Weekly Women’s Basketball Notes, February 11, 2008

Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending February 10, 2008.

BREVARD - The Brevard College women's basketball team fell to 7-14 overall this season, as they dropped both of their contests this past week ... The Tornados traveled to Hickory, N.C. on Wednesday night, where they suffered their worst shooting night on the year, falling to the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne, 74-36 ... For the game, the Tornados shot 22.7 percent, as they connected on 10-of-44 shot attempts, including going 2-of-14 from behind the three-point line ... The Tornados' Courtney Brandon made the first basket of the game at the 19:01 mark of the first half, to give BC the early 2-0 lead, their only lead of the game ... For the rest of the first half, Lenoir-Rhyne out scored the Tornados 30-15, taking advantage of the Tornados cold shooting and nine turnovers to hold Brevard to their lowest first half score on the year and take a 30-17 lead into the half ... In the second half, the Tornados fought back in the opening minutes to cut the lead to 30-23 on a three-point play by Krogman at the 18:14 mark ... However, Lenoir-Rhyne would go on a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to push their lead to 17 points, before a three-point play by sophomore Millie Wharton with 13:26 remaining in the game ended the BC scoring drought ... Over the final 13 minutes of play, the Bears pushed their lead to as high as 38 points, as they outscored the Tornados 34-11 to make the final score 74-36 ... BC's Krogman was the only Tornado in double-digits with 10 points, as she went 6-of-9 from the free throw line ... Freshman Amber Roberts came off the bench to score seven points, with five of those coming by way of foul shots ... On Saturday afternoon, the Tornados battled the Lady Railsplitters for 45 minutes, ultimately falling 69-66 in overtime ... In the first half of play, Lincoln Memorial jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, yet the Tornados did not blow away, as Brevard slowed down the pace of the game and cut the Lincoln Memorial lead to one point on three separate occasions before taking a 27-25 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the first half ... Brevard shot 10-of-24 from the field, 41.7 percent, to take the 29-25 halftime lead, as the Tornados ran their offense both efficiently and effectively in the closing minutes, only committing six turnovers in the period ...Despite the hot shooting by Lincoln Memorial in the second half, the Tornados maintained a slight lead over the Lady Railsplitters for the majority of the final 20 minutes of play, losing the lead only two times and never trailing by more than two points ... Brevard took the lead with 33 seconds to go, as senior Holly Krogman made a strong move to the basket, making the lay-up and giving the Tornados the 60-58 advantage ... Lincoln Memorial would have the last shot, as they found themselves with the ball underneath their basket with only nine seconds to go ... Forward Andi Winney at the free made a strong move down the right side of the lane to make the lay-up and knot the score up once again at 60-60 with only 6.9 seconds remaining in regulation ... BC took the ball out and dribbled the distance of the court, but was unable to get a shot off as the Lincoln Memorial pressure held tight in the closing seconds of play ... In the overtime period, the Lady Railsplitters' scored first on a three-pointer from Harris, giving them the 63-60 lead, a lead that they would hold onto for the final 4