No. 20 Chattanooga 66, Western Carolina 41
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team toppled Western Carolina 66-41 in Southern Conference action, running its league win streak to 45 consecutive games.
Chattanooga won its 19th straight game and improved to 23-3 overall and 11-0 in league play. The Catamounts fall to 9-17 on the year and 1-10 against the SoCon.
It took more than two minutes for the first basket to fall, but once it did, the Mocs went on a 12-2 run to get out front with 14:17 to go in the first half. Western Carolina made it a nine-point game, 18-9 at the 9:34 mark. However, it would be all Chattanooga the remainder of the half with a 17-2 run to make it 33-11 at halftime.
The Mocs started the second half on a 14-4 run to take a 49-15 lead with 14:13 to play and go on to win the contest by a 25-point margin.
All 10 Chattanooga players scored in the contest with sophomore Jasmine Joyner (Southaven, Miss.) leading the way with a game-high 18 points scoring 14 in the second half alone. She was 9-of-16 from the field. She added six blocked shots and moved to second on the Southern Conference list for blocks in a single season with a school-record 103.
Sophomore Chelsey Shumpert (Paducah, Ky.) dropped in three 3-pointers in the first half and had 13 points and three assists. Freshman Keiana Gilbert (Columbia, Tenn.) had 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting and six rebounds. Senior Ka’Vonne Towns (Lilburn, Ga.) had a game-high eight rebounds, a career-best, with five points. Junior Alicia Payne dished out a career-high eight assists with four points and five rebounds and matcher her career-high with five steals.
The Mocs shot 50.8 percent from the field and were 5-of-19 from the 3-point line. Chattanooga outrebounded the Catamounts 33-29. UTC dominated the paint 46-14 and led wire-to-wire. The Mocs forced 20 turnovers and scored 24 points off the Catmount miscues while putting in 15 points second chance points on 12 offensive rebounds.
Western Carolina’s Justin Taylor and Ace Easter were the only two players in double figures for the Catamounts and combined for 21 of their 41 points. Taylor had a team-high five rebounds. WCU shot just 17.4 percent in the first half making 4-of-23 but stepped up its game in the second half making 10-of-20 from the field.
The Mocs remain on the road Saturday at Samford. The game is set to tip off at 3 p.m. Eastern Time at the Pete Hanna Center on the Bulldog campus.
Furman 64, Samford 44
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Holli Wilkins scored 15 points to pace a balanced attack and teammate Whitney Bunn set a new season assist standard in leading Furman past Samford, 64-44, in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Monday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
The victory gave Furman (16-11, 5-6 SoCon) its first back-to-back winning seasons in a decade and the season split with Samford (14-12, 7-4 SoCon). It also improved the Paladins to 11-3 at home, matching the Timmons Arena record for most wins in a campaign.
Furman, which entered the contest as the SoCon’s top 3-point shooting team, connected on 8-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc (61.5%) in notching its third consecutive win over the Samford in Greenville and biggest margin of victory in its series with the Bulldogs.
Wilkins was followed in the scoring column by freshman Cierra Carter, who matched her season scoring high with 13 points, Kelsey Ellis with 11 points, and Whitney Bunn with 10 points. Bunn, a sophomore guard, also tallied eight assists and, in the process, upped her season tally to 192, breaking the old standard of 191 set last year by former teammate Brigid Morrissey.
Ellis’ 3-for-3 shooting effort from 3-point range keyed a strong first half by Furman, which erased a 10-9 deficit with an 11-0 run fueled by two Ellis 3-pointers, a Cierra Carter trey, and Wilkins jump shot that put the Paladins up, 20-10 at the seven minute mark.
Samford answered with a pair of baskets before Ellis converted a jumper and combined with Wilkins on consecutive 3-pointers for an 8-0 spurt that pushed the Paladins’ lead to 28-14.
Furman opened the second half with an 10-2 run, capped by a Brittany Hodges three-point play, for a 43-21 lead four minutes into the period.
Samford responded with a 14-1 clip that sliced the Paladins’ advantage to 44-35 with 9:23 remaining, but that would be as a close as the Bulldogs would get as Furman pushed its margin back to 17 points at 55-38 following a pair of Wilkins free throws with 4:23 left.
Furman finished the contest shooting 45.5 percent from the field (20-of-44), highlighted by its second best 3-point shooting performance of the season.
Samford got 16 points each from Destiney Elliott and Hannah Nichols.
The Bulldogs shot 36.7 percent from the field (18-of-49), including just 6-of-24 from 3-point range after entering the game trailing only Furman in 3-point field goal percentage among SoCon teams.
Furman recorded a 37-23 advantage in rebounds, led by Brittany Hodges and Allison Beasley’s career high nine caroms.
The Paladins play host to UNCG on Saturday in their final home game of the season. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
ETSU 84, UNCG 66
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Behind a dominant 59 points in the paint and a pair of 20-point scorers, the ETSU women’s basketball team imposed its will on the UNCG Spartans with an impressive, 84-66, victory on Monday afternoon inside Fleming Gymnasium.
