierra Carter put up a long 3-pointer that was blocked by Gilbert. She grabbed the ball out of the air and sent the pass down the court to a racing Shumpert who hit the layup. Shumpert, with pressure on Wilkins, forced the turnover and once again was off to the races with another fastbreak layup.
But that was not all for the Mocs. Chattanooga kept up the pressure on the Paladins and senior Destiny Bramblett forced a turnover and led Shumpert for her sixth straight point in less than one minute to cut Furman’s advantage to 38-33 with 8:32 to play.
With 7:10 remaining, Whitney Bunn got the last shot for the Paladins in the game with a driving layup to put Furman back up 40-33. Chattanooga answered with a 3-pointer from Towns who scored all eight of her points in the Mocs final 6:47 to make it 40-36.
Chattanooga added 11 more points including a pair of free throws from Payne and Joyner in the final 20 seconds to stretch the Mocs’ advantage.
Furman was 0-for-10 over the final 7:10 with four turnovers and two missed free throws.
Shumpert scored a game-high 15 points with three rebounds, three assists and three steals along with one blocked shot. Payne, Towns and Joyner each chipped in eight points for UTC. Joyner had a team-high nine rebounds and added six blocked shots. Payne had three assists while Towns matched her career-high for rebounds with seven and had five steals and three assists.
Joyner has 72 blocked shots through 17 games this season and ranks seventh on the SoCon single-season charts.
Hodges led Furman with a double-double scoring a game-high 15 points with 10 rebounds. Bunn had 12 points and the league-leader was held to just one assist on the night. Cierra Carter had a game-high 13 rebounds with three assists.
UTC held Furman to just 17 second half points. Chattanooga edged the Paladins 26-24 in the paint and scored 21 points off 19 Furman turnovers. The Mocs didn’t allow Furman a single second chance point on 11 offensive rebounds while getting seven points off 16 boards off the offensive glass.
Furman outrebounded Chattanooga 40-38 and shot 35.4 percent from the field. Chattanooga was 19-of-64 (29.7%) for the game. After making just 1-of-8 from the 3-point line in the first half, the Mocs were 3-of-7 (42.9%) in the second half and made all five free throw attempts.
The win was the Mocs’ 10th straight this season, 12th all-time at Chattanooga and 36th consecutive Southern Conference victory, a school record dating back to Jan. 12, 2013 at Georgia Southern.
Chattanooga will return to Chattanooga to host Western Carolina Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m.
ETSU 79, Wofford 47
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The ETSU women’s basketball team picked up its second conference win on Monday afternoon with a dominant 79-47 victory over the Wofford Terriers inside Johnson Arena.
With the win, ETSU improves to 10-7 overall and moves to 2-0 in SoCon play while Wofford drops to 4-12 overall and 0-2 in league action.
In both teams’ second SoCon contest of the year, play was fast paced to start the game. The two squads traded baskets throughout the opening five minutes before the Bucs went on a 16-4 run over the next seven-and-a-half minutes to take a 28-14 advantage with 7:21 to go in the period. Efficient offense over the course of the half – including 54 percent shooting from the field -- allowed the Blue & Gold to maintain a sizable advantage. Over the final four minutes of the first half, the Bucs went on a 12-4 run – capped by a pair of senior forward Destiny Mitchell free throws – to take a 44-24 lead into halftime.
Armed with a big lead, the Blue & Gold kept the pedal to the metal in the second half. Over the first 10 minutes of the period, ETSU manufactured a 16-7 burst including holding the Terriers scoreless for nearly four minutes. The Bucs were able to continue their pressure on the Wofford offense, forcing 11 turnovers in the half as well as again firing from the field at an efficient rate with 48 percent shooting. A pair of free throws from senior forward Maria Bond with 2:44 left to play brought the ETSU advantage to a game and season-high 38 points, 78-40. With Buccaneer reserves playing the final four minutes of the game, the final score was brought to 79-47. This convincing triumph is the Bucs’ largest margin of victory this season and most in a conference game in two seasons.
Freshman point guard Tianna Tarter scored a game-high 18 points and also tied a season best with six steals and grabbed five rebounds. Tarter was joined in double figures by Mitchell with a near double-double of 14 points and nine boards, Bond, too, with 14, and junior guard Chandler Christopher with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. For Wofford, the Terriers were paced offensively by Kentra Washington with 12 points and also got 11 from Ashton Fleming.
The Blue & Gold turned in one of its better shooting days of the season with 51 percent shooting from the field and an efficient 21-of-26 from the free throw line. ETSU controlled the boards, 41-26, and held a 42-20 advantage in the paint. Additionally, the Bucs scored 23 points off of 25 Wofford turnovers and got out on the fast break for 17 points.
Meanwhile, the Terriers shot the ball at a 33 percent clip from the floor and were held to 3-of-17 makes from beyond the three-point arc. Wofford was able to get 21 points from its bench and converted eight offensive rebounds into eight second-chance points. In addition, the home team knocked down 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
The Bucs will play their first home conference game of the season on Saturday, Jan. 17, when they take on the UNCG Spartans at 2 p.m. inside Brooks Gym.
