Furman Downs Samford, 65-54, to Advance to Semifinals
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Behind a tournament-record-tying seven three-pointers from Whitney Bunn, Furman defeated Samford, 65-54, in the second game of the first round of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by General Shale. The win moves Furman to 19-12 on the season and advances the Paladins to Friday’s semifinal round, where they will face top-seeded Chattanooga.
Bunn led the Paladins with 24 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists while playing the full 40 minutes. Holli Wilkins added 14 points, while Alison Beasley turned in a team-high eight rebounds. The Paladins shot 57.5% from the field in the game, including 55% (11-20) from three.
Samford was led by Brittany Stevens with 17 points, while Destiney Elliott added 11 and a team-high six rebounds. The Bulldogs turned the ball over just six times, while forcing 17 Furman turnovers in the game.
Furman and Samford traded baskets in the early going, taking a 7-7 tie into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs made five of their next six shots to take a 15-10 lead with 13:24 remaining. A layup by Cierra Carter cut the Samford lead to three at 15-12 with 11:56 remaining, before Furman turned up the defensive pressure. The Paladins held Samford to a 3:38 scoring drought, while the Furman offense used a 9-0 run to take a 21-18 lead with 6:49 remaining in the half.
The teams traded baskets out of the timeout, before Furman again turned it up on defense, allowing Samford to score just one of its next eight field goals, while using clutch shots from beyond the arc to take a 37-26 lead into halftime.
Samford opened the second half on a 5-0 run to cut the Furman lead to 37-31, before a basket by Holli Wilkins pushed the lead back out to eight. The teams then traded three-pointers, with Furman taking a 42-34 lead into the first media timeout of the half.
Out of the timeout, Furman limited Samford to just one of its next five shots, while increasing the lead back to 11 at 50-39 with 12:30 remaining. Back-to-back baskets by the Bulldogs then cut the Paladin lead to seven heading into the under-12 media timeout. Furman again turned up the defensive pressure, holding Samford without a basket for the next 4:03, while increasing its lead to 56-43 with 7:37 remaining.
Samford’s defense held Furman scoreless for the next 3:17, while back-to-back jumpers and a free throw by Krista Strickland cut the Paladin lead to 56-48, but a layup by Wilkins pushed the Furman lead back to ten at 58-48 with 4:26 left in the game. The Bulldogs then responded with a three from Brittany Stevens to cut the lead to seven with 3:00 remaining, but Furman used two free throws from Cierra Carter and a jumper from Wilkins to push the lead to 11, forcing a Samford timeout with 1:27 on the clock.
Two free throws from Sarah Durdaller opened up Furman’s biggest lead of the day at 13 points, but a three from Destiney Elliott cut the lead to ten at 64-64 with one minute remaining. Whitney Bunn then made one of two free throws to seal the game for Furman, who advances to tomorrow’s semifinals with a 65-54 victory.
Chattanooga Defeats UNCG, 78-44, to Advance to Semifinals
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Fueled by a 25-5 run to open the second half, top-seeded Chattanooga cruised by eighth-seeded UNCG, 78-44, in the opening game of the first round of the 2015 Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by General Shale. The win moves No. 17/18 Chattanooga to 27-3 on the season, and puts them into Friday’s semifinal, where the Mocs will face the winner of the Furman/Samford first-round matchup. The loss ends UNCG’s season a 6-24 (1-13 SoCon).
Jasmine Joyner led the Mocs with a career-high 22 points on 9-10 shooting, adding ten rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season, as well as a team-high four blocks. Chelsey Shumpert and Destiny Bramblett each also scored in double-figures for Chattanooga, with 13 and 10 respectively. The Mocs finished 31-45 (57.4%) from the field, including a 61.3 second-half field goal percentage.
UNCG was led by junior Lucy Mason with 15 points, while Jarae Savage added a team-high seven rebounds. Keli Foster added eight points for the Spartans.
Chattanooga opened the game on a 10-0 run, holding UNCG scoreless until a bucket by Shanese Harris got the Spartans on the board with 15:58 remaining in the first half. The Mocs stretched their lead to 13-2 over the next 1:30 of play, before a 5-0 run by UNCG, in which the Spartans forced three Chattanooga turnovers, cut the lead to 13-7 with 12:06 remaining in the half.
A basket by Destiny Bramblett gave Chattanooga a 15-7 lead heading into a media timeout, but the Spartans again cut into the lead with a bucket by Lucy Mason to make it 15-9 Chattanooga. The Spartan defense then held the 17th-ranked Mocs to a 2:33 scoring drought, before a layup by Jasmine Joyner pushed the lead to eight at 17-9.
After a three by Harris cut the Mocs’ lead to seven at 19-12, Chattanooga’s nationally-ranked defense held the Spartans scoreless over the next 5:24, with the Mocs’ offense using a 14-1 run to push the lead to 33-13 at halftime.
UNCG scored the first basket of the second half on a three by Jessica Collins, but Chattanooga used a 14-0 run over the next 3:51 to give the Mocs their largest lead of the game at 47-16. Mason scored UNCG’s second basket of the half, but Chattanooga’s defense dug in, limiting the Spartans to three of their next 13 shots, while increasing the lead to 58-23 with 10:42 remaining.
Following a media timeout, Chattanooga continued to stay hot on the offensive end, using an 8-3 run to take its largest lead of the game at 66-26, forcing a UNCG timeout. The Spartans actually out-scored the Mocs, 18-12, over the game’s final 8:08, but Chattanooga claimed the 78-44 victory to advance to the semifinals.