Weekly Women’s Basketball Notes, January 19, 2009

Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 18, 2009.

BREVARD - The Tornados hosted three games this week in Boshamer Gymnasium, but unfortunately went 0-3 for the week as the Tornados fell to Erskine College Monday, 78-72, then dropped their matchup against Catawba on Wednesday, 94-71, then lost a late-game lead in falling to Wingate on Saturday, 94-88 ... Brevard is now 4-11 overall, 0-6 in South Atlantic Conference play ... Samantha Winn scored 22 points and pulled down a career high 19 rebounds in the game against Erskine, which saw the return of Brevard's Lindsay Brendle to the line-up after missing five games due to a fractured left hand. Holli Flippo scored 11 for the Tornados and Anna Schlobohm had nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the loss ... Brevard shot a season-best 55.6 percent from the field in the first half against Erskine and outrebounded the Flying Fleet, 47-31 for the game ... On Wednesday, Winn broke her career high in scoring with 24 points against Catawba, going 10-17 from the field. Lindsay Brendle scored 12 points for her first game in double digits in over a month, and Schlobohm again had a good overall game with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists ... Saturday's matchup saw a wild game between the Bulldogs and the Tornados as Brevard built an 18 point lead early in the second half. However, the Bulldogs fought back and used a 20-2 run late in the game to take the victory ... Eight different Brevard players connected on three-pointers during the game, led by Holli Flippo's career high of six, including a last-second bank shot from half court as time expired ... Flippo broke 20 points for the first time in her career, scoring 21 on 7-14 shooting. Anna Schlobohm added 16 points and tied her career high with nine assists before fouling out ... Brevard takes to the road for the first time since January 7th as they head to Jefferson City to play Carson-Newman on Wednesday. The Tornados are 0-2 in games played in Holt Fieldhouse, but have yet to play the Eagles in the 2008-2009 season. Brevard stays on the road on Saturday as they head to Tigerville, S.C. for an afternoon matchup against North Greenville.

CARSON-NEWMAN -The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles turned in their most complete week of the season, knocking off Wingate on the road, 95-93, and rallying to beat No. 5 Tusculum at home, 90-87, for a 2-0 week…The Lady Eagles are now 13-3 on the year and 4-1 in South Atlantic Conference play…C-N's week almost wasn't, after falling behind 49-34 at halftime at Wingate on Wednesday… Junior Mandy Mendenhall scored a career-high 28 points to rally the Lady Eagles down the stretch…Mendenhall was 10-of-15 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from three-point range…She also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds…Three other Lady Eagles reached double-figures, led by Lindsey Eggleston with 16 points and eight rebounds. Ashley Kyle contributed 13 points and Angela Volentine 12…Carson-Newman shot 48 percent from the field, including 12-of-25 from behind the arc… The Lady Eagles dominated on the boards, grabbing a 57-37 advantage in rebounding, which helped make up for their 26 turnovers…Carson-Newman started slowly, falling behind by double-digits just over seven minutes into the first half…Mendenhall drained a three-pointer at the halfway mark of the frame to cut the deficit to 25-21, and a jumper by Ashley Tipton soon after made it 29-27…A three-pointer by Tipton started a 12-0 stretch for the Lady Eagles, capped by five straight points from Mendenhall...A trey by Kyle at the 12:44 mark gave C-N the lead at 66-63…C-N would hold off the Bulldogs down the stretch, knocking down 14-of-16 second half free throws for the win…Carson-Newman overcame a seven-point deficit with 2:17 remaining to pull out a 90-87 upset win over No. 5 Tusculum Saturday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse…Junior forward Shari Buford had a monster night in leading the Lady Eagles to victory…The Hampton, Ga. native scored a career-high 28 points on 13-of-19 shooting and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds…Including Buford, C-N had five players reach double figures in scoring…Angela Volentine (North Platte, Neb.) finished with a season-high 16 points, while Ashley Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) added 13... Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) chipped in 12 points apiece…Kyle also had six assists and five steals…The Lady Eagles outshot Tusculum from the floor as they made 54 percent (34-of-63) of their shots, including a 4-of-13 outing from 3-point range…The Pioneers shot 46.7 percent (35-of-75) from the field and were just 6-of-22 from behind the arc…Tusculum held a 42-41 advantage at the break, as neither team was able to take control of the game in the first 20 minutes…Buford kept the Lady Eagles in the mix with a dominant first half, scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting…Volentine was also in double figures at the half with 10 points…The Lady Eagles opened the second half on a 13-6 run capped by a Tipton 3-pointer with 16:48 remaining that gave C-N a 54-48 lead…Tusculum battled back and took a 71-69 lead on a layup with 8:16 on the clock...The Pioneers then outscored C-N 16-11 over the next six minutes to push their lead to 87-80 with 2:17 left…But C-N controlled things on both ends of the floor the rest of the way…A Kyle steal and score with 21 seconds remaining gave C-N the lead for good at 88-87…After a pair of made free throws by Mendenhall pushed the Lady Eagles lead to 90-87, Tykira McDaniel blocked a Jasmine Parker 3-point attempt as time expired to seal the win for C-N…The Lady Eagles return to action on Wednesday when they host Brevard College in a SAC matchup at Holt Fieldhouse...C-N will travel to Hickory, N.C. to face Lenoir-Rhyne University next Saturday…Both Tipoffs are set for 6 p.m.

CATAWBA - The Lady Indians split its two league games last week, winning 94-71 at Brevard on Wednesday before falling 77-68 to Mars Hill at home on Saturday ... Against Brevard, Catawba used a pair of 12-0 runs in the first half to move out to a 47-32 lead at the break ... the Lady Indians kept a double-digit lead the rest of the way ... Cameron Clark scored a career-high 22 points, while adding six rebounds, seven assists and three steals ... Kisha Long and Brooke Whitley each followed with 15 points ... Catawba shot 55 percent in the opening half ... Catawba let a 35-30 halftime lead get away in the loss to Mars Hill ... it was the loss of the season by the ladies after leading at the break ... Catawba managed just 10 points in the opening nine minutes of the second half and the Lady Lions went on top 46-45 at the 12:28 mark and never trailed ... Nisha Long scored a career-high 19 points in the loss, including an 11-of-12 performance at the line ... Higgins tossed in a dozen points with Clark and Pamela Muldow added 10 each ... Catawba shot just 30 percent in the second half, connecting on 9-of-30 field goals ... Seven Catawba players are averaging 8.9 points or better with Higgins leading a trio of double-figure scorers at 11.9 a contest ... She is 140 points shy of 1,000 for her career ... Dana Hicks follows Higgins, averaging 11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds a game ... Muldrow is scoring at a 10.4 clip ... Catawba hits the road for two games this week, traveling to Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday and Newberry on Saturday ... The Lady Indians are 6-1 away from their Goodman Gym home on the season.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (15-2, 5-1) took over sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference after a pair of league road victories over Mars Hill (71-65) and Lincoln Memorial (75-51) last Wednesday and Saturday, respectively … The Bears now hold a half-game lead in the SAC standings over Carson-Newman, Newberry and Tusculum … Against the Lady Lions, junior guard Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) led the Bears with 15 points and hit all three first-half treys while junior center Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.) added 13 points and seven rebounds as L-R limited Mars Hill to just 33 percent (12-of-36) shooting for the game … Moore led all scorers with 18 points in Lenoir-Rhyne's victory over Lincoln Memorial Saturday while junior guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied 15 points and six assists as L-R used a 27-7 run midway through the second half to put the game away … The second half proved to be the difference as the Bears outscored the Lady Railsplitters by a 48-29 margin and hit six three-pointers … Lenoir-Rhyne has now won four straight games and is 13-1 in its past 14 contests … L-R's 15-2 record after 17 games is its best since the squad started 16-1 during the 1979-80 campaign … For the second straight week, Lenoir-Rhyne is receiving votes in the WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll … Holt is now just 13 points away from becoming the 14th player in school history to score 1,000 points in her career … Lenoir-Rhyne has the week off and will begin a three-game home stand against SAC foes starting on Saturday when it hosts Carson-Newman in a league showdown beginning at 6 p.m. … Carson-Newman leads the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne, 32-16, and has won three straight against the Bears.