Women’s Basketball Notes, January 18, 2011
Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 17, 2011
ANDERSON - Anderson dropped back-to-back decisions on the week, falling 54-50 to Newberry last Wednesday and losing 72-63 at Lincoln Memorial on Saturday … Sophomore Breonda Shannon continued her stellar play, posting her first career double-double versus the Lady Railsplitters with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds and nearly averaged a double-double on the week, with 12.5 ppg. and 9.0 rpg … Senior guard Alexa Neal led the Trojan offensive attack by averaging 18 points, four rebounds and three assists on the week … Anderson wraps up its two-game road swing at Tusculum on Wednesday, then plays host to Carson-Newman Saturday afternoon.
BREVARD - The Brevard College women's basketball team went 0-2 this week in South Atlantic Conference play ... Wednesday, the Tornados traveled to Salisbury, North Carolina to take on the Catawba Indians and were dropped 77-45 ... Lindsay Brendle led the Tornados offense with 16 points in the loss, while Amanda Whitaker was a force on the defensive side of the ball with three blocks and four steals ... Brevard played host to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Saturday afternoon and fell 70-65 ... The Tornados had two players in double-figures as Micheala Watkins led with 15 points and Anna Schlobohm had 11 of her own ... Whitaker was able to steal the ball six times in the loss ... The Tornados have two South Atlantic Conference match-ups this week when they take on the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Harrogate, Tennessee ... They also travel to Wingate, North Carolina to take on the Bulldogs of Wingate University on Saturday with tip-off set for 2 p.m.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles went 1-2 on the week as they dropped a pair of South Atlantic Conference games at home to Tusculum College and Newberry College before closing out the week with a victory at Lenoir-Rhyne ... The Lady Eagles fell to the Pioneers, 71-55, on Wednesday ... C-N shot just 29.2 percent during the second half and allowed Tusculum to score at a 58.3 percent clip on their way to the loss ... Zoriah Williams paced Carson-Newman with 17 points and five rebounds while Mandy Mendenhall finished with 15 points for the Lady Eagles, who shot 36.4 percent (20-for-55) from the field as a team and saw the Pioneers hold decisive advantages in both points in the paint (42-22) and bench scoring (24-7) ... Overall, the Pioneers shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) from the field and controlled the boards by a margin of 41-29 over the Lady Eagles ... Tusculum also finished 15-for-22 at the foul line as a team and connected on two of their five three-point attempts ... Carson-Newman jumped on top early, using three straight three-pointers by Mendenhall to take an early 11-5 lead, but Tusculum battled back to knot the score at 15-15 ... The Pioneers went into the locker room with a 33-32 advantage ... Carson-Newman briefly regained the lead at 34-33 on a basket by Williams with 19:22 remaining, but a three-point play by Jasmine Parker put Tusculum ahead for good at 36-34 with 18:58 left ... The Lady Eagles fell 73-70 in overtime to Newberry on Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse ... C-N shot out to a four-point lead to open the game, but Newberry took over, going on a 13-2 run over the next six minutes ... The Lady Eagles were able to stem the tide thanks to a jumper from Mendenhall ... Two straight layups from sophomore forward Courdne Miles gave the Lady Eagles back the lead at 18-16 ... Miles finished the game with eight points, four rebounds, four blocks and a steal...Mendenhall scored 14 points and added five assists ... The Lady Wolves traded back the lead for the rest of the half before pulling ahead by seven as time ticked down in the half ... A layup from Williams chipped the lead to five at the buzzer ... Williams had a double-double in the game, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds ... Carson-Newman held Newberry to just 29 percent shooting from the floor in the second half, but had trouble cutting into the Lady Wolves' lead thanks to repeated missed 3-pointers ... The Lady Eagles hit only three shots from beyond the arc all night out of 14 tries ... Carson-Newman pulled within one point with a little over nine minutes to go on a 3-pointer from Candis Clear ... Once again, the Lady Wolves were able to stretch the lead again with an 11-2 run capped by a breakaway layup from Leanne Watson with just five minutes to go ... Instead of wilting, the Lady Eagles came back strong, going on a run of their own that tied the game 62-62 after two free throws from senior guard Katilin Moore with 1:30 to go ... Both defenses clamped down and sent the game to overtime ... With 40 seconds to go, the game was tied 70-70 … Leanne Watson hit one of two foul shots to give the Lady Wolves the lead ... Mendenhall missed a jumper with five seconds to go, and two more foul shots from Newberry's Leeara Creet pushed the lead to three and ended the game ... The Lady Eagles wrapped up the week with a 70-61 victory at Lenoir-Rhyne, their first in Hickory since Feb. 13, 2008 ... Mendenhall and Williams combined to score 47 points to lead C-N to the win ... Mendenhall tied her career-high with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while Williams produced her fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds ... Mendenhall, who is now seven points shy of 1,000 points for her career at C-N, was huge down the stretch, scoring 13 of C-N's final 21 points ... C-N improved to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in the SAC with the win...C-N overcame 24 turnovers by shooting 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the floor and holding the Bears to just 32.8 percent (22-of-67) shooting, including 0-of-9 from 3-point range ... The Lady Eagles also dominated the boards, outrebounding Lenoir-Rhyne 49-38 ... C-N returns to action on Wednesday at Mars Hill ... Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
