Chattanooga 49, Samford 32
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - With the ink still wet on this week’s AP Top 25, No. 25 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga came away with a defensive 49-32 win over fellow Southern Conference unbeaten Samford Monday night at the McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs run their win streak to 14 games and improve to 18-3 on the year while remaining unscathed in league play at 6-0. The Bulldogs saw its five-game win streak snapped and fall to 11-9 overall and 4-1 in conference action.
Freshman Keiana Gilbert was 6-of-10 from the field and led all scorers with 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Senior Ka’Vonne Towns (Lilburn, Ga.) was the only other UTC player in double figures with 13 points and both of Chattanooga’s 3-pointers along with three steals.
While neither team was able to run away with the game on the offensive end, the Mocs held Samford to a season-low 32 points, the fewest points allowed to a UTC opponent this season. Chattanooga forced 18 turnovers and had 11 steals on the night converting that into 18 points.
The Mocs led from wire-to-wire and got out front by as much as 16 points in the first half and carried a 33-20 advantage into halftime. Towns hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring and UTC went on to take a 9-2 lead with 14:30 to go in the opening half.
Over the next 5:25, Chattanooga added 11 more points to its total while allowing the Bulldogs just two points and led 20-4 with 9:05 to go in the first.
Samford’s offense stepped up and the Bulldogs outscored UTC 8-0 over the next 1:41 to cut the margin to 20-12 but that’s the closest it would be the remainder of the game.
The two teams combined for five 3-pointers, all in the first half and went 0-for-15 combined in the second. While UTC was 7-of-23 from the field in the latter frame, the Bulldogs made just four shots on 16 tries, scoring just 12 points in the half.
Chattanooga held a 24-18 advantage in the paint despite the Mocs’ two centers, sophomore Jasmine Joyner and senior Destiny Bramblett combining for just four points (2-of-16) on the night. The Mocs matched their season-low for turnovers with just six in their second straight game, giving up two points to the Bulldogs on the miscues.
Junior Alicia Payne played all 40 minutes for Chattanooga despite picking up her second and third fouls in a span of just 27 seconds at the midpoint of the second half. She had eight points, six rebounds and two assists.
Chattanooga’s bench, led by sophomore Moses Johnson’s eight points and five boards, outscored Samford’s 10-5.
Samford was led in scoring by Taylor Reece who had two of the Bulldog’s three treys. She also snared a team-high five rebounds. Hannah Nichols added six points and Brittany Stevens tossed in five. Each had three rebounds. Krista Stricklin had a team-best five rebounds and three assists.
The Mocs SoCon win streak improved to 40 straight games and UTC collected its fifth straight win against the Bulldogs.
Chattanooga returns to action Saturday against Mercer at 3 p.m.
Furman 58, Wofford 56
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Whitney Bunn scored 23 points, including two free throws with 16 seconds remaining, to lift Furman past Wofford, 58-56, in Southern Conference women's basketball action Monday evening at Timmons Arena.
Bunn, a sophomore guard, rallied Furman (13-9, 2-4 SoCon) from a six-point deficit with four minutes remaining, scoring the Paladins' final eight points to help Furman improve to 23-0 all-time versus the Terriers in Greenville.
Chanel Stokes' 3-pointer with 3:55 to go gave Wofford (5-16, 0-5 SoCon) a 54-48 lead, but it didn't last as Holli Wilkins started a decisive 8-0 Furman run with a pair of free throws with 2:43 remaining. Bunn then reeled off six consecutive points, drawing fouls on back-to-back drives to the basket to set up four straight free throws that tied the game at 54-54 with 1:49 to go, and with a layup on the Paladins' next trip down the floor to give Furman a 56-54 lead — its first of the second half.
Wofford's Kentra Washington answered with a contested bank shot from the right wing to tie the game with 43 seconds left, but Bunn made the game deciding play, again using dribble penetration to get to the line, where she ripped the nets twice for the game winning points.
Wofford's bid to tie the game failed when Stokes missed a contested layup, and the Paladins' Brittany Hodges claimed the carom with less than a second remaining.
Furman's second half comeback was aided by a perfect 11-for-11 performance at the stripe. The Paladins, who entered the contest ranked next to last in free throw percentage (65.0%), made their final 14 attempts and 18-of-19 for the game (94.7%).
The strong free throw work helped overcome 19 turnovers and poor shooting as the Paladins connected on just 18-of-52 shots (34.6%).
Bunn, who tallied 20 of her game high 23 points in the second half, converted 6-of-13 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and was a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line. Freshman Cierra Carter charted a season high 13 points to go along with a game high 12 rebounds, and Wilkins added 12 points.
Wofford was paced by Washington's 13-point performance, and by Ashton Fleming, who contributed 12 poitns and 10 rebounds.
The Terriers shot 31.1 percent from the field (20-of-64) but made only 12-of-21 free throw attempts (57.1 percent).
Wofford appeared destined to end its winless streak in Greenville after stretching a 27-25 halftime lead to a 42-32 advantage following a Washington 3-pointer with 13:20 remaining.
A free throw by the Terriers' Maria Corella with nine minutes to go gave Wofford a 47-37 lead, but two baskets by Wilkins and a Bunn layup sliced the advantage to 47-43, helping to set up Furman's late game surge.
The Paladins finished the contest with a 46-39 rebounding advatantage.
ETSU 72, Mercer 70
MACON, Ga. – Leading by nine points with 5:15 remaining in the game, the ETSU women’s basketball team weathered a late rally from the Mercer Bears to come away with a 72-70 victory in a pivotal Southern Conference road matchup on Monday evening inside Hawkins Arena.
With the win, ETSU improves to 13-7 overall and moves to a perfect 5-0 in Southern Conference play while Mercer drops to 11-10 overall and 3-2 in conference action.
In the win, ETSU was led by 20 points – including a career-high six three-pointers – from sophomore guard Shamauria Bridges. The Bucs also got a second-consecutive double-double from senior forward Destiny Mitchell with 14 points and 12 rebounds and had both senior forward Serena Clark and freshman point guard Tianna Tarter record 11 points. For Mercer, guard Precious Bridges scored a game-best 23 points while guard Kahlia Lawrence added 22.
The Bucs will continue SoCon play at home on Saturday when they welcome Samford to Brooks Gym at 2 p.m.