Weekly Women’s Basketball Notes, November 26, 2007
Women's basketball game notes and recaps for the week ending November 25, 2007
BREVARD - The Brevard College Tornados split for the second week in a row last week … The Tornados took on the only two Virginia schools they will face this season in Virginia Intermont and Virginia State University. BC fell on the road at Virginia Intermont on Tuesday night, losing a one-point halftime lead to fall by 11, 77-66 ... The Tornados bounced back on Saturday night, when they opened up their home slate with a thrilling last second victory. Senior Holly Krogman hit a leaning lay-up over two Virginia State defenders at the buzzer to give the Tornados the 62-61 win ... The Tornados are 2-2 on the year and are set to play two home games this week … BC will host Milligan College on Thursday, November 29 at 6 p.m. and then will open up their SAC slate at home versus Tusculum College on Saturday, December 1, with a 2 p.m. tip-off.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The beginning of the second half saw the Lady Eagles make a run and cut North Georgia's lead to just five points off a jumper by Ashley Tipton to make it a 49-44 game. The Lady Saints would answer with a run of their own and extend the lead to 13 points at 62-49 off a pair of Singleton free throws with 12:42 left in the contest ... Carson-Newman would make one last run at North Georgia with under three minutes to go as Tipton buried a three-pointer with 2:56 left to cut the Lady Saints lead to just three at 77-74 ... The final three minutes however belonged to the Lady Saints as they refused to give up the lead and ran away with a 91-83 victory to get by Carson-Newman for the second time this season ... Ashley Kyle led the Lady Eagles with 15 points, while Angela Volentine and Tipton each added 14 ... Columbus State scored the final eight points in overtime to defeat Carson-Newman 69-66 in the final day of the Lady Saints Classic (Hosted by North Georgia). Maria Grimes scored 33 points and tied a school record with nine three-pointers made in the Lady Cougar win. Grimes drained a three-pointer with 1:00 remaining in regulation to tie the score at 60-60. The two teams exchanged turnovers and C-N got the ball back with :26 seconds remaining, but Angela Volentine was charged with an offensive foul to give CSU the ball back and a chance to win the game in regulation. CNC's Ashley Kyle missed a jumper with six seconds remaining and Stafford grabbed the rebound and was fouled. She made both free-throws to seal the win for CSU. Emily Mason led Carson-Newman with 15 points. Shari Buford had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Ashley Tipton added 12 points. CNC held a 36-29 rebound advantage in the game.
CATAWBA - Catawba opened the season with a 69-61 loss at No. 21 USC-Aiken, then rebounded to win both of its games at the Comfort Suites Classic at Goodman Gym ... The Lady Indians defeated Molloy 73-60 and N.C. Central 67-51 ... Senior NeKeithia Howard was named the MVP of the Classic after leading Catawba to the wins ... She had 23 points against Molloy and followed up with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win over N.C. Central ... It marked her second double-double of the season as she opened the campaign with 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds at Aiken ... Also earning all-tournament honors were seniors Sicilia LoSauro and Cristi Bartlett ... LoSauro had 14 points vs. Molloy and 13 against NCCU, making five-of-11 shots from long range ... Bartlett scored seven points with 10 rebounds against Molloy and nearly had a double-double vs. Central with 12 points and nine boards ... Catawba will entertain Pfeiffer on Tuesday and travel across town on Saturday to face Livingstone..
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College women's basketball team (4-0) is off to its best start since the 2004-05 season, when it won its first six games of the year … L-R won both its contest this past weekend at the 2007 Catawba College/Comfort Suites Classic at the Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury, N.C. … Lenoir-Rhyne defeated NCAA Division I-member North Carolina Central, 63-56, on Friday before downing Molloy by an 88-83 score on Saturday … Against the Lady Eagles, sophomore guard Jami Safrit (Hickory, N.C.) scored 17 of her team-high 19 after break to help the Bears rally from a 30-24 halftime deficit to take the win … Sophomore guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) added 17 points in the victory despite N.C. Central's 47-25 rebounding edge … On defense, the Bears forced 30 turnovers … Safrit (17 points) led Lenoir-Rhyne in scoring again in the team's 88-83 win over Molloy … The Bears were able to win despite trailing a halftime (38-37) and a 29-point, 20-rebound performance from Molloy's Kymira Woodberry … Both Safrit and Holt (Charlotte, N.C.), who added 14 points, both connected on all eight free throw attempts as Lenoir-Rhyne used a 37-of-46 performance (80 percent) from the charity stripe in the win … L-R does not play again until its home opener on Monday, December 3, against Queens beginning at 6 p.m..
