Chattanooga 81, UNCG 46
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team shot 75 percent from beyond the 3-point line Monday night in an 81-46 victory at UNCG in Southern Conference action.
Chattanooga improves to 16-3 on the year with its 12thstraight victory and improve to 4-0 in conference action, while the Spartans fall to 5-14 overall and 0-4 in SoCon play.
Sophomore Chelsey Shumpert and senior Ka’Vonne Towns combined for nine 3-pointers as UTC made a season-high 12-of-16 from long range. From the field, the Mocs were 28-of-43 for a season-high 65.1 percent.
Chattanooga started the game strong making its first three buckets while the Spartans missed their first nine tries and the Mocs were off to a 6-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. UTC continued its run allowing UNCG just 18 first half points to lead 47-18 at intermission.
The Mocs shot 68 percent in the first half, making 17-of-25 and were 7-of-9 from the 3-pointer line. The second half was nearly as good with UTC making 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Shumpert led all scorers with 19 points making 6-of-9 field goals and matched her career-high for 3-pointers with five on the night. She added in a team-high three assists and three steals. Towns was 4-of-5 from long range, making 5-of-6 from the field. Sophomore Jasmine Joyner had 11 points and six rebounds and moved up to sixth on the Southern Conference single season chart with 81 on the year with her four tonight.
Freshman Keiana Gilbert had a career-best 13 rebounds and just missed a double-double with nine points. Payne hit double-figures for the second straight game and her third in four outings with 10 points. She was 3-of-4 and made all four free throws and had a team-high three assists and two steals.
The game was played at a quick and physical pace with the Mocs forced into 19 turnovers while the Spartans had 17. Chattanooga turned UNCG’s misfortunes into 27 points while the Spartans converted Chattanooga’s miscues into 18 points.
UNCG edged the Mocs on the boards 35-34 and had 12 second chance points off 21 offensive rebounds. However, the Spartans shot just 31.4 percent for the game. UNCG had a 34-30 points advantage in the piant while UTC turned 10 steals into 20 fastbreak points.
Freshman Anna Claire Noblit made Chattanooga’s final shot of the game, a 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play, to give the Mocs its largest lead of the game at 81-44. Chattanooga led start to finish and recorded its largest margin of victory this season at 35 points.
The Mocs will host Furman Saturday afternoon at the Roundhouse in the first of a doubleheader with the men’s team.
Furman 58, Mercer 55
MACON, Ga. - Whitney Bunn scored 17 points and Holli Wilkins and Brittany Hodges registered 15 points apiece to ignite a second half comeback that lifted Furman to a 58-55 victory over Mercer in Southern Conference women's basketball action Monday evening at Hawkins Arena.
The win, the first for Furman (12-8, 1-3 SoCon) in league play, halted the Paladins' modest three-game losing streak and handed Mercer (11-9, 3-1 SoCon) its first conference defeat since joining the SoCon this past summer.
The Paladins trailed 49-40 with just under 12 minutes remaining when Hodges and Wilkins both delivered a pair of baskets along with a Bunn layup and Kelsey Ellis baseline jumper — the latter with 6:11 to go — to cap a 12-2 run that gave Furman a 52-51 lead.
Wilkins put the Paladins ahead for good, 54-53, with a basket the 5:21 mark, and Hodges' two free throws with 3:39 left stretched the advantage to 56-53.
Kahlia Lawrence pulled the Bears to within a point with a jump shot with 2:21 remaining, but Mercer would not score again as Hodges, following a timeout, provided the game's final margin by connecting on a jump shot with just under two minutes to go.
Hodges, who played just nine minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, was whistled for her third foul four minutes into the second period and forced to the bench. The senior forward, however, returned to the floor for good with 11:40 remaining and, with her squad trailing 49-40, proceeded to score eight of her 15 points in the decisive 18-6 close by the Paladins.
Furman shot 44.8 percent (26x58) from the field while Mercer hit only 9-of-32 shots in the second half to finish at just 32.4 percent (22x68).
The Bears were paced by Lawrence's game high 21 points. Alicia Williams added 13 points and Precious Bridges, the SoCon's leading scorer who entered the game averaging 21.2 ppg, was limited to just 11 points on 5-of-23 shooting.
Bunn chipped in six assists for Furman, which battled to a 40-38 advantage on the boards despite losing senior forward Sarah Durdaller to a first half ankle injury. Durdaller, who had missed the Paladins' previous three games due to concussion, sustained against USC Upstate on Jan. 7, had four points and four rebounds when she exited the contest.
Furman freshman Cierra Carter claimed a game high nine rebounds, continuing her solid stretch of recent work in Durdaller's absence.
