ETSU 63, Western Carolina 60
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The ETSU women’s basketball team grinded out a 63-60 road victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts behind a team-high 20 points from sophomore guard Shamauria Bridges on Saturday afternoon inside the Ramsey Center.
With the win, ETSU improves to 15-8 overall and 7-1 in Southern Conference action, while Western Carolina drops to 9-14 overall and 1-7 in SoCon play.
Looking to continue the momentum after a valiant effort in a 64-56 defeat to the nationally-ranked Chattanooga Mocs on Monday afternoon, the Bucs jumped out to a 6-0 advantage in the first two minutes at WCU. With the Blue & Gold looking to take control of the game early, the Catamounts fired back with a burst to keep the game competitive over the opening 10 minutes. The two teams traded the lead on more than one occasion over the next few minutes and with the game knotted at 18 with 7:56 left in the half, ETSU went on a 13-3 run to take a game-high 10-point lead, 31-21. WCU then responded again with a 7-0 surge to bring the score to 31-28 at halftime.
To open the second half, the Bucs stormed ahead to take a 40-32 advantage with 15:35 remaining and seemed poised to take control of the game. The home team had other plans and answered with a 10-4 burst over the next six minutes to pull within two, 44-42. The two teams went back and forth over the next few minutes before the Blue & Gold capitalized on a Catamount turnover with a Serena Clark offensive rebound and put-back to pull ahead, 55-49, with 5:20 left to play. WCU cut its deficit to two points multiple times over the next four minutes, but ETSU continued to have an answer. Four free-throw conversions over the final minute from freshman point guard Tianna Tarter allowed the Bucs to come away with a 63-60 victory.
Bridges scored a team-best 20 points – consisting of eight made field goals and two three-pointers -- and was joined in double-figures by senior forwards Clark and Maria Bond with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Clark also grabbed 14 rebounds to record her seventh double-double of the season and 20th of her career, while Bond corralled seven boards.
The Blue & Gold shot the ball at a 44 percent (25-of-57) clip for the game and knocked in 10-of-15 free throws. ETSU also outrebounded WCU, 35-31, and turned 10 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points. Additionally, the Bucs scored 28 points in the paint and converted 10 Catamount turnovers into 12 points.
WCU shot the ball at a rate of 45 percent from the floor and nailed 9-of-14 from the charity stripe. The home team also scored 22 points in the paint and got 17 points from its bench.
The Bucs will return home for league play when they welcome the Furman Paladins to Brooks Gym on Monday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m.
Mercer 80, UNCG 62
MACON, Ga. – Precious Bridges scored a game-high 33 points to lead the Mercer women’s basketball team to an 80-62 win over UNCG on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.
Bridges’ performance marked her third 30-point game of the season, but the first in league play. Alicia Williams netted 12 points and Briana Williams added 10 to round out the double-figure scoring for the Bears.
Alex Williams pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, and also had four points, three steals, a block and an assist. Kahlia Lawrence contributed eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and a block, while Teanna Robinson had eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
Bridges also tallied seven rebounds, four assists and two steals; Briana Williams notched five rebounds and tied her career highs of six assists and four steals; and Alicia Williams had five rebounds, a season-high six assists and a block.
Mercer improved to 13-11 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play, while UNCG moved to 5-18 on the season and 0-8 in league action. At halftime, Mercer recognized more than 20 women’s basketball alumni that attended the game for the annual alumni celebration.
After a quiet start for both teams, Alex Williams hit two free throws to give Mercer its first points of the game with 17:44 on the clock. The Bears then led for the remainder of the contest and controlled the momentum in both the first and second halves.
Mercer worked its way to a 7-0 lead before UNCG scored five straight to move the score to 7-5 with 14:05 left in the first half. The Bears answered with a 9-0 spurt that stretched their lead to 16-5, just four minutes later.
The Bears’ largest lead of the first period came at 28-13 with 4:34 remaining until halftime. A last-second layup from the Spartans’ Jarae Savage cut Mercer’s lead to 37-25 before intermission.
Mercer shot 41.9 percent in the first half, while holding UNCG to 20.8 percent from the field. The Spartans outrebounded the Bears, 30-27, and won the turnover battle, 7-8.
The Bears came out hot in the second stanza, scoring the first 13 points to move their lead to 50-25, with 16:44 left in the game. The Spartans momentarily interrupted the Bears’ scoring streaks, but it didn’t stop Mercer from gaining its largest lead of 29 points, 77-48, with 4:41 left on the clock.
The Orange and Black slowed down in the final minutes of the game; playing just one starter for the final 3:10. During that time, UNCG outscored Mercer, 8-3, to move the final score to 80-62.
Overall, Mercer hit 46.2 percent of its shots and went 18-of-25 from the charity stripe. UNCG recorded a 28.0 field goal percentage and outrebounded Mercer, 52-47. The Bears won the turnover battle, 17-19, and dished out 20 assists compared to just 12 from the Spartans.
Next up, Mercer will host Western Carolina on Monday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.
Samford 69, Wofford 50
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women’s basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to earn a 69-50 Southern Conference win over Wofford Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
Taylor Reece led Samford in scoring with 16 points, while also grabbing five rebounds. Hannah Nichols had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Krista Stricklin added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Lydia McGee scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds, while Amara Mayers added seven points. Brittany Stevens dished out a career-high seven assists in the win.
As a team, Samford made 50.9 percent of its shots overall, while limiting Wofford to just 34.8 percent shooting. Samford won the rebounding battle, 40-19. The Bulldog dished out 21 assists as a team.
For Wofford, Jordan Frazier led the way with 16 points. Maria Corella scored 12 points, while Kentra Washington added 10 points for the Terriers.
Samford started the game off hot, racing out to a 16-4 lead with 12:26 to go in the first half following a layup by McGee. Samford eventually pushed its lead out to 16 points at 22-6 with 10:02 to go in the half after a three-point play by McGee.
Wofford came back to cut the lead to 11 points at 28-17 with 4:10 left in the first half after a three-pointer by Washington. The Terriers closed to within 10 points at 30-20 with 3:12 left in the half following a three-pointer by Corella. Samford took a 32-22 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Samford pushed its lead out to 15 points at 42-27 with 16:47 left in the game after a three-pointer by Stricklin. Wofford answered with an 8-2 run to cut the lead to nine points at 44-35 with 14:18 left after a three-pointer by Frazier. The Bulldogs then pushed its lead back out to 14 points at 51-37 with 11:44 left following a layup by Mayers.
With Samford leading, 54-43, the Bulldogs went on a 13-0 run to take a 67-43 lead with 2:22 left in the contest following a layup by Mayers. Wofford could get no closer than 19 points the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 69-50 win.
With the win, Samford improves to 12-11 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play. Wofford drops to 7-16 overall and 2-6 in SoCon games.
Samford will return to action on Monday, Feb. 9, when the Bulldogs play host to the UNCG Spartans. The game, which will serve as Samford’s Play4Kay game, is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.