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The LMU women evened their record at 2-2 with wins over King and Virginia State last week ... New Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball coach Larry Just and his 2007-08 Lady Railsplitters captured their first win of the season in Tuesday night's home-opener by defeating the Tornado of King College 79-70 in the Tex Turner Arena ... The first win of the Just era came by virtue of a solid offensive performance by LMU post players Heather Benton (Wooton, KY) and Andi Winney (Yorktown, IN) in the first half, and a 19-point performance by senior point-guard Shawna Nicols (Milwaukee, WI) in the second half. Add to that, 22 first half turnovers the Lady Railsplitters forced King College into making and the LMU women had a recipe for victory ... Benton carried the offensive load in the first half, scoring 13 of her game-high 22 points in the first 20 minutes of play. The four-year letterman also led LMU on the glass, finishing the game with seven rebounds, while Winney, one of the leading scorers from a year ago, finished the night with 10 points, all of which came in the first half. Nicols picked up the torch in the final stretch by scoring 19 of her 21 points after the intermission ... Lincoln Memorial played 10 of the 11 players that dressed on Tuesday with all making solid contributions to the team's first win of the season. The LMU women hit a blistering 52 percent of their shots from the field in the second half en route to their first win of the year. The only player that didn't see action in the home-opener was red-shirt junior Laura Elliot (Livermore, CA) who is recovering from an ankle sprain ... On the final day of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team improved to 2-2 with a 71-65 win over the visiting Lady Trojans of Virginia State University on Sunday ... Although the Lady Railsplitters trailed at the half 39-27, the second half inside play of sophomore Andi Winney (Yorktown, IN) and senior Heather Benton (Wooton, KY) combined with the outside shooting of freshman Stephanie Wagner (Elkhart, IN) got LMU back in the game and allowed the Lady Splitters to take the lead for good with 7:08 to go ... The offensive attack orchestrated by point-guard Shawna Nicols (Milwaukee, WI) who handed out eight assists in 39 minutes on the floor while adding nine points of her own. With her help, Winney led all scorers with 20 points on the evening, 15 of which came in the final stanza. Benton finished with 14 points, while freshman shooter Wagner knocked down five of seven shots behind the arc to end the night with 15 points ... Virginia State was led in scoring by Katania Walker who paced the Lady Trojans with 16 points, while teammates Salita Childs had 11 and Jacquelyn White added 10 ... The Lady Railsplitters now have until next Saturday to nurse several nagging injuries and to prepare for their first conference battle of the season with arch rival Carson-Newman College.
MARS HILL - MHC played only one game last week. The Lions are now 2-1 on the season … The Lions' women's basketball squad lost on the road at the University of Charleston, 71-55 Tuesday afternoon. Charleston led for the first 13 minutes of the contest until Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, GA) gave MHC a two-point advantage (21-19) with 6:34 left in first frame. The Lions ended the first half with a 30-25 lead … The Golden Eagles came out of the locker room and out scored the Lions 46-25 in the second half to obtain the win. The score remained close the first six minutes of the second stanza. After Tarenna Dixon hit a layup to tie the contest at 38-all with 13:48 on the clock, UC went on a 12-2 run to take a 10 point lead (50-40) with 9:39 left in regulation … MHC cut the Golden Eagles' lead to eight points after a jumper by Allison Schafer but that was as close as they could get. The game saw seven ties and two lead changes. MHC did not shoot the ball well converting on only 31.9 percent (22-69) of their field goals. UC also out rebounded the Lions 48-39 … MHC scored 34 points in the paint and 21 points off Charleston miscues. UC received 28 points from their bench … Lindsay Roberts (Murphy, NC) led the Lions with 16 points and six rebounds. Okunowo and Jessica Blanford (Concord, NC) scored 11 points apiece … MHC will return to action on November 27 when they host Limestone College. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Stanford Arena.