The Paladins play at Chattanooga on Saturday.
Samford 68, Western Carolina 52
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women’s basketball team used a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to take a 68-52 Southern Conference win over Western Carolina Monday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
The win was the fifth-straight victory for Samford, improving to 11-8 overall and 4-0 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are 8-0 at home so far this season. Western Carolina falls to 8-11 overall and 0-4 in league games.
For Samford offensively, Destiney Elliott and Hannah Nichols scored 15 points each. Brittany Stevens scored a career-high 13 points, and Lydia McGee posted her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Western Carolina was led offensively by Brianne Mack with 10 points. Justin Taylor scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds. Lindsay Simpson also scored eight points for the Catamounts.
Samford jumped out to an early 8-3 lead with 13:28 left in the first half following a jumper by Stevens. Western Carolina, however, scored the next five points to tie the score at 8-8 with 11:53 left in the first half after a free throw by Emily Hatfield.
Samford then went on a 14-2 run to take a 22-10 lead with 8:11 left in the first half following a three-pointer by Nichols. Samford pushed its lead out to 16 points at 28-12 with 3:49 left in the half following a layup by Stevens. With Samford holding a 33-17 advantage, Stevens hit a three-pointer as time expired in the first half to give the Bulldogs a 36-17 lead heading into halftime.
Samford opened the second half with a 9-2 run to take a 45-19 lead with 16:23 left in the game after a layup by Krista Stricklin. Western Carolina fought back to close to within 19 points at 45-26 with 14:47 left after a pair of free throws by Mack. The Bulldogs pushed their lead back out to 25 at 53-28 with 11:34 left after a three-point play by McGee.
Western Carolina closed to within 15 points late in the game at 65-50 with 1:45 left after a pair of free throws by Hatfield. The Catamounts, however, could get no closer as Samford came away with the 68-52 win.
As a team, Samford shot 48.9 percent overall from the floor, including 50.0 percent from three-point range. Western Carolina made 29.5 percent overall and 18.2 percent from three-point range. Western Carolina won the rebounding battle, 36-27.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Jan. 26, when the Bulldogs play at Chattanooga. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. (CT) start from McKenzie Arena.
Wofford 69, Bluefield 45
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sophomore guard Maria Corella led the charge, as the Terriers finished their out-of-conference slate with a 69-45 win over NAIA foe Bluefield College on Monday evening in the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Corella, a native of Summerville, South Carolina, poured in 19 of her career-best 22 points in the first half to lift the otherwise struggling Terrier offense. The second-year guard went 7-of-14 from the field, with three buckets from beyond the arc, while the remaining Wofford players combined for just 6-of-23 on the floor in the first 20 minutes.
Despite some early offensive struggles, Wofford (5-13, 0-3 SoCon) never trailed in the game.
Corella was joined by Chanel Stokes as the other Terrier scoring in double figures. The junior point guard came alive in the second half, stringing together an impressive stat line by the end of the game – 15 points, 10 rebounds and six steals. The game marked Stokes’ first career double-double.
Two other Terriers also came close to earning 10-plus in two categories. Junior guard Ashton Fleming racked up a team-high 13 rebounds while coming a point shy of her seventh career double-double, while senior center Michelle Merritt scored eight while grabbing 10 boards.
Wofford did just that. The Terriers dominated Bluefield (8-12, 5-6 AAC) on the glass, outrebounding the visiting Rams, 59-38.
For Bluefield, only Shelby Key was able to achieve double figures scoring, netting 10 on 3-of-6 from the field. Wofford suppressed the Rams’ shooting to just 27.7 percent from the field. The Terriers also held Bluefield down to 45 points in the game – 10 points below their season average.
Wofford jumped ahead early on against Bluefield, with Corella and Stokes each netting a quick five points to give the Terriers a 10-2 lead headed into the first media timeout at 15:28. Wofford then hit a dry spell, when Key forged a 6-0 run for Bluefield over the next five minutes.
While a host of Rams scored, Corella carried the majority of the offensive load in the first 20 minutes. The final play of the half closed with Stokes diving to the floor to force a steal from Whitney Smith, then throwing the ball up to Corella. The sophomore pulled up a smooth jumper from 15 feet out, beating the buzzer to send the Terriers into the locker room up by nine.
Wofford entered the second half reenergized, opening up a 10-2 run to get the period started. Wofford attacked the lane in the second, scoring 22 points in the paint. The Terriers led by as many as 26 in the matchup before the eventual 24-point victory.
Wofford takes back to the floor on Saturday, where they travel to Johnson City, Tennessee, to face ETSU in the second meeting of the season with the conference foe. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m.