Tusculum, Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, Carson-Newman Advance In Food Lion SAC Women’s Basketball Tournament
The top four seeds advanced to the semifinals of the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
No. 1 Tusculum 89, No. 8 Lincoln Memorial 55
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- Stephany Neptune scored a season-high 21 points, and hauled down a Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament record 24 rebounds to lead the No. 13 Tusculum College women's basketball team (24-4) to an 89-55 win over Lincoln Memorial University (11-17) in the quarterfinal round of the SAC Tournament on Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
Tusculum connected on 43.9 percent of its attempts from the floor and grabbed a season-high 64 rebounds in the win. The Pioneers came within one board of tying the program record for rebounds in a game, and won the battle on the glass 64-34. Tusculum held the Railsplitters to a 29.2% clip from the field on the night. The Pioneers forced 19 Railsplitter turnovers in the game, which they converted into 16 points. Tusculum also scored 24 second chance points as the TC bench chipped in with 29 markers.
Neptune led all scorers with her 21 points, pouring in her 1,000th career marker early in the first half. The 5-9 junior set a program single-game record with her 24 boards on the night, while becoming the third player in school history to reach the 900-rebound plateau in her career. Neptune also recorded her SAC-leading 11th double-double of the season while recording Tusculum's first 20-20 game since December of 2000. The Wallkill, N.Y. native also recorded team highs in assists (4) and blocks (4).
Tusculum's Jasmine Gunn turned in her second double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Kat Spears poured in 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and hauled down seven rebounds. Jasmine Parker chipped in 11 points while Shantae Shank had a game-high four steals.
Dayshalee Salaman paced the Railsplitter attack with 15 points and three assists. Cena Nasiloski scored seven points and hauled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Amberly O'Dell scored eight points and had six boards.
Tusculum jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the first three minutes of the opening half and would lead wire-to-wire in the game. After Lincoln Memorial cut the lead to 8-7, the Pioneers launched an 11-0 run to open a 19-7 margin with 12:47 remaining in the half. Tusculum scored 11 of the next 15 points, and ended the half with a 13-7 run over the final six and a half minutes to hold a 45-24 lead at the break.
Lincoln Memorial would cut the lead to 13 in the opening minutes of the second half, beginning the period with a 9-1 spurt to trim the margin to 46-33 with 16:39 to play. Tusculum responded with a quick 8-0 run, which turned into a 24-11 spurt over the next eight minutes to put the Pioneers up 70-44 with 8:08 left on the clock. The Pioneers then closed out their 24th win of the season with a 19-11 run to equal the final margin of 89-55.
Tusculum advances to the semifinal round of the SAC Tournament this weekend in Hickory, N.C. where the Pioneers will square off against Carson-Newman College. The 2009 Food Lion SAC Tournament is being held at the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Facility.
TUSCULUM 89, LINCOLN MEMORIAL 55
LINCOLN MEMORIAL (11-17)
Salaman, Dayshalee 6-14 3-8 15; O'Dell, Amberly 2-8 2-2 8;
Nasiloski, Cena 3-7 1-3 7; Vannoy, Whitney 1-6 4-4 7; Craney,
Brittany 2-8 2-2 6; Wagner, Stephanie 2-10 0-0 4; Bennett, Timethia
1-2 0-0 2; Winney, Andi 1-3 0-0 2; Harris, Kara 0-4 2-2 2;
Harrison, Sarah 1-3 0-0 2; DeBusk, Bonnie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-65
14-21 55.
TUSCULUM (24-4)
Neptune, Stephany 8-16 5-7 21; Spears, Kat 7-11 4-6 18; Gunn,
Jasmine 4-10 5-6 13; Parker, Jasmine 1-6 9-13 11; Van Dine, Nikki
3-4 0-0 8; Hintz, Catherine 4-5 0-0 8; Ludgood, Shasidy 2-4 0-0 4;
Hicks, Staci 0-1 3-4 3; Shank, Shantae 1-7 1-2 3; Oliver, Ashli 0-9
0-0 0; Oliver, Brittni 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-73 27-38 89.
Lincoln Memorial.............. 24 31 - 55
Tusculum...................... 45 44 - 89
3-point goals--Lincoln Memorial 3-17 (O'Dell, Amberly 2-4; Vannoy,
Whitney 1-2; Wagner, Stephanie 0-5; Harris, Kara 0-3; Salaman,
Dayshalee 0-3), Tusculum 2-10 (Van Dine, Nikki 2-3; Oliver, Ashli
0-7). Fouled out--Lincoln Memorial-Nasiloski, Cena; Bennett,
Timethia, Tusculum-Gunn, Jasmine. Rebounds--Lincoln Memorial 34
(Nasiloski, Cena 7), Tusculum 64 (Neptune, Stephany 24).