NEWBERRY - The No. 24 Newberry College Lady Indians played only one game this week, falling at Augusta State, 75-59, Saturday… Leanne Watson paced Newberry with 10 points, while Tonique Frasier and Ashley Marine each chipped in nine points… The Lady Jags owned the rebounding edge 50-43 and connected on 19-of-27 free throws (70.4 percent), compared to just 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) at the charity stripe for the Lady Indians… ASU also outscored Newberry 34-14 in the paint… It was Newberry's first regular-season non-conference loss since December 30, 2005 - a 74-63 loss at Clayton State… The Lady Indians will look to rebound from the loss with a busy week… Newberry travels to Hartsville, S.C., on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. matchup with Coker College… The weekend sees the Lady Indians host the second Newberry Classic with Newberry, Flagler, Tennessee Temple and Morris participating… Newberry plays Morris at 8 p.m. Friday and Flagler at 3 p.m. Saturday… Tennessee Temple plays Flagler at 6 p.m. Friday and Morris at 1 p.m. Saturday.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers competed in the North Georgia College & State University Classic, Dahlonega, Ga. this week… Tusculum went 0-2 falling to Columbus State (74-64) and North Georgia (80-62)… Shante Shank led the Pioneers in the loss to Columbus State with 16 points and three rebounds, Ashli Oliver added 12 points and Brittni Oliver had two steals… Freshman Jasmine Gunn had 17 points, two rebounds and four steals against North Georgia while Shank added 16 points, six rebounds and three steals... Five Pioneers are averaging in double-figure scoring led by All-Conference guard Ashli Oliver (12.8 ppg)... Rookie Jasmine Gunn is second with 11.8 ppg, while Shantae Shank and Kat Spears are each averaging 11.6 points per contest... Stephany Neptune rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.4 markers per game... Neptune is also TC's top rebounder, averaging 8.6 boards per game... TC (3-2) will travel to Brevard this Saturday for a 2 p.m. non-conference game.
WINGATE - Wingate University sophomore forward Erica Crumlin posted a career-high 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs past the Lander University Bearcats 95-86 Monday night (Nov. 19) in Cuddy Arena. Lander was picked number two in the pre-season Peach Belt Conference coaches' poll ... Bulldog junior point guard Anna Atkinson had a career-high 31 points in a tough 78-73 loss to Georgia College & State University Saturday afternoon (at Lynn Holiday Classic in Florida). The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® candidate added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in her 34 minutes of playing time against GC&SU. Atkinson hit 10-of-18 field goals attempts, including six-of-eight from three-point land ... For the week, Atkinson averaged 17.7 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, 5.7 rebounds per game and 4.0 steals per game. In other action last week, she had nine points and 11 assists in the home win over Lander Monday night. In a 78-65 loss at Lynn Friday night, Atkinson contributed 13 points and six assists (both team highs) ... Saturday's contest against GC&SU was a rematch from the first round of the 2007 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional tournament. In Saturday's game, Wingate started the second half with a 16-4 run to turn a 32-24 halftime deficit into a 40-36 advantage. Atkinson had eight points during the flurry; including an old-fashioned three-point play at the 15:15 plateau to give Wingate its 40-36 lead. Crumlin added four points during the 16-4 outburst ... The two teams traded the lead five more times over the next five-plus minutes before GC&SU took the lead for good on a fast-break lay-up by Elicia Lynch with 9:52 to play. Lynch's hoop gave the Bobcats a 48-47 edge ... GC&SU built the margin to 62-53 at the 5:48 mark, thanks to an inside basket by Emily Bixler. Atkinson's sixth (and final) three-pointer cut the margin to 66-61 with exactly three minutes left in regulation. Crumlin and GC&SU's Lindsey Smith traded one free throw each, then Brooks hit two charity tosses to make the score 67-64 with 1:52 to go ... Wingate would get no closer than three points down the stretch ... The Bulldogs netted 49 points in the second half Saturday against GC&SU, only two points less than the team's 51 second-half markers in Wingate's 95-86 victory over Lander Monday night (Nov. 19). After intermission, Wingate shot 46.9 percent from the floor (15-of-32), including 80 percent from behind the three-point line (four-of-five) ... The Lynn Fighting Knights women's basketball team shot 59.4 percent in the second half to take the NCAA Division II triumph over Wingate Friday night in the de Hoernle Center on the Lynn campus. For Wingate, Atkinson had 13 points, six assists and five steals. Senior guard Kate Edwards chipped in 10 markers. Sophomore center Stacie Rhodes pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for the visitors ... A season-high five players hit double figures in the Lander win Monday night. In addition to Crumlin, Edwards had 13 points and six rebounds. Freshman forward Jessy Keitt and senior guard Kasey Gillis added 12 points each. Freshman forward CC Brooks chipped in with 10 points. Brooks recorded a season-high 12 points in the tough GC&SU loss ... Wingate shot 48 percent from the field in the Lander game, while converting six-for-15 from three-point range. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Bearcats 51-37, while holding a 15-7 edge on the offensive glass. As a result, Wingate held a 12-4 advantage over Lander in second-chance points ... The Bulldogs return to the hardwood on Tuesday, traveling to Francis Marion University for a 7 p.m. regional match-up. Wingate opens SAC play Wednesday, Dec. 5, hosting Newberry College for a 6 p.m. contest. Both games can be heard on the Internet (audio only) at Red Zone Media.