Samford 60, Western Carolina 50
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Samford women’s basketball team held Western Carolina to just 33.3 percent shooting on its way to a 60-50 road Southern Conference win Monday afternoon at WCU’s Ramsey Center.
Samford was led in the win by Hannah Nichols, tying a career high with 22 points. Nichols made 9-of-13 shots overall and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Lydia McGee scored nine points, while Brittany Stevens added eight points and five assists for the Bulldogs.
For Western Carolina, Justin Taylor led the way with 24 points. Ali Lane added seven points for the Catamounts.
Western Carolina jumped out to an early 5-2 lead with 16:10 to go in the first half after a basket by Lane. Samford came back to take a 10-7 lead with 13:31 left in the half following a layup by Stevens. Western Carolina scored the next five points to take a 12-10 lead with 10:46 to go in the half after a pair of free throws by Justin Taylor.
With Samford trailing, 17-16, the Bulldogs went on an 11-5 run to take the largest lead of the first half at 27-22 with 4:15 to go after another basket by Stevens. Western Carolina, however, scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 29-27 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, with Samford trailing, 32-30, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to take a seven-point lead at 41-34 with 13:38 left in the game after a layup by Nichols. Western Carolina fought back to cut the lead to four points at 48-44 with 5:28 left in the game following a jumper by Taylor.
Samford, however, scored the next five points on a three-point play by Destiney Elliott and a jumper by Taylor Reece to take a nine-point lead at 53-44 with 3:50 left in the game. WCU came back to cut the lead to five points at 53-48. With Samford leading 55-50, the Bulldogs scored the last five points of the game to pull away for the 60-50 win.
As a team, Samford shot 43.4 percent, including 41.2 percent from three-point range. Samford won the rebounding battle, 33-32.
With the win, Samford improves to 9-8 overall and 2-0 in Southern Conference play. The win, combined with Saturday’s win at UNCG, marks the first time Samford has won back-to-back SoCon road games since 2012. Western Carolina falls to 8-9 overall and 0-2 in league games.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 17, when the Bulldogs play host to Furman. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
Mercer 74, UNCG 73
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Precious Bridges led a quartet of double-digit scorers as the Mercer women's basketball team edged UNC Greensboro, 74-73, on Monday night. Mercer improved to 10-8 on the season and remained undefeated in the Southern Conference with a 2-0 mark.
Bridges scored a game-high 20 points, bolstered by 14-of-17 shooting at the free throw line, for her 11th 20-point game of the season. Teanna Robinson recorded her third double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds and also notched three blocks, two steals and an assist.
Kahlia Lawrence tallied 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Alicia Williams added 10 points, two rebounds, a block and a steal. Alex Williams scored a career-high eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her second double-figure rebounding game of the season.
Bridges also had four rebounds and seven assists, and Briana Williams contributed two points, two assists and two steals.
UNCG (5-12, 0-2 SoCon) opened the second half hot, scoring five quick points and forcing a Mercer turnover to pull within two, 41-39, with less than a minute off the clock. Alicia Williams hit a jumper to slow the Spartans' momentum, but UNCG answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 43-42.
A jumper from each team moved the score to 45-44 in Mercer's favor with 17:12 on the clock. A 2:25 scoring drought ensued, but was halted for Mercer when Robinson hit a layup with 14:47 to play. The basket sparked an 8-0 run for the Bears, moving the score to 53-44 with 13:11 left in the game.
The Spartans answered with an 8-2 spurt of their own, pulling within three, 55-52, with 10:35 remaining. The teams traded baskets for the next six minutes and UNCG inched its way to a 65-64 lead with 4:04 left on the clock.
UNCG continued to lead and Mercer continued to fight, pulling within one with 43 seconds to play. The Spartans missed a jumper and Lawrence grabbed the rebound, giving the Bears the ball with 20 ticks left on the clock.
A foul sent Bridges to the free throw line with six seconds left and the senior made both, pulling Mercer ahead, 74-73. The Spartans were unable to score in the final seconds and the Bears escaped with the win.
Overall, Mercer connected on 39.1 percent of its shots from the field, while UNCG notched a 39.7 field goal percentage. The Bears outrebounded the Spartans, 41-39, and narrowly won the turnover battle, 16-17.
The Spartans scored first and led for several minutes, eventually working their way to a 14-9 advantage with 13:30 on the clock. The Bears used an 8-2 spurt over 1:35 to take the lead, 17-16, with 10:28 left in the half.
After a jumper from Bridges, UNCG scored six straight points to go back up, 22-19, less than two minutes later. Another four points from Bridges gave Mercer the lead again, 23-22, and this time they would hold onto it for the remainder of the half.
The Bears began to distance themselves from the Spartans and led by seven twice in the final two minutes of the period, lastly after Bridges connected on two free throws to stretch Mercer's lead to 41-34 with just four seconds remaining until intermission.
Mercer shot 50.0 percent from the field in the first half and went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. The Spartans outrebounded the Bears, 22-17, and led in second-chance points, 12-7.
The Bears will return to Hawkins Arena on Saturday, Jan. 17 when they host Wofford at 2 p.m.