Women’s Basketball Notes, March 1, 2010

Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending February 28, 2010

BREVARD - Brevard went 1-1 on the week, first losing to Newberry, 73-48, on Wednesday, and then defeating Catawba, 71-70, on Saturday ... Samantha Winn led the Tornados with 15 points and nine rebounds against Newberry, while along the way breaking Brevard's all-time scoring record ... Holli Flippo followed on the score sheet with 12, shooting four of eight from 3-point range ... Winn scored 30 points in the 71-70 win over Catawba including the shot with seven seconds remaining that gave the Tornados the 71-70 lead ... The Tornados trailed 42-33 at the half, but outscored the Indians 38-28 in the second, shooting 51.9 percent from the field ... Anna Schlobohm added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists for Brevard .... Followed by Lindsay Brendle with seven points ... Amanda Whitaker led the defense with three blocks and a steal ... Brevard posted a season low seven turnovers to Catawba's 17 ... The Tornados will travel to Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday to play the number one seed at 7:00 p.m.

CARSON-NEWMAN - No. 20 Carson-Newman went 1-1 in the final week of the 2009-10 South Atlantic Conference regular season last week, falling 66-64 at Catawba on Wednesday before defeating Wingate by a 76-65 score on Saturday … Both contests were on the road and brought the Lady Eagles' final regular season record to 22-5 with a 11-5 in the league to finish third … On Wednesday, the Lady Eagles trailed the entire game and were down by 11 minutes with 5:19 to play before they went on a 13-2 run to tie the contest at 64 with just 18 seconds remaining … After Catawba hit a jumper with seven seconds left to take a 66-64 lead, C-N drove the length of the floor but junior guard Mandy Mendenhall's 10-foot runner would not fall to force overtime … Mendenhall finished the game with 18 points while senior guard Ashley Kyle had 13 points and four assists … Senior forward Shari Buford posted 12 rebounds and added 4 blocks to go along with six points … Carson-Newman was on the other side of the game on Saturday as it led wire-to-wire over Wingate … The Lady Eagles outshot the Bulldogs by a 47.7 percent (31-for-65) to a 30.2 percent (19-for-63) margin and forced 22 turnovers in the win … After building a solid lead in the first half, Carson-Newman extended its advantage to 20 … The two squads put together runs against one another, but the Wingate would come up short, never getting closer than 10 points the rest of the contest … Carson-Newman got a balanced scoring effort as six players reached double figures in the contest … Buford led all players with 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks while Kyle had 13 points and freshman guard Candis Clear added 12 of her own … Sophomore guard Zoriah Williams had 11 points and nine rebounds while Mendenhall and junior guard Katlin Moore each had 10 points … The Lady Eagles, who earned the No. 3 seed, and the Bulldogs (No. 6) will face one another in a rematch of Saturday's on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., at Holt Fieldhouse in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Food Lion SAC Tournament.

CATAWBA - The Catawba women split its final two league games ... The Lady Indians upset No. 20 Carson-Newman 66-64 on Wednesday then fell 71-70 at Brevard on Saturday ... Catawba made it 2-0 vs. nationally-ranked Carson-Newman this season with its narrow win on senior day ... Brooke Whitley, the lone Catawba senior, led the way with 17 points, hitting on 5-of-7 from behind the arc ... Dana Hicks added 15 points and eight rebounds ... The Lady Indians never trailed, but saw C-N rally to tie after trailing by 11 with five minute left ... After a second turnover in the final minute, the Lady Eagles got the tying basket with 18 seconds remaining ... Catawba came right back and Maggie Sullivan posted the winning points on a layup with seven seconds left ... C-N had a final chance to tie, but missed a short jumper from the baseline as time expired ... Catawba made 10-of-23 three-pointer in the win ... The Lady Indians controlled most of the game against Brevard, shooting 60 percent in the first half to lead 42-33 ... Catawba still had a double-digit lead with just over 10 minutes left when point guard Nisha Long picked up her fourth foul ... Brevard took advantage and used a 16-3 run to grab a 62-61 lead with 2:50 to go ... The teams traded the lead six times down the stretch with Catawba going on top 70-69 on a three-pointer by Milica Ivanovic with 25 seconds remaining ... Brevard was able to retake the lead and Long missed a final shot in the closing seconds ... Ivanovic just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds as did Hicks, who tallied 15 points and grabbed nine boards ... The Lady Indians hit on 10-of-18 from behind the arc and won the rebound battle 35-30, but had 14 turnovers, twice as many as the hosts ... Hicks continues to lead the squad in scoring (14.8) and rebounding (11.0) ... Ivanovic and Long are scoring just over 12 points a contest ... The Lady Indians enjoyed their two best shooting performance against conference teams to close the season, shooting 44 percent vs. C-N and a high of 47.4 percent at Brevard ... Catawba will travel to Tusculum for its first round game of the SAC Tournament ... The Lady Indians finished as the No. 5 seed ... Catawba dropped both games to Tusculum this season and have not defeated the Pioneers since 2007.