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - Despite a run late in the game, the Lady Railsplitter basketball team fell to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in South Atlantic Conference play Wednesday evening as they fell to Newberry College 55-45 in Newberry, South Carolina … Perimeter shooting was only one of LMU's problems Wednesday night. The Lady Railsplitters' inside game of Andi Winney, Megan Davis, Cena Nasiloski and Bonnie DeBusk were able to combine for only eight points in the loss. To make matters worse, The Lady Railsplitters weren't able to get to the free throw line until late in the second half and were limited to only one free throw for the contest … Amberly O'Dell made the start against Newberry and hit 5-15 shot from the field, including three 3-pointers to lead LMU in scoring with 13 points, while freshman guard Dayshalee Salaman hit 5-8 shots for 10 points as only other LMU player in double figures … Free throw shooting was a contributing factor in the win for Newberry, as the Indians hit 15-21 shots from the line for 71.4 percent ... After leading by five at the half, the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears out scored the Lady Railsplitters 48-29 in the second half to come away with a 75-51 victory in South Atlantic Conference play … Defensively, LMU did a solid job on Lenoir-Rhyne throughout the first half, forcing numerous turnovers and limiting the Bears to only 27 points. As the second half got underway however, Lenoir-Rhyne's bench depth came into play and the deeper, bigger, more physical Bears exploited the inside/outside game and broke the Lady Railsplitters by 7:36 mark when they took a 20 point lead … The Lady Railsplitters got a solid performance from center Andi Winney who led the team in scoring with 14 points. Senior Kara Harris was the only other player to score double figures with 10 … Now 6-10 overall and 1-5 in South Atlantic Conference play, the Lady Railsplitters host Catawba College on Wednesday in their next league match-up. The Lady Railsplitters and the Catawba Indians tip-off at 6:00 p.m. in the Tex Turner Arena.

MARS HILL - In a game that featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes, Lenoir-Rhyne pulled away late from Mars Hill in the second half to earn a 71-65 win Wednesday night inside Stanford Arena. The Lions dropped to 8-7 overall, 1-3 in the SAC ... Lenoir-Rhyne grabbed a five point lead, its largest of the first half, off a layup by Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.) at the 12:53 mark. Mars Hill put together a 5-0 run capped by a Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) layup to give Mars Hill a 16-14 advantage with 11:27 remaining in the period. A Shamia Terry (Greenville, S.C.) offensive rebound and Deal putback gave the Lions a 19-16 advantage, their largest of the half, at the 10:07 mark. Mars Hill decisively outrebounded the Bears 15-7 in the first 10 minutes of the game, including a 7-1 margin on the offensive glass ... Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) nailed a three-pointer at the 7:30 point to give the Lions a 26-23 lead. Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) responded with a trey on the next possession to tie the game. Both teams struggled to score for the rest of the half. Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) hit a running bank shot with eight seconds remaining in the first half, but Lenoir-Rhyne held a 33-32 lead at the break ... The Lions shot only 12-36 from the floor in the first half but outrebounded the Bears 26-14 and 14-4 on the offensive boards. Lenoir-Rhyne shot 40.7 percent (11-27) from the field during the first half. Mitch led all scorers with 11 points ... Lenoir-Rhyne opened the second half with two turnovers while Young and Bria Smith (Snellville, Ga.) converted two layups for Mars Hill to give the Lions a 36-33 lead. Moore converted a layup at the 17:15 point to tie the game at 37-all. Cameron Sealey (Gastonia, N.C.) converted a fastbreak layup to give the Bears a 43-39 advantage at the 14:49 mark ... Mars Hill responded with a 12-4 scoring run in a span of 4:37, capped by a layup by Deal at the midpoint of the second half, to grab a 51-47 lead ... Lenoir-Rhyne regained the lead, 52-51, off a layup by Jackie Williams (Mauldin, S.C.) at the 8:50 mark and built a four-point lead, 57-53, off a layup by Whitley Culler (Mount Airy, N.C.) with 6:00 left in regulation. A Jocelyn Williams (Greensboro, N.C.) free throw ended a Mars Hill 2:12 scoreless streak ... Trailing 63-56, Young hit a shot from behind the arc to cut the Bears' lead to four points with 2:54 left in the game, but the Lions would get no closer ... Young poured in a game-high 18 points for Mars Hill. Smith recorded 15 points ... The Lions outrebounded the Bears 43-31, including a 20-6 mark on the offensive glass. Lenoir-Rhyne's bench outscored Mars Hill's bench 27-16 ... Mars Hill canned eight free throws in the final two minutes and claimed a 77-68 win over host Catawba in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym. The Lions improve to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the SAC ... Bria Smith (Snellville, Ga.) led Mars Hill and matched her season-high with 20 points, while the league's leading scorer Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) added 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals ... Catawba led by five at the break and went up 37-30 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Lions surged ahead 48-45 during a 10-2 run with 12:06 remaining. The Lady Indians tied the game twice, but Mars Hill would not surrender the lead ... The Lions broke away from a 52-all tie with six straight points, grabbing a 58-52 lead with 5:44 remaining. Higgins brought Catawba within a bucket on a three-point play with 4:23 left then Young hit her lone three-pointer of the night to answer. Mars Hill canned 8-of-10 at the line down the stretch to take the win ... Mars Hill shot 51 percent from the field for the game and nearly 61 percent (17-of-28) in the second half. Catawba connected on just 30 percent of all field goals in the second half and was held to 36 percent for the game. The Lions also enjoyed a 44-33 edge on the glass. Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) had a dozen rebounds for Mars Hill and scored nine points. Long added five steals for Catawba ... Mars Hill will travel to Wingate on January 21. Tip-time is set for 6 p.m.

NEWBERRY - In Newberry's only game this week the scarlet and gray defeated the Lincoln Memorial Lady Railsplitters, 55-45… Monica Alexander ( Norcross, Ga.) scored 13 points and pulled down a career high 16 rebounds… She shot 50 percent from the floor and led her team in assists with five… Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) was the team's leading scorer with 14 points. She also pulled down eight boards and earned an amazing six blocks… The game started off slow as LMU only led 9-7 with ten minutes remaining in the first half… The scarlet and gray turned their game up a notch and went on a 14-4 run to take a six point lead… They would hold onto the lead and enter the locker room on top, 26-20… Newberry shot poorly from the field (30.4 percent) and turned the ball over a whopping 11 times... Still, Newberry took the first half by outrebounding LMU, 26 to 15... The home team also earned six second chance points while the opposition could not earn any... Monica Alexander played great in the first half, scoring a team high nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from the foul line... She also earned a game high nine rebounds, two away from her season high in a game… Newberry pushed the tempo at the start of the second half and earned its first double-digit lead with a little over 14 minutes remaining... The Lady Railsplitters answered back and even cut Newberry's lead to three points with seven minutes left on the clock... Despite the push, Newberry held onto the lead and finished the game with a ten point victory... LMU's 45 point total was the lowest Newberry has held a team to all season… Newberry continued to crash the boards in the second half but also cut down on its turnovers... The scarlet and gray only committed five TO's in the final period, less than half of the amount they committed in the first… Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) led Newberry in the second half with a team high seven points… Newberry made less field goals, committed more turnovers, and shot at a lower percentage than Lincoln Memorial… Despite all that, Newberry earned the win by shooting 15-for-21 from the foul line... Lincoln Memorial on the other hand had only one free throw attempt the entire game… The win puts the Newberry College women's basketball team at 11-5 overall and 4-1 in the SAC... They will take a week off before traveling to No. 5 Tusculum on Wednesday, January 21 at 6 p.m.

