Chattanooga 83, Western Carolina 52
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Chelsey Shumpert led five players in double figures for the Mocs who sailed past Western Carolina 83-52 at the McKenzie Arena Saturday afternoon.
Shumpert led all scorers with 15 points and topped her career-best for assists with nine. She was 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Freshman Keiana Gilbert was 6-of-7 for the day with 14 points and two steals while sophomore Jasmine Joyner was shy of a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds to go along with five blocked shots.
Also in double digits for UTC was senior Destiny Bramblett who had 11 points, making 5-of-7 from the field. Junior Alicia Payne nailed a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down early in the second half and closed out the game with 10 points for the Mocs.
The Mocs started early with pressure on the Catamounts UTC force seven turnovers and was 5-of-7 from the field to lead 13-2 just 5:15 into the game. After falling behind 21-6 midway through the first half, however, Western Carolina scored seven straight points to make it a 21-13 game with 9:06 to go in the first half and got as close as 27-20 with 6:12 to go in the half.
That didn’t last, as the Mocs stepped up the intensity and outscored WCU 20-8 leading into the break for a 47-28 halftime advantage.
Chattanooga continued to push onto the second half and got its largest lead of the game, 76-40, on a 3-pointer from Towns with 7:39 to play.
The Mocs were 31-of-57 (54.4%) for their fifth game this season shooting better than 50 percent and topped the 80-point mark for the first time this year. The Mocs made nine treys and were 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the free throw line.
Chattanooga outscored the Catamounts 42-24 in the paint and scored 20 points off 18 WCU turnovers. UTC had a season-high 22 assists and just 10 miscues allowing Western Carolina 12 points off turnovers. The Mocs won the battle of the boards 33-26 and scored five points off nine offensive rebounds.
Western Carolina was led in scoring by Justin Taylor who came off the bench with 13 points. Brianne Mack had eight points and four rebounds while three other players hit six points. Kyia Hough had a team-high five rebounds to go along with five points and three assists.
Western Carolina’s bench contributed 32 points while the Mocs, who got scoring from all 10 players, had 24. The Cats were 21-of-51 from the field and 3-of-6 from the 3-point line while making 7-of-9 free throws.
The Mocs improve to 15-3 overall and 3-0 in SoCon play while Western Carolina drops to 8-10 on the year and 0-3 in league action.
Chattanooga will take a brief road trip into North Carolina to take on UNCG at Fleming Gymnasium Monday night at 7 p.m.
Samford 76, Furman 65
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford junior center Taylor Reece scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Bulldog women’s basketball team to a 76-65 Southern Conference win over Furman Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford forced Furman into 17 turnovers, while committing just nine of its own. Samford dished out 19 assists as a team in the win as well.
Reece made 11-of-16 shots from the floor, including 5-of-5 from three-point range. Lydia McGee scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Brittany Stevens scored a career-high 11 points and dished out four assists. Hannah Nichols scored nine points, while Ellen Riggins added six points. Destiney Elliott led all rebounders with nine.
For Furman, Whitney Bunn scored 21 points. Brittany Hodges scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Holli Wilkins added 10 points.
The teams traded baskets early in the first half until Samford was able to take a six-point lead at 17-11 with 14:53 left in the first half after a layup by Elliott. Furman scored the next five points to close to within one point at 17-16 with 12:29 left in the half following a three-pointer by Allison Beasley.
Samford then went on a 10-2 run to take a nine-point lead at 27-18 with 8:41 left in the half after a three-pointer by Riggins. Furman fought back to cut the lead to two points at 29-27 with 6:21 left in the game after a three-pointer by Wilkins. Samford scored the final 10 points of the first half to take a 39-27 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Furman scored the first eight points of the second half to cut the lead to four points and 39-35 with 17:56 left in the game after a jumper by Bunn. Samford answered with a 10-1 run to take a 49-36 lead with 15:57 left after a pair of free throws by Nichols. Furman fought back to cut the lead to eight points at 56-48 with 9:33 left after a three-point play by Savonia Bryan.
Samford then went on a 10-3 run to take a 15-point lead at 66-51 with 4:59 left in the game after a layup by Nichols. The Bulldogs led by as much as 16 points at 72-56 with 2:44 left after a three-pointer by Reece. Furman could get no closer than the final margin of 11 points as Samford came away with the 76-65 win.
As a team, Samford shot 56.9 percent overall and 47.1 percent from three-point range. Furman made 51.1 percent of its shots overall and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. Each team finished the game with 25 rebounds.
With the win, Samford improves to 10-8 overall and 3-0 in SoCon play. This marks the first time Samford has started conference play 3-0 since the 2005-06 season when Samford was in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Bulldogs are now 7-0 in home games so far this season, and the team has won four-straight games overall. Furman falls to 11-8 overall and 0-3 in conference games.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 19, when the Bulldogs play host to Western Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.
Mercer 80, Wofford 51
MACON, Ga. – Freshmen Kahlia Lawrence and Alex Williams both notched double-doubles to lead the Mercer women’s basketball team to an overwhelming 80-51 victory against Wofford on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.