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The No. 24 Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (20-6, 13-3) captured the 2009-10 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship outright after defeating Wingate (59-58) at home on Wednesday before defeating Mars Hill (84-80) on the road Saturday … Against the Bulldogs, senior guard Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) finished with a team-high 10 points to go along with seven rebounds while senior guard Jami Safrit (Hickory, N.C.) added five points, eight assists and seven rebounds as L-R avenged an earlier defeat to Wingate … The Bulldogs' Stacie Rhodes missed a game-winning shot at the buzzer while Kurie Washington scored a game-high 19 points despite the loss … Mitch tallied a career-high 30 points on nine-of-12 field goal attempts and 10-of-11 free throw shooting while Safrit added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the Bears defeated the Lady Lions for the 10th straight time … Brittini Young finished with 29 points to lead Mars Hill, who rallied from a 14-point, first-half deficit (42-28) to take the lead in the second half but six late free throws by the Bears sealed the win … L-R also shot 88 percent (23-of-26) from the free throw line in picking up its seventh straight victory … Lenoir-Rhyne, which is ranked second in this week's NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Poll, won its third-ever league regular season title but first ever outright … Senior guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) is fifth all-time on L-R's scoring list with 1,463 points and fourth in assists with 401 … Safrit moved into on the Bears' career assist list with 402 … L-R also put together back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the year for the first time since reeling off four 20-win seasons ending in 1981-82 … Lenoir-Rhyne is 47-11 overall and 26-6 in South Atlantic Conference play since the start of last year … The Bears have also went 10-0 at home this year and have won 16 straight league regular season games at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium … L-R is the top seed in the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament and will face ninth-seeded Brevard on Wednesday at 7 p.m. … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series with Brevard, 8-0, and won both games earlier this year between the two schools.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - A second-half surge by Urbana broke open a close game and swept them past the homestanding Lady Railsplitters 63-52 Wednesday evening … LMU (9-17) was led by Dayshalee Salaman with 16 points. Carolyn Mills added in 14 points. Blandine Kikwiki Mamuku led the Lady Railsplitters on the boards with 11 rebounds … Urbana (16-10) controlled the boards, outrebounding LMU 49-35 … The game was a classic defensive struggle with six ties, seven lead changes and neither team able to get into an offensive rhythm … Both teams struggled to score in the first half due to the defensive pressure from their opponent. Neither team was able to grab a lead of more than three points … A jumper by Lane put the Blue Knights up 22-21 with a minute to go in the half and they would hold that lead going into the intermission … The Lady Railsplitters came out shooting in the second half, grabbing the quick lead and going up by four, 28-24, on a three-pointer by Salaman with 18:07 to go … Urbana then got hot offensively and grabbed the lead with a jumper from Vogel with 14:28 to go … The Lady Railsplitters would cut the lead to one on three occasions but never get over the hump as Urbana would go on to claim the 63-52 win … Despite a career night from Carolyn Mills, the LMU Lady Railsplitters weren't able to overcome Newberry as they fell to the Scarlet and Gray 82-74 in their South Atlantic Conference regular season finale Saturday afternoon … LMU (9-18, 6-10 SAC) was led by Carolyn Mills, who had a career night with 31 points, including six three-pointers. Whitney Holmes added in 11 points and Blandine Kikwiki Mamuku had her fifth double-double of the season as she had 10 points and 12 rebounds … Newberry outrebounded LMU 46-37 for the contest … Next up for LMU will be a bout of deja-vu as they will return to Newberry Wednesday for a rematch in the quarterfinals of the Food Lion SAC Tournament.