Women’s Basketball Notes, December 20, 2010
Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending December 19, 2010:
ANDERSON - The Trojans stayed undefeated in the month of December and ran their win streak to six games by earning two wins at the 2010 Hampton Inn & Suites Fall Finals Classic, hosted by Armstrong Atlantic in Savannah … Anderson scored 16 of its last 18 points at the free throw line as the Trojans opened play at the Classic with a 58-50 win past Columbus State. Against the Lady Cougars, the second half featured five ties and six lead changes, with the Lady Cougars taking their largest lead of the contest, 44-38, with 7:19 left in the game. But Anderson rallied to close the game with a 20-6 run. Alexa Neal led all scorers with 23 points, while teammate Ashley Abed added her second double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds … Four players reached double figures as Anderson closed out the two-day event with a 70-61 win past host Armstrong Atlantic on Saturday. Abed recorded her third straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans, while Tilde Ahlin added 11 points and three blocks with both Parris and Alexa Neal chipping in 10 points … Following a 10-day break for Christmas, the Trojans wrap up their five-game road swing at the Rollins College Holiday Classic in Winter Park, Fla., where they will face the host Tars, who are ranked 14th in the country on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The Trojans close out the event vs. Florida Tech on Thursday, Dec. 30.
BREVARD - The Brevard College women's basketball team did not compete this week ... They're back in action on December 30, when they travel to Greeneville, Tennessee to take on the Tusculum Pioneers.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles went 1-0 on the week, winning a South Atlantic Conference matchup at home against Wingate on Wednesday ... The Lady Eagles outscored Wingate 32-12 over the final 14 minutes to grab a 54-50 win at Holt Fieldhouse ... Carson-Newman goes into its winter break at with a record of 4-3 overall and a 1-1 mark in the SAC ... Carson-Newman shot just 21 percent in the opening period and was 0-for-7 as a team from beyond the 3-point stripe ... C-N was out-rebounded 28-19 in the first half and needed a spark to get back into the game, trailing 24-17 at the half ... The spark was provided by freshman forward Shannon Depew ... After being held scoreless in the first half going 0-for-4, Depew began draining shots in from the perimeter and finished with 15 points to lead all scorers, including three 3-pointers in the second half ... Junior forward Zoriah Williams recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... The Lady Eagles used a 16-0 run in the second half opened up by a jumper from senior guard Mandy Mendenhall ... A 3-pointer from freshman guard Rechelle Dye kept the rally going ... Defensively, the Lady Eagles held Wingate scoreless for nearly seven full minutes in the second half ... The Lady Eagles will have two weeks off before facing Florida Tech in the Rollins Classic in Winter Park, Fla. on Dec. 29.
CATAWBA - The Catawba women grabbed their second league win of the year as they headed into the holidays with a 56-55 win at Lincoln Memorial ... It was the only action of the week for the Lady Indians as they improved to 7-4 overall and 2-0 in the SAC ... Dana Hicks converted a pair of free throws with ten seconds remaining and Catawba dodged a final shot by LMU to take the win ... Hicks shot just 6-of-27 from the field, but hit on 7-of-9 at the line to finish with 19 points ... The junior collected her ninth double-double of the year, adding 16 rebounds ... Mililca Ivanovic tallied 19 points with seven boards ... Catawba won the game despite shooting just 27 percent for the game ... Hicks continues to lead Catawba, averaging 19.6 points and 10.9 rebounds a contest ... Ivanovic follows at 15.5 points and seven boards a game ... The Lady Indians are winners of three straight and five of six entering the break ... Catawba returns to action on New Year's Eve as it hosts Belmont Abbey.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (4-4, 1-1) suffered its third straight loss last Thursday afternoon against No. 25 USC Aiken (11-2), 75-68, at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium … Nakia Pinkney led four USC Aiken players in double figures with a team-high 18 points en route to the win … L-R junior guard Cameron Sealey (Gastonia, N.C.) led all scorers with 24 points despite the setback … USC Aiken also held a 36-26 advantage in rebounds in sweeping the season series from Lenoir-Rhyne … L-R suffered just its fourth loss at home in its last 30 contests … Sealey (729 points) is on pace to become the 17th player to score a 1,000 points in her L-R career … Lenoir-Rhyne does not play again until Wednesday and Thursday (December 29 and 30) when it travels to Morrow, Ga., to play in the Heritage Bank Holiday Classic ... L-R plays Lander (5:30 p.m.) and Clayton State (3:30 p.m.) … Both Lander (No. 2) and Clayton State (No. 6) are ranked nationally in the WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll and both are 9-0 on the season … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series with Lander (4-1) but trail against Clayton State (0-3).