CATAWBA - The Catawba women split their two games last week, topping Brevard 77-45 before falling to Tusculum 70-59 ... The Lady Indians held Brevard to just two points over the final eight minutes of the first half in closing with a 19-2 run for a 39-20 lead at the break ... Milica Ivanovic tallied 19 points with Elizabeth Merritt adding 13 ... Dana Hicks pulled down 13 rebounds to help the Lady Indians to a huge 49-28 edge on the boards ... Tusculum denied the ladies their first-ever 6-0 league start on Saturday ... A six-minute scoring drought in the second half allowed Tusculum to go on top 48-42 and the Lady Indians could never pull even after that ... The Pioneers canned eight straight at the line in the final minute to stretch their margin ... Hicks delivered her 13th double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds in the loss ... Ivanovic added 17 points ... Catawba shot just 29 percent in the second half ... Hicks is leading Catawba, scoring 18.3 points a game and pulling down 11.3 rebounds ... Ivanovic is adding 16.1 points a contest and has hit on 42 three-pointers ... The Lady Indians are shooting just under 40 percent on the season, but are on the plus side in both rebounding and turnover margin ... Catawba will travel to Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday and Newberry on Saturday.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (6-7, 3-2) split a pair of South Atlantic Conference road games last weekend, falling to Wingate (78-73) on Wednesday before defeating Brevard (70-65) on Saturday … The Bulldogs CC Brooks finished with a team-high 16 points as Wingate held off a late L-R rally en route to the win … Bear freshman guard Caroline Laughter (Hickory, N.C.) led Lenoir-Rhyne with a career-high 20 points while junior guard Cameron Sealey (Mount Holly, N.C.) added 16 points in the losing effort … Sealey added a game-high 22 points while sophomore forward Precious Elkins (Conyers, Ga.) added a career-high 19 points as the Bears overcame a six-point, second-half deficit (62-56) and used a 14-0 run late in the contest en route to the win … Lenoir-Rhyne also improved to 10-0 all-time against Brevard … Sealey (812 career points) has a chance of becoming 17th player in school history to cross the 1,000-point mark for her Lenoir-Rhyne career … The Bears have played five regular season conference games so far this year and all have been on the road … Lenoir-Rhyne finally returns home to face South Atlantic Conference-foes Carson-Newman (Monday at 2:00 p.m.), Catawba (Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.) and Lincoln Memorial (Saturday at 4:00 p.m.) this week … Carson-Newman leads the all-time series with L-R, 37-18, but the Bears won two of three against the Eagles last season … However, Carson-Newman prevailed over Lenoir-Rhyne in last year's NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament First Round, 79-72, in Greenwood, S.C. … L-R leads the all-time series with Catawba (35-29) and Lincoln Memorial (6-2) … Lenoir-Rhyne has a six-game winning streak over the Indians and has won five straight contests against the Lady Railsplitters … Lenoir-Rhyne has won 16 consecutive South Atlantic Conference Regular Season contests at home as well.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Lincoln Memorial women's basketball team defeated Mars Hill Thursday evening 81-79 … The game was delayed 24 hours due to travel conditions … The Lady Railsplitters led the entirety of the first half, never amassing larger than a nine point lead … At the half, LMU led Mars Hill, 36-32 … Mars Hill came out on a mission to start the second half … With sixteen minutes remaining, Mars Hill had jumped out to a seven-point lead … The Lady Railsplitters battled back and, with eight minutes remaining, LMU reassumed the lead that they would not relent, despite a late rally which provided Mars Hill a shot for the tie as the clock expired … Patrice Talley deflected the shot and the Lady Railsplitters prevailed to pick up their first SAC win of the season … Dayshalee Salaman led all scorers with 28 points. Destiny Williams complimented Salaman's performance, pouring in 13 points. Whitney Holmes, Patrice Talley, and Salaman led LMU with six rebounds apiece … On Saturday, the Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team picked up their second South Atlantic Conference win in 48 hours, defeating Anderson 72-63 … With the win, LMU moves to 2-4 in SAC play and 7-7 overall … After the first ten minutes, LMU and Anderson were engaged in a defensive struggle with the Lady Railsplitters holding a 15-14 lead … Two late free throws gave Anderson a 31-30 advantage at the half … With fifteen minutes remaining, Anderson had established an eight-point advantage … But the Lady Railsplitters continued to hang around, never letting the AU lead grow … At the 3:27 mark, LMU regained the lead that they would never relinquish, running out to a nine-point advantage and winning the game 72-63 … Destiny Williams, Dayshalee Salaman, and Chelsea Craig each recorded double-digit scoring performances. Williams finished with 15, Craig with 14, and Salaman with 13 … Kendra Holmes was the leading rebounder for LMU, notching 8 boards … The Lady Railsplitters will take the floor again on Wednesday, January 19th, as Brevard College comes to Harrogate for a 6 p.m. SAC contest.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-1 during the previous week of play with an 81-79 loss at LMU and 83-69 victory vs. Wingate to run its record to 11-3 overall, 4-2 in the SAC … Brittini Young averaged 23.5 points per game last week. In the two games, Taylor Deal averaged a double-double with 11.5 points and 13 rebounds. Margaret Harvey averaged 12 points per game last week.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry Wolves won two tight SAC games last week to move to 9-5 overall and 4-2 in league play, putting them in a three-way tie for second place in the SAC with Mars Hill and Tusculum entering the week … On Wednesday, the Wolves hit the road for the first time in 2011 and eked out a 54-50 win at Anderson … Senior guard Jessica Bearzatto scored a team-high 21 points, while Helen McKinney scored 10 to lead the Wolves … The game was tied with 2:10 to play, but Bearzatto hit four free throws in the final minute to give the Wolves the road win … On Saturday, the Wolves were locked in another tight battle, but a free throw by Leanne Watson with 18 seconds to play gave Newberry a 73-70 overtime win at Carson-Newman … Newberry led by as 12 points with 5:19 to play in regulation, but Carson-Newman scored the last 10 points of the second half to send the game to the extra frame … McKinney led the Wolves with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Watson scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Briana Johnson scored 13 points off the bench … Newberry returns home this week to host Wingate at 6 p.m. Wednesday and league-leading Catawba at 2 p.m. Saturday.