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 0-2 during the previous week of play. The Lions fall to 5-22 overall and 2-14 in the league … Jasmine Gunn (Nashville, Tenn.) recorded a double-double with 35 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to lead the Tusculum College women's basketball team to a 78-76 win at Mars Hill College at Stanford Arena … The Pioneers (17-9, 10-6 SAC) win their third in a row to close out the regular season. The Lions drop to 5-21 overall and 2-13 in the SAC … Mars Hill was led by SAC Player of the Week Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) who tallied 25 points, including four 3-pointers to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. Margaret Harvey (Greensboro, N.C.) and Narcissa Grayson each scored 13 points … The Pioneers led 77-70 with 52 seconds remaining in the contest, following a pair of free throws by Gunn. The Lions scored six unanswered points in a span of 28 seconds, including a three-point play by Grayson and a three-pointer by Harvey with 24.2 seconds left on the clock … The Lions had a couple of opportunities to take the lead down the stretch as Jasmine Parker (Rex, Ga.) missed a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left. After a Mars Hill timeout, the Lions looked to set up a shot to win the game but were whistled for an offensive foul with 4.4 seconds left. Parker was fouled and sent to the line where she made one of two as Mars Hill came up with the rebound but turned the ball over on a traveling call to end the game … The Mars Hill women's basketball team closed out its season with an 84-80 loss to No. 24-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne … The game went back and forth in the early going. Two free throws by Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) five minutes into the game gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 16-11 lead. Mitch had 11 of her team's first 16 points … The Bears stretched their lead to nine points, 30-21, at the midpoint of the first half off two free throws by Cameron Sealey (Gastonia, N.C.) and led by as many as 14, but Mars Hill closed the half on a 14-5 run … A layup by Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) with 12 seconds remaining made the score 47-42 in favor of Lenoir-Rhyne at halftime … Mars Hill grabbed its first lead of the second half seven minutes in when Young converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Her bucket plus one gave the Lions a 54-53 advantage … Lenoir-Rhyne regained the lead and went up by 10 at the 8:06 point. A layup by Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.) gave the Bears a 70-60 upper hand … Mars Hill regained the advantage with 1:35 left in the game. Two free throws by Narcissa Grayson (Danville, Va.) gave the Lions a 77-76 lead, but Lenoir-Rhyne made six consecutive made free throws to ice the game … Young led the Lions with 29 points. Margaret Harvey (Greensboro, N.C.) pumped in 20 points … With a Brevard win over Catawba, the Tornadoes edge out Mars Hill for the final spot in the conference tournament.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team (19-7, 12-4 South Atlantic Conference) came away with a pair of wins last week after playing at Brevard and hosting Lincoln Memorial ... The scarlet and gray controlled every facet of the game in a 73-48 win over Brevard College in Boshamer Gymnasium on Wednesday night … Newberry was led by Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio), who recorded 19 points and 15 rebounds for her 18th double-double of the season ... It was also Bulcher's eighth consecutive double-double, which is tied for seventh best in NCAA Division II history ... Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while LeAnne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) scored 11 points ... Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) dished out a team-high eight assists and Newberry recorded assists on 22 of its 30 baskets … Brevard scored the first five points of the game and jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead with 16:40 to play in the first half … However, Newberry quickly responded with a 20-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 22-12 lead on a Bulcher basket in the paint … Newberry dominated the glass in the opening 20 minutes, outrebounding Brevard by a 26-13 margin ... The scarlet and gray converted those rebounds into 17 second chance points in the half … The scarlet and gray were able to consistently pull away in the second half, limiting Brevard to 20 points in the period … For the game, Newberry connected on 30-of-66 (45.5 percent) of its shots from the floor and outrebounded Brevard by an astounding 50-23 margin … Newberry capped off its undefeated home campaign with an 82-74 over Lincoln Memorial … Newberry was better from the floor with a .435 (30-69) field-goal percentage … The scarlet and gray registered assists on 21 of their 30 baskets ... Lincoln Memorial went .391 (25-64) from the floor in the game … The scarlet and gray limited themselves to just 10 turnovers and maintained quality possessions down the stretch. Bulcher, one of Newberry's seniors honored in the Senior