Lawrence tallied a career-high 20 points and added 10 rebounds, while Alex Williams recorded a career-high 18 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. The performances marked Lawrence’s second double-double of the year and Alex Williams’ first.
Precious Bridges also collected 20 points and eight rebounds while leading the Bears with six assists and four steals. Briana Williams was Mercer’s fourth double-digit scorer with 10 points, and she added three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Kayla Potts also scored a career-high four points in seven minutes and Madi Mitchell contributed four points and a rebound. Alicia Williams tallied four points, five rebounds and an assist, and Teanna Robinson had five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Bridges recorded her 12th 20-point game of the season, while Lawrence reached 20 points for the first time in her career.
Mercer (11-8, 3-0 SoCon) opened conference play with a 3-0 record for the first time since the 1991-92 season. Wofford (4-13, 0-3 SoCon) was led by Jordan Frazier and Michelle Merritt, both with 10 points.
The teams traded baskets for the first 5:17 of the second stanza before Mercer used an 8-0 run lasting 2:27 to stretch its lead to 21 points, 55-34. The Bears’ advantage only dipped below 20 points once, 58-39, for the rest of the game.
Mercer’s largest lead of the game was 32 points, lastly at 78-46 with just 1:12 remaining.
Overall, Mercer shot a blistering 48.4 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent from behind the three-point line. The Bears also outrebounded Wofford, 47-24, and scored 27 second chance points. Mercer also won the turnover battle, 9-14, and dished out a season-high-tying 20 assists.
The Bears took the lead early and never looked back, allowing just one tie, 2-2, with only 46 seconds off the clock. After working its way to a double-digit lead, 14-4 with 12:05 left in the first half, Mercer continued to lead by double figures for the remainder of the half.
Mercer’s largest lead of the period was 18 points, which occurred three times, most recently at 38-20 with just 1:47 left before intermission.
Bridges led Mercer in the first half with 12 points and Lawrence came close to a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Briana Williams scored seven, while Alex Williams added six points and four rebounds off the bench.
Mercer shot 48.4 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the arc, while Wofford was held to a 32.1 field goal percentage and did not make a three-pointer. The Bears also outrebounded the Terriers, 22-15, and led in second chance points, 10-6.
The Bears will continue league play on Monday, Jan. 19, when they welcome Furman to Hawkins Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
ETSU 87, UNCG 65
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The ETSU women’s basketball team opened the second half on a 38-7 run to overcome a 14-point first-half deficit and the Bucs cruised to an 87-65 win over UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon inside Brooks Gym.
Shamauria Bridges led four Buccaneers in double-figures by tying a career high with 23 points, while Serena Clark, Maria Bond (Macon, Ga.) and Chandler Christopher all pitched in with 13 points each. Clark notched her fifth double-double of the season (18th career) by pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds. Christopher also added six assists and four boards.
ETSU, who went 21-of-28 from the field in the final 20 minutes, shot a season-high 59-percent (32-54) and dished out 23 assists. The Blue and Gold used speed and athleticism to their advantage by outscoring the Spartans, 29-12, in fast-break points.
With the win, the Bucs remained perfect in conference play and improved to 11-7, 3-0, while UNCG dipped to 5-13, 0-3. ETSU is off to its best conference start since 2012.
Playing its first home game in 2015, ETSU slept-walked through the first half as the Spartans led wire-to-wire in the opening 20 minutes and went ahead 27-13 when Lucy Mason found Shanese Harris for a lay-up with eight minutes left before the break. The Bucs were only able to chip their deficit to six, 29-23, with 5:35 remaining and UNCG held an eight-point lead at intermission, 40-32.
However, after turning the ball over 15 times and being out-rebounded by seven (25-18) in the first half, ETSU cut down on its mistakes and dictated the tempo in the second half. The Bucs committed 10 turnovers in the final 20 minutes and out-rebounded UNCG, 22-17.
The Blue and Gold wasted little time erasing UNCG’s eight-point advantage as ETSU scored the first 11 points of the second half and led for good when Tianna Tarter converted a three-point-play, putting the Bucs ahead, 43-40, with 15:53 remaining in the contest.
ETSU continued to pile it on over the next nine minutes, seventeen seconds as a three-pointer by Bridges capped off the monumental 38-7 surge and the Bucs led, 70-47, with 6:36 remaining in the contest. In total, seven different players scored during the blitzkrieg, while Bridges ignited the run by netting 17 points over that span.
The Bucs eventually led by as many as 26 and cruised to the 22-point conference victory.
UNCG shot 41.5 percent (17-41) in the first half, but the Bucs’ stifling defense held the Spartans to a 24-percent clip (9-38) in the final stanza.
All 11 players that saw action reached the scoring column for the Blue and Gold, while a pair of UNCG players registered double-doubles in the setback. Mason ended with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Jarae Savage tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds.
ETSU returns to action next Saturday, Jan. 24, when the Bucs host Wofford. Tip is set for 2 p.m. inside Brooks Gym.