Assists--Lincoln Memorial 8 (Craney, Brittany 3; Salaman, Dayshalee
3), Tusculum 15 (Neptune, Stephany 4; Van Dine, Nikki 4). Total
fouls--Lincoln Memorial 24, Tusculum 19. Technical fouls--Lincoln
Memorial-None, Tusculum-None. A-411 Food Lion South Atlantic
Conference Tournament - Quarterfinal
#1 seed Tusculum vs. #8 seed Lincoln Memorial
Tusculum ranked No. 13 in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll
No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne 72, No. 7 Mars Hill 51
HICKORY, N.C. - The No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne University Women's Basketball Team (24-4) picked up a 74-51 win over No. 7 Mars Hill College (12-16) in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament Wednesday evening at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium. The Bears reach the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2004.
Lenoir-Rhyne is also ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Poll and No. 23 in the nation by the WBCA.
L-R jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first 6:37 of the game and never looked back. The Bears shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the first half, taking a 38-18 lead into the locker room. Junior center Denise Moore (Newport News, Va./Rider Univ.) scored 12 of her 14 points in the first 20 minutes of play as Lenoir-Rhyne continued its dominance of Mars Hill from Saturday night.
In the second half, the Lions were unable to get any closer than 17 points the entire second half and trailed by as much as 29 down the stretch. A 16-4 run in the second half covering nearly six minutes sealed the contest for the Bears.
Lenoir-Rhyne junior guard Jami Safrit (Hickory, N.C./Fred T. Foard HS) led all scorers with 18 points and added team-highs of six rebounds and three assists. Moore added six rebounds of her own to go along with her 14 points.
Bear freshmen guards Whitley Culler (Mt. Airy, N.C./North Surry HS) and Cameron Sealey (Gastonia, N.C./East Gaston HS) each chipped in 10 points a piece.
Mars Hill was led by Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) as she tallied 10 points and Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) with nine markers.
Lenoir-Rhyne will face third-seeded Newberry College Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at the CVCC Multipurpose Center in Hickory, N.C.
LENOIR-RHYNE 74, MARS HILL 51
MARS HILL (12-16)
Blanford, Jessica 4-10 2-2 10; Young, Brittini 2-12 4-4 9;
Williams, Jocelyn 4-6 1-2 9; Terry, Shamia 4-9 0-0 8; Okunowo,
Ariel 2-8 2-2 7; Deal, Taylor 2-2 2-6 6; Francis, Danielle 1-1 0-0
2; Clevenger, Megan 0-0 0-0 0; Smith, Bria 0-2 0-0 0; Warren, Erica
0-0 0-0 0; Clark, Jerusha 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 11-16 51.
LENOIR-RHYNE (24-4)
Safrit, Jami 4-5 8-8 18; Moore, Denise 7-15 0-0 14; Culler, Whitley
2-3 6-6 10; Sealey, Cameron 2-6 5-6 10; Holt, Amber 2-4 1-2 7;
Kremer, Jacquelyn 3-3 0-2 6; Fulmer, Kristen 2-3 0-0 4; Webster,
Meredith 1-3 0-0 2; Williams, Jackie 1-1 0-0 2; Conetta, Leslie 0-0
1-2 1; Hanner, Erin 0-0 0-0 0; Munn, Abby 0-0 0-0 0; Mitch,
Brittany 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-47 21-26 74.
Mars Hill..................... 18 33 - 51
Lenoir-Rhyne.................. 38 36 - 74
3-point goals--Mars Hill 2-9 (Young, Brittini 1-4; Okunowo, Ariel
1-4; Blanford, Jessica 0-1), Lenoir-Rhyne 5-14 (Safrit, Jami 2-3;
Holt, Amber 2-3; Sealey, Cameron 1-3; Webster, Meredith 0-2; Mitch,
Brittany 0-3). Fouled out--Mars Hill-None, Lenoir-Rhyne-None.
Rebounds--Mars Hill 30
(Terry, Shamia 8), Lenoir-Rhyne 33 (Safrit, Jami 6; Moore, Denise
6).
Assists--Mars Hill 10 (Terry, Shamia 4), Lenoir-Rhyne 16 (Safrit,
Jami 3;
Sealey, Cameron 3; Mitch, Brittany 3). Total fouls--Mars Hill
20,
Lenoir-Rhyne 15. Technical fouls--Mars Hill-None,
Lenoir-Rhyne-None. A-370
2009 Food Lion SAC Women's Basketball Tournament - First Round
No. 7 Mars Hill at No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne
L-R is ranked No. 23 in NCAA Division II
No. 3 Newberry 77, No. 6 Catawba 48
NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Newberry College women's basketball team kicked off the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament on the right foot Wednesday with a win against the Catawba Catawba Indians, 77-48.
Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) earned her sixth double-double in the last seven games with 16 points and a team high 11 rebounds. The junior center nailed seven of her 10 shots from the field. Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) led the scarlet and gray in points with 20 on 7-for-11 shooting from the field.
Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) and Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) played their final games in Eleazer Arena and put on great performances. Marquardt put up 16 points while Alexander posted a game high eight assists, 11 points, and nine rebounds. Alexander now needs seven ! ! rebounds in order to reach the all time assists record at Newberry College.
Brittany Higgins (Takoma Park, Md.) led all scorers for the Catawba Indians with 20 points on 7-for-18 shooting from field goal range. Dana Hicks (York, S.C.) was scoreless but still posted eight boards, twice as many as any of her teammates.
Higgins made the first bucket of the opening half, giving Catawba its only lead of the game. Newberry pushed the tempo early in the game and earned a double digit lead within the first nine minutes of the game. The pressure did not stop there, as a Marquardt three-pointer pushed Newberry's lead to 21 points with two minutes remaining in the half. NC entered the halftime break with the lead, 46-25.
The scarlet and gray shot lights out in the first half, nailing 56.3% of their field goal attempts. They also went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. On defense, NC held the opposition to 32.3 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent shooting from downtown. NC, averaging 17.2 turnovers a game, handled the ball well and committed only five TO's.
Despite three players in double-digits by the half, Newberry was led by Bulcher who scored a team high 16 points in the first half. She shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. Higgins led Catawba in points with 14 on 5-for-10 shooting.
Newberry showed no mercy in the second half as they continued to improve upon the lead. The third seeded scarlet and gray opened the period with a 12-5 scoring run and improved their lead to thirty points with seven minutes left. NC shot over 90% from the foul line in the second half and walked away with the 29 point victory.
Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) had a solid second half and tied the team high in both points (6) and rebounds (6). In her final game at Eleazer Arena, Mashanda Thomas (Richmond, Va.) played solid second half defense and pulled down three boards.
Newberry won by doing what they do best, playing defense and crashing the glass. The scarlet and gray held their opponent to under 50 points for the fifth time this season and posted a season high 53 rebounds. NC earned 18 offensive rebounds in the contest on way to 21 second chance points.
The Newberry College women's basketball team now stands at 18-10 this season. The win advances the scarlet and gray to the semifinals of the SAC Tournament where they will face second seeded Lenoir Rhyne. The contest will take place this Saturday at 3 pm in Hickory, N.C.
NEWBERRY 77, CATAWBA 48
CATAWBA (16-12)
Higgins, Brittany 7-18 6-6 20; Clark, Cameron 4-8 0-0 9; Sullivan,
Maggie 3-6 0-1 6; Long, Kisha 2-5 0-0 4; Crane, Sara 2-3 0-0 4;
Whitley, Brooke 1-5 0-0 3; Long, Nisha 1-10 0-0 2; Hicks, Dana 0-6
0-0 0; Dameron, Jennifer 0-1 0-0 0; Connor, Jolysa 0-4 0-0 0.
Totals 20-66 6-7 48.
NEWBERRY (18-10)
McKinney,Helen 7-11 3-3 20; Marquardt,Laura 7-18 0-0 16;
Bulcher,Anita 7-10 2-4 16; Alexander,Monica 2-9 6-6 11; Ward,Janine
2-5 2-3 6; Coates,Sade 1-2 2-2 4; Johnson,Briana 1-2 0-0 2;
Thomas,Mashanda 1-1 0-0 2; Snowden,Cortney 0-1 0-0 0; Kelley,Ondia
0-1 0-0 0; Hudson,Shonquilla 0-0 0-0 0; Henderson,Keisha 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 28-62 15-18 77.
Catawba....................... 25 23 - 48
Newberry...................... 46 31 - 77
3-point goals--Catawba 2-11 (Whitley, Brooke 1-3; Clark, Cameron
1-3; Long, Kisha 0-1; Long, Nisha 0-3; Dameron, Jennifer 0-1),
Newberry 6-17 (McKinney,Helen 3-5; Marquardt,Laura 2-9;
Alexander,Monica 1-2; Henderson,Keisha 0-1). Fouled
out--Catawba-None, Newberry-None. Rebounds--Catawba 29 (Hicks, Dana
8), Newberry 53 (Bulcher,Anita 10). Assists--Catawba 6 (Higgins,
Brittany 2; Connor, Jolysa 2), Newberry 15 (Alexander,Monica 8).