Day presentation, led Newberry in scoring with 26 points ... Bulcher exploded for 18 points in the second half to distance her team from the competition ... She also pulled down 10 rebounds as well to secure her nineteenth double-double of the year and ninth consecutively … Newberry's other senior, Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.), got the start in the game and shined in running Newberry's offense ... Ward tallied five assists as well as four points and three rebounds … Watson scored double-digit points for the scarlet and gray with 15 on the night … Bearzatto solidified herself as the conference's best passer this year with an eight-assist performance … The win assured Newberry the No. 2 seed in this week's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament ... Newberry has now taken seven straight from the Railsplitters and will look to make it eight in next week's tournament … LMU, which fell to the No. 7 seed in the tournament, will travel to Newberry again next week for the opening-round game ... The game is scheduled for Wednesday, February 27, at 7 p.m. in Eleazer Arena.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum College women's basketball team stretched its winning streak to three games with a 78-76 road win over Mars Hill College on Wednesday to conclude the regular season, entering this week's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament having won eight of its last 10 contests … Junior Jasmine Gunn posted her second 30-point game of the season and second in her last three contests, equaling her career- and season-high of 35 markers to pace the Pioneers … The 4-11 All-American connected on 12-of-25 attempts from the floor and went 11-for-13 at the charity stripe, while hauling down a career-high 14 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the season … Brittni Oliver scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, pouring in 10 points while going a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line … Freshman Fayola Moise joined Gunn in double-figure rebounding with a career-high 11 boards in just 17 minutes off the bench … Kendal Baxter knocked down a pair of three-pointers to move into a tie for sixth on the program's single-season triples list, equaling Nikki Van Dine's 2007-08 total of 80 treys … Gunn has scored at least 20 points on 14 occasions this season, which is tied for second in the SAC … The two-time All-SAC First Team selection is also the only player at any level of the NCAA to rank in the top 20 in scoring, assists, and steals in her respective division … Tusculum is 8-1 this season when scoring over 80 points, and enter the week with a 10-1 mark when posting a field goal percentage over 45 percent …The Pioneers rank second in the conference in field goal percentage (42.9), scoring offense (77.7), scoring margin (+8.5), and steals (10.1).Tusculum has five players averaging more than eight points per game, including the scoring duo of Gunn and Baxter, who have combined for over 31 markers per contest through 26 games … Kat Spears is now within striking distance of the program's all-time blocked shots record, currently sitting second all-time with 130 career rejections, 11 behind former teammate Stephany Neptune's school-record total of 141 blocks … Gunn currently ranks in the top 10 in program history in seven career categories, including assists (3rd/503), free throws made (3rd/414), free throws attempted (3rd/527), and steals (4th/207), while ranking first all-time in program history with an average of 5.7 assists per game … Jasmine Parker has quietly climbed into the top 10 on the program's career assists list, currently ranking eighth all-time with 272 helpers … The Pioneers resume their season on Wednesday when they host Catawba College in the quarterfinal round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament at 6 p.m.

WINGATE - The Wingate University women's basketball team lost two tough games last week, including one in the final seconds of play. On Saturday, number 20 Carson-Newman College Eagles placed six players in double figures as they sealed third place in the South Atlantic Conference women's basketball regular season race, defeating Wingate (14-13 overall, 7-9 SAC) by a score of 76-65 at Cuddy Arena ... The Bulldogs and the Eagles will get reacquainted on Wednesday, as Wingate will visit Carson-Newman for a first-round game in the 2010 Food Lion SAC tournament. The 2010 season marks the second consecutive year the two teams have met in the final regular season game and the first-round tournament contest. The Bulldogs and the Eagles will tangle Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Carson-Newman's Holt Field House ... Wingate senior forward/center Erica Crumlin gave the home fans a memorable farewell performance with 12 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Crumlin was the only Bulldog to reach double-digit points Saturday ... The contest was tied at 2-2 and 5-5; the Eagles never trailed Saturday. Carson-Newman turned