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - LMU fell to the Indians of Catawba in the final seconds of their South Atlantic Conference home opener, 56-55 … LMU led at the half 27-23 … The Lady Railsplitters jumped out to as large as a 13-point lead with 16 minutes remaining in the game … From that point on, despite shooting only 27 percent from the field, the Indians were able to forge a rally out of that deficit … With three minutes remaining in the game, Catawba took a 52-50 lead … LMU gained their final lead of the game, 55-54, off Dayshalee Salaman's free throws with 23 seconds remaining … Catawba regained the lead with two free throws and Salaman's last second attempt came up empty … The Indians took the game 56-55 … The Lady Railsplitters were led in scoring by Dayshalee Salaman who recorded 16 in the game. Patrice Talley came off the bench and added 14 points and 8 rebounds … Montevallo came to town for the first time since 2006 on Saturday, sending them home with a 64-60 defeat … Lincoln Memorial was lead by Dayshalee Salaman's 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Chelsea Craig led the way in the first half with 11 points and finished the game with 15 … Kendra Holmes led all players on the glass as she notched 10 rebounds … With the win, the Lady Railsplitters move to 8-3 on the season. They will now break for the holidays, returning to the court on December 29th as they travel to Morrow, Georgia, to play Clayton State at 5:30 p.m.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-0 last week to take their season record to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the SAC … Mars Hill held King to less than 30 percent shooting from the field and used a team-high 15 points and four steals from Tyler Carlson to defeat the Lady Tornado, 62-52, for the second time this season on Thursday inside Stanford Arena … Taylor Deal added eight points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks for Mars Hill. Brittini Young chipped in 14 points and three steals, while Margaret Harvey scored 10 … Mars Hill finished the game 25-68 (36.8 percent) from the field, while the Lady Tornado was 17-57 (29.8 percent) … The Lions will head to San Diego, Calif., to participate in the Surf 'N' Slam Tournament on December 29-30 … Mars Hill will take on Holy Family on December 29 at 6 p.m. Eastern and Assumption on December 30 at 1 p.m. Eastern.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry Wolves saw a four-game win streak snapped in their only action this week, losing at North Georgia, 58-55 ... Newberry goes into the Christmas break with a 5-3 overall record and 1-1 SAC mark ... Newberry led for the first 37 minutes of the game ... Newberry (5-3) led by as many as 13 points early in the first half but a 15-8 run for North Georgia (8-2) to end the period 31-23 swung the momentum the Saints' way ... Newberry shot just 30.1 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three point range, while holding the Saints to 38.8 percent as well ... Leanne Watson led the Wolves with her second double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Brittany Brown scored 11 ... The Wolves return to action on Dec. 29 and 30 at the GCSU Craig Massee Invitational with games against Georgia College and UNC Pembroke in Milledgeville, Ga.
TUSCULUM - The Pioneers fell to 4-5 as they squandered a 16-point first-half lead and lost 77-75 at Shaw Thursday afternoon in the team's lone game of the week … Senior guard Jasmine Gunn (Nashville, Tenn.) led the Pioneers with a season-high 33 points while junior forward Staci Hicks (Loveland, Ohio) added 11 points and eight rebounds … The Pioneers outscored the Lady Bears in the paint by a 46-16 margin, but attempted just 12 foul shots while Shaw got to the stripe 34 times … Tusculum lost for the first time this season (4-1) when finishing with fewer turnovers than its opponent. The Pioneers committed 12 turnovers against Shaw while the Lady Bears had 13 miscues ... Gunn became the eighth player in SAC history to surpass 1,800 career points with her 33-point effort at Shaw, and ranks third in Tusculum program history with 1,803 points.
WINGATE - The Wingate University Bulldogs split two contests last week. On Saturday, Wingate outscored King College 15-7 in the second overtime en route to a 106-98 victory over the Tornado in NCAA Division II women's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. The victory gives Wingate head coach Barbara Nelson 500 career triumphs (high school and college). On Wednesday night, the Bulldogs dropped a 54-50 SAC heartbreaker at Carson-Newman College … Barbara Nelson will long remember last week. On Thursday, USA Basketball named her the 2010 USA Basketball Co-Developmental Coach of the Year. Last summer, Nelson led the USA to an undefeated performance and a gold medal in the women's FIBA U17 World Championship in Toulouse and Rodez, France. She is 500-211 in 31 years as a head basketball coach … On Saturday, junior guard Kurie Washington poured in 30 points to lead the Wingate attack against King. Sophomore guard Sarah Wollett added a career-high 21 points for the Bulldogs. Freshman guard Janitsha Williams had 12 points, while junior guard Tiffany Brown contributed 11 points … The Bulldogs shot 49.3 percent from the field, while hitting five-of-11 from three-point range (45.5 percent). Wingate hit 35-of-43 free throws on the afternoon (81.4 percent) while holding a 16-2 advantage in fast break points. King shot 46.6 percent from the field, while hitting 14-of-17 free throws on the day (82.4 percent). Wingate also held a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint, while outrebounding King 41-38. The Bulldogs converted 33 King turnovers into 35 points … On Wednesday, Carson-Newman overcame a 16-point second half deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 54-50 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action in Holt Fieldhouse. Senior guard CC Brooks had 11 points and six rebounds to lead the Wingate offense. Washington and Rutledge added eight points each for the Bulldogs. Wollett recorded seven points and four assists … Washington is seventh in the SAC with her 17.6 points per game. Rutledge leads the league in field goal percentage, hitting 60.6 percent of her attempts. Wingate is second in the SAC in scoring offense, posting 74.5 points per game in eight contests this season … Wingate returns to action Dec. 29, taking on UNC Pembroke at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs will meet the UNCP Braves in the third annual Bobcat Holiday Classic (hosted by Georgia College & State University) Dec. 29-30 in Milledgeville, Ga. Wingate returns home Jan. 8, hosting 2010 Elite Eight participant Tusculum College at 2 p.m.