Total fouls--Catawba 14, Newberry 11. Technical
fouls--Catawba-None, Newberry-None. A-321
2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament
Quarterfinal Matchup, #3 Newberry vs #6 Catawba
Newberry advances to semifinals, 3pm Saturday in Hickory, NC
No. 4 Carson-Newman 95, No. 5 Wingate 81
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) fired in 22 points to lead the Carson-Newman women's basketball team to a 95-81 win over Wingate in the first round of the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament Wednesday at Holt Fieldhouse.
With the win, the fourth-seeded Lady Eagles improve to 19-9 on the season and advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded Tusculum on Saturday at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. at 1 p.m. Wingate ends its season at 18-10.
Junior forward Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles. Junior guard Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) also had 21 points, while senior backcourt mate Angela Volentine (North Platte, Neb.) contributed 13 markers.
Freshman guard Kurie Washington (Marion, N.C.) led the Wingate attack with 19 points. Senior guard Brittany West (Valdese, N.C.) added 14 points for the Bulldogs. Senior guard Anna Atkinson (Marion, N.C.) posted 12 points and nine assists.
The Eagles used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to turn a tie game into a 24-15 lead at the 8:55 mark. Buford scored the first five points of the spurt. Carson-Newman pushed the lead to 14 on a Buford layup at the 4:51 mark.
The Bulldogs answered with a 13-6 run to cut the lead to seven. Senior forward Leslie Tucker (Matthews, N.C.) got it started with a pair of buckets. West capped it with a three with 2:16 to go. Kyle drained a jumper with 16 seconds left in the first frame to push the lead to 46-35 at halftime.
The Eagles pushed their lead to 59-40 on a jumper by senior forward Lindsey Eggleston (Buena Vista, Colo.) at the 16:21 mark. Wingate trimmed the lead back to 11 on a three from West with 13 minutes remaining.
A three-pointer from Washington cut the lead to 70-62 at the 9:08 mark. Carson-Newman answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead back to 15, capped by a three from Kyle with 7:24 remaining to give the hosts a 77-62 advantage. The Bulldogs would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Carson-Newman shot 50 percent from the field on the night, while knocking down seven-of-13 from beyond the arc. Wingate shot 37.3 percent from the field, while draining 12-of-25 three point attempts. The Eagles held a 54-35 rebounding advantage, while Wingate forced 22 Carson-Newman turnovers.
CARSON-NEWMAN 95, WINGATE 81
WINGATE (18-10)
Washington, Kurie 7-14 2-2 19; West, Brittany 5-10 0-0 14;
Atkinson, Anna 5-14 1-2 12; Brooks, CC 2-7 3-4 8; Tucker, Leslie
3-7 2-2 8; Rosser, Sarah 2-7 0-0 6; Brown, Gladney 1-4 3-7 5;
Rhodes, Stacie 2-6 0-0 4; Whitenack, Stephanie 1-1 0-0 3; Parrish,
Emily 0-0 2-2 2; Shuey, Stefani 0-2 0-0 0; Keitt, Jessy 0-3 0-0 0.
Totals 28-75 13-19 81.
CARSON-NEWMAN (19-9)
Mandy Mendenhall 10-16 2-4 22; Ashley Kyle 8-16 2-2 21; Shari
Buford 9-12 3-5 21; Angela Volentine 4-7 2-2 13; Lindsey Eggleston
1-7 4-4 6; Ashley Tipton 2-4 0-0 5; Zoriah Williams 1-4 2-3 4;
Tykira McDaniel 0-4 3-4 3; Lundyn Howard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-70
18-24 95.
Wingate....................... 35 46 - 81
Carson-Newman................. 46 49 - 95
3-point goals--Wingate 12-25 (West, Brittany 4-9; Washington, Kurie
3-5; Rosser, Sarah 2-4; Brooks, CC 1-3; Whitenack, Stephanie 1-1;
Atkinson, Anna 1-3), Carson-Newman 7-13 (Ashley Kyle 3-4; Angela
Volentine 3-4; Ashley Tipton 1-3; Mandy Mendenhall 0-2). Fouled
out--Wingate-West, Brittany, Carson-Newman-Tykira McDaniel; Shari
Buford. Rebounds--Wingate 35 (Rhodes, Stacie 4; West, Brittany 4;
Atkinson, Anna 4), Carson-Newman 54 (Shari Buford 11).
Assists--Wingate 19 (Atkinson, Anna 9), Carson-Newman 20 (Ashley
Tipton 4; Ashley Kyle 4). Total fouls--Wingate 23, Carson-Newman
18. Technical fouls--Wingate-None, Carson-Newman-None. A-486 No. 4
Carson-Newman advances to face Tusculum on Saturday at 1 p.m.