the 5-5 tie into a 22-11 lead with 12:43 to go in the opening frame. Crumlin hit a jumper with 5:45 left in the first half to cut Wingate's deficit to 29-20. The Bulldogs would not hit another field goal the rest of the half as Carson-Newman nudged its lead to 43-26 at intermission ... The Eagles converted a traditional three-point play to push the C-N advantage to 46-26 at the 18:56 plateau of the second half. The 20-point lead was the Eagles' largest of the day ... Wingate didn't quit, cutting the deficit in half on two occasions. Crumlin hit a jumper to make the score 48-38 Eagles with 14:24 left. The basket ended a 12-2 run for the hosts. Carson-Newman responded with an 11-2 flurry to take a 59-40 lead at the 9:13 mark ... The Bulldogs made another push, as Crumlin stepped up and contributed an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the deficit to 61-51 with 7:16 to play. Crumlin's hoop and free throw concluded an 11-2 run for Wingate ... The hosts would get no closer, as Carson-Newman stretched the lead to 18 points in the waning moments. Wingate junior guard Emily Parrish hit a triple with 13 seconds to account for the game's final markers and make the ending margin 11 points ... Three players had nine points each for Wingate: senior center Stacie Rhodes, sophomore guard/forward Kurie Washington and freshman guard Sarah Wollett. Rhodes added six rebounds and three assists to her ledger, while Washington also dished out three dimes. Wollett had six boards and a team-best four assists Saturday ... Wingate shot 30.2 percent from the floor (19-of-63), including 22.6 percent in the first half (seven-of-31). Carson-Newman finished the night at a 47.7 percent shooting clip (31-of-65). The Eagles made 54.5 percent of their tries (18-of-33) in the crucial first half ... The Bulldogs had seven blocked shots, with Crumlin and junior forward Jessy Keitt leading the way with two rejections each ... The Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team survived two potential game-winning shots by Wingate in the final seconds Wednesday, picking up a 59-58 SAC victory over the visiting Bulldogs in Shuford Gymnasium. The Bulldogs and the Bears split the season series, as Wingate earned a hard-fought 73-70 home victory on Jan. 27 ... Washington posted a game-high 19 points. Bulldog junior guard CC Brooks added 12 points. Rhodes narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds ... Washington hit a jumper with 41 seconds remaining to pull the visiting Bulldogs within 59-58. Lenoir-Rhyne worked the shot clock on the other end, but the Bears shot an air ball three-pointer as the 30-second device was winding down. Wingate called time-out with 12.2 seconds remaining to set up the final play ... Bulldog freshman point guard Sarah Wollett brought the ball down court and missed a running lay-up. Sophomore guard Gladney Brown got the rebound on a jump-ball situation to give the visitors one more chance. Rhodes missed a jumper at the buzzer and the Bears corralled the rebound ... Lenoir-Rhyne led 50-40 with 10:29 to play. The 10-point bulge was the Bears' biggest lead of the night. A lay-up at the 4:34 mark kept the hosts' advantage at eight (59-51). On the next possession, Washington answered with a three-point field goal to pull the Bulldogs within 59-54 at the 4:19 plateau. Neither team could find the basket until Brooks hit an inside hoop with 1:54 remaining, making it a one-possession game and setting the stage for a wild last minute ... The Lenoir-Rhyne bench outscored the Wingate reserves 42-14. The Bulldog substitutes held a 41-16 bench point advantage in the January victory. The Bears were not shy, attempting 19 three-point field goals Wednesday. Mitch hit two-of-five triples, while her teammates managed only two-of-14 ... Wingate outrebounded Lenoir-Rhyne 40-28. Brown and Washington contributed five boards each to support Rhodes' game-high total. Brown added eight points on three-of-four shooting from the floor. She hit her only three-point attempt Wednesday ... The Bulldogs honored their three seniors in a post-game ceremony Saturday: Crumlin, Rhodes and guard Sarah Rosser. This year's senior class has compiled an 81-38 overall record entering Wednesday's game. The group has one South Atlantic Conference regular season title, one Food Lion SAC tournament crown and two NCAA tournament appearances. The trio helped Wingate win the 2008 South Atlantic Regional title and advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight ... A two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III first team member, Rhodes leads the Bulldogs in rebounds and blocked shots. Rosser is second on the Wingate charts in three-point field goals. Crumlin is Wingate's number two shot blocker ... Washington is the number three scorer in the SAC with her 18.1 average. She posts 18.8 points per game in league play. Rhodes is second in the SAC in blocked shots and sixth in field goal percentage. Only Carson-Newman's Shari Buford has blocked more shots than Rhodes this season.