TUSCULUM - The No. 5 Tusculum women's basketball team posted a 1-1 record last week, defeating North Greenville 107-53 on Tuesday before seeing its 11-game winning streak snapped in the final moments of a 90-87 loss to Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference play … Tusculum, now 14-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play, has been one of the best teams in the nation shooting the basketball this season with a 49.3 percent field goal percentage which ranks among the top five in NCAA Division II … The Pioneers are also among the top 10 teams in the nation in scoring offense and scoring margin, averaging 86.3 points per game and outscoring their opponents by an average of 23 markers per contest … Tusculum set a season-high with 107 points in Tuesday's win over North Greenville, and also set a Pioneer Arena record with a 54-point margin of victory. Six Pioneers scored in double figures, including Kat Spears who led the way for the black and orange with a season-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with seven boards and two blocks. Sophomore Catherine Hintz set a career-high with 14 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor. Jasmine Gunn added 12 points and seven assists, while Jasmine Parker and Ashli Oliver each had 11 markers. Stephany Neptune chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds as the Pioneers set a school-record with a 70.3 percent shooting percentage in the second half … The Pioneers nearly came away with their 12th consecutive victory on Saturday night at Carson-Newman before the Eagles launched on a 10-0 run in the final two minutes to claim the 90-87 come-from-behind win … Tusculum had three players score at least 16 points, led by Gunn's 20 markers on 8-of-13 shooting. Parker tied a season-high with 17 markers on 7-of-12 shooting while Neptune recorded her fourth double-double of the campaign with 16 points and 10 rebounds … With her two performances on the glass last week, Neptune extended her streak of five or more rebounds to 51 games, and has registered at least one blocked shot in each of her last six contests … Oliver knocked down five three-pointers last week to move into a tie for sixth all-time at the NCAA Division II level with 340 career triples … The Pioneers enter the week leading the conference in scoring offense averaging 86.3 points per game, and are on pace to post the fourth-highest scoring average in school history. Tusculum is also leading the way in the SAC scoring margin race, outscoring its opponents by 23 points per game thus far. The Pioneers are 14-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points, and have eclipsed the 90-point barrier in seven games thus far. Tusculum returns home for a pair of conference games against Newberry and Wingate this week on Wednesday and Saturday.

WINGATE - Wingate University freshman guard Kurie Washington tallied a career-high 28 points and the Bulldogs rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to pick up a 94-88 victory in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon in Boshamer Gymnasium ... With the victory, Wingate improves to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the SAC. The BC Tornados hit an amazing 18 three-point field goals Saturday. The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday, when they host Mars Hill College at 6 p.m. ... Washington added seven rebounds to her 28 points Saturday. Senior guard Anna Atkinson posted 18 points, seven assists and three steals. Freshman guard Stephanie Whitenack contributed 12 points, while junior forward Sarah Rosser had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the visiting Bulldogs ... The Tornados came out hot, taking a 19-6 lead seven minutes into the game. Lay-ups from Atkinson and Washington followed by a jumper from Rosser trimmed the Brevard lead to 27-24 at the 8:19 mark ... A quick 7-0 spurt put the Tornados back on top by 10. A three-point field goal gave Brevard a 45-32 advantage with 42 seconds remaining in the half. An Atkinson lay-up and a Rosser free throw cut the deficit to 45-35 going into intermission ... The Tornados built their lead to 63-45 at the 15:32 mark. The Bulldogs answered with a 15-3 run to cut the deficit to 66-60, capped by a pair of Washington free throws at the 10:53 mark. Brevard pushed the bulge back to 76-65 with 8:16 remaining ... The Bulldogs would finish the game with a 29-12 flurry. Washington sandwiched a three-point field goal and an old-fashioned three-point play around an inside hoop from junior center Stacie Rhodes to give the Bulldogs an 80-79 edge with 3:50 to play (their first lead of the half). Atkinson added a three to put Wingate on top by four at 83-79 ... A pair of Atkinson free throws gave Wingate a 90-81 lead at the 1:23 mark. The Tornados would get no closer than six until a three-pointer at the buzzer accounted for the final margin ... The Bulldogs shot 47.1 percent from the field, hitting five-of-13 shots from beyond the arc. The Tornados shot 44.9 percent from the field, while hitting on 18-32 shots from three-point range. Wingate held a 40-34 rebounding advantage and a dominant 48-16 edge in points in the paint. The Bulldogs racked up seven blocks on the day, led by Rhodes with her career-high six rejections ... The Carson-Newman Eagles scored 61 second-half points to take a wild 95-93 over host Wingate in SAC women's basketball action Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena. Carson-Newman hit seven-of-11 three pointers in the second half ... Washington led the Wingate attack with 22 points and eight rebounds to go along with six assists. Atkinson added 21 points, eight assists and six steals for the Bulldogs, who racked up 20 steals and converted 26 Carson-Newman turnovers into 28 points. Sophomore forward Stefani Shuey added 13 points on five-of-six shooting. Rhodes and sophomore forward CC Brooks chipped in 10 points each for the Bulldogs ... A lay-up from Brooks gave Wingate its first double-digit lead at 23-12 eight minutes into the first half. Carson-Newman cut the lead to two at the 8:03 mark. Atkinson responded by scoring the game's next eight points, getting a lay-up and a pair of three pointers to stretch the lead back to 10 ... A three-point play from Washington, followed by a Washington lay-up put the Bulldogs on top 47-34 with 37 seconds remaining in the half. A Rhodes jumper made it 49-34 going to intermission. The Bulldogs dominated inside in the first half, outscoring Carson-Newman 32-12 in the paint ... The Eagles used a 12-0 run to cut a 14-point deficit down to two at the 15:22 mark. Carson-Newman started and ended the flurry with three-point field goals. The Eagles took their first lead on another three-point field goal at the 12:44 mark. A trifecta gave the Eagles a 74-71 edge at the 9:02 mark. Wingate answered with a 7-2 run to regain the lead on a jumper from Shuey at the 7:14 mark ... Carson-Newman took a five-point advantage on a lay-up with five minutes to go. A three-pointer from Bulldog sophomore guard Emily Parrish, followed by an Atkinson steal and lay-up tied the game at 86. The Eagles took the lead for good on a jumper at the 3:12 mark. The lead got as high as five on a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining. Atkinson drained a three with a second left, but the Eagles were able to survive ... The Eagles shot 47.8 percent from the floor on the night, while hitting 64.5 percent of its shots in the second half. Carson-Newman also held a commanding 57-37 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs shots 42.7 percent from the floor, while hitting seven-of-19 from three point range. Atkinson was five-for-five from beyond the arc. Wingate committed only 10 turnovers on the night, with the Eagles racking up six steals ... On Saturday at Brevard, Rosser's 10 points and 10 rebounds gave the Raleigh native her first collegiate double-double. Rosser has started four of Wingate's five SAC contests, netting 7.8 points per game in league play ... Washington has stepped up her game in recent days. The McDowell High product is averaging 20 points per game in SAC action. In Wingate's two games last week, Washington poured in 50 points (22 versus Carson-Newman, 28 versus Brevard) ... Atkinson tops the Bulldogs charts with 16.1 points per game and 6.8 assists per game. Atkinson also pulls down 3.4 rebounds per contest. The 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® women's basketball first team selection is the only Bulldog to start every game this season. Washington also scores in double digits, as she is posting 13.3 points per game. Rhodes leads the Bulldogs in rebounding, grabbing 5.6 caroms per game.