TUSCULUM - The Pioneers earned road wins at Carson-Newman (71-55) and league-leading Catawba (70-59) to improve to 4-2 in the SAC and 8-6 overall ... Senior guard Jasmine Gunn (Nashville, Tenn.) led the Pioneers in scoring in each victory, tallying a game-high 19 points against Carson-Newman and netting a team-best 20 points against Catawba. Gunn's 20-point effort against Catawba was her seventh of the season, and she moved into sixth place on the SAC career scoring list with 1,890 points ... Senior center Catherine Hintz (Hastings, Minn.) set season highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds against Carson-Newman, and followed up with eight points and six boards against Catawba. Over the last seven games, Hintz has averaged 10.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in just 18.4 minutes per game ... The Pioneers have committed fewer turnovers than their opponents in seven straight games and 10 of the last 11 contests ... All eight of Tusculum's wins have come by double figures ... The Pioneers open a four-game homestand Wednesday night against Anderson, followed by a Saturday afternoon contest with Mars Hill.
WINGATE - Wingate University senior guard CC Brooks had 16 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University 78-73 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. Junior forward Simone Rutledge added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Freshman guard Janitsha Williams had 11 points, while sophomore guard Sarah Wollett contributed 10 points and three assists … A 7-0 run gave the Bears a 22-12 lead at the 11:43 mark of the first half. A three-point play from junior guard Kurie Washington, followed by a jumper from Rutledge, cut the deficit to three with 7:28 remaining in the stanza. Four consecutive free throws put Wingate on top with five minutes to go … After Lenoir-Rhyne regained the lead, the 'Dogs used a 9-0 run to take a 40-33 lead two minutes before halftime. Washington tied it with a jumper, while Williams and Wollett knocked down back-to-back triples in the spurt. The Bears knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to trim the deficit to 43-39 at halftime … A three-point play from freshman forward Chantal Dunbar gave the Bulldogs a 50-41 lead in the opening minutes of the second half. The Bears used a 10-0 run to take a 51-50 lead at the 13:57 mark. A jumper and a pair of free throws from Brooks put the 'Dogs on top 64-59 with eight minutes remaining … A three-point field goal cut Wingate's lead to two at the 7:22 mark. A jumper from Brooks, followed by a jumper and two free throws from Dunbar, pushed the lead back to eight with six minutes to go. Two more free throws from Rutledge gave the 'Dogs their largest lead of the day at 74-64. The Bears would not go away, getting back-to-back inside hoops to make it a three-point game with a minute remaining. A steal and free throws from Williams pushed the lead to four with 23 seconds to go, while Rutledge added another free throw for the final margin … The Wingate bench outscored the Lenoir-Rhyne reserves 35-17. The Bulldogs out-rebounded Lenoir-Rhyne 43-30 on the day, while converting 18 L-R turnovers into 21 points … Wingate cut an 18-point first half deficit to one, but were unable to complete the comeback, falling to the Lions of Mars Hill College 83-69 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon. Washington led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Williams added 16 points, while Rutledge contributed 11 points and nine rebounds … With the Lenoir-Rhyne victory, the Bulldogs move to 31-9 overall in Cuddy Arena during head coach Barbara Nelson's four-year tenure. Nelson is 503-214 in 25 years as a head basketball coach (college and high school). Washington leads the Bulldogs with her 15.4 points per game average. The McDowell High School product is eighth on the SAC scoring charts … Rutledge is 16th in the SAC in scoring with her 11.3 points per game average. Wingate's top rebounder and shooter, Rutledge is sixth in the SAC in field goal percentage (48.7) and seventh in the rebound (6.8 rebounds per game). Four of Wingate's six losses have been by a total of 12 points. The Bulldogs visit Newberry Wednesday (6 p.m.) before returning home Saturday to host Brevard (2 p.m.).