With the win, ETSU sweeps the season series with two victories in the past month against UNCG and improves to 18-8 overall and 10-1 in Southern Conference action. Meanwhile, the Spartans drop to 5-21 overall and 0-11 in SoCon play.
Even with an earlier start time than originally planned, both teams came out of the gates energized. The first few minutes of the opening period was fast-paced with both teams eager to get out on the fast break. The two squads played neck and neck for the opening eight minutes before the Bucs began to take control. With the score in favor of ETSU, 23-17, with 10 minutes left in the half, the visitors began a 26-7 run over the duration of the period by dominating in the paint and on the boards, as well as knocking down some shots from the perimeter. This strong surge allowed the Bucs to go into halftime with a 49-24 advantage.
Looking to blow open the game even more to begin the second half, ETSU encountered full-court defensive pressure from UNCG as the home team tried to get back in the game. With the increased pressure, the Spartans began turning the Bucs over and capitalizing off the miscues. ETSU’s lead was reduced to 16 points with 11:28 left to play, but the Bucs quickly responded with a 14-7 burst over the next five minutes to bring the score to 72-49 with 7:10 remaining. The visitors stayed in control over the duration of the game; staying ahead by 20-plus points until the final seconds. Ultimately, ETSU’s domination in the paint and off the glass, as well as stellar shooting throughout, propelled it to an 84-66 victory.
Senior forward Destiny Mitchell powered her way to a noteworthy double-double featuring season-highs of 20 points and 19 rebounds, while freshman point guard Tianna Tarter, too, scored 20 points – on 9-of-14 shooting – as well as added four assists and four steals. This double-double performance from Mitchell is the senior’s seventh of the season and 33rd of her career. Senior forward Serena Clark also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds – her eighth of the season and 21st of her career – while sophomore guard Shamauria Bridges scored 13 points. For UNCG, guard Lucy Mason posted a game-best 23 points and was joined in double figures by teammate forward Jade Scaife with 11.
In addition to its domination in the paint, ETSU scored 20 points off of 16 Spartan turnovers, turned 11 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points, and got out on the fast break for 15 points. The Bucs also shot the ball at 58 percent for the game – including 61 percent in the second half – and dished out 15 assists.
Meanwhile, the home team shot the ball from the floor at a 35-percent clip for the game and recorded 30 points in the paint. The Spartans also converted 22 ETSU turnovers into 14 points and got 26 points from their bench. Additionally, UNCG, too, dished out 15 assists.
The Bucs will end their home conference slate with Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m. against the Mercer Bears.
Mercer 63, Wofford 51
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Kahlia Lawrence scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Mercer women’s basketball team to a 63-51 win over Wofford on Monday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
The 26-point outing marked the freshman’s fifth 20-point performance of the season, all of which have occurred in Southern Conference play. It also marks her second consecutive career-high night. Lawrence added five rebounds, four steals, two assists and a block.
Precious Bridges tallied 12 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Alicia Williams contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, a career-high four blocks, two steals and an assist. Teanna Robinson notched a team-high-tying nine rebounds, three points, three blocks, two steals and an assist.
Alex Williams recorded seven points, six rebounds, two steals and a block, and Briana Williams had four points, three assists and a steal for the night.
The Bears improved to 16-11 overall and 8-3 in SoCon play, while Wofford moved to 7-19 on the season and 2-9 in league action.
The second stanza started with the teams trading baskets, and Wofford took its first lead of the period, 37-36, off a jumper from Ashton Fleming with 14:34 remaining. Bridges answered with four straight points to put Mercer back on top, 40-37.
The Bears maintained the lead, but were unable to increase it, as the Terriers continued to hit shots. Wofford then tied the game at 47-47 with 6:49 left in the game. Between Mercer regaining the lead at 13:21 and Wofford knotting the score, the Bears’ largest advantage was four points, lastly at 47-43 with 8:03 to play. Mercer answered the tie with a 16-4 run to close out the game and pick up the 63-49 win.
Overall, Mercer connected on 38.2 percent of its shots, while Wofford hit 34.4 percent from the field. The Terriers outrebounded the Bears, 41-38, but Mercer won the turnover battle, 15-21.
It was a slow start for both teams, as Wofford took a 6-0 lead off two treys, just under three minutes into the game. Briana Williams hit a three-pointer to put Mercer on the board with 16:38 to play in the half.
The Terriers continued to lead and worked their way to a 20-12 advantage with 7:49 remaining in the period. The Bears then embarked on a 12-2 run that lasted 5:19 and gave them their first lead of the game.
Jordan Frazier sank a triple with 40 seconds left in the half to put Wofford back up, 25-24. Lawrence used a jumper 30 seconds later to give Mercer the lead again, 26-25; one which the Bears maintained into halftime.
Mercer shot just 29.0 percent from the field in the first half, while Wofford tallied a 33.3 field goal percentage.
The Bears will play their final road game of the season on Saturday, Feb, 21 at ETSU. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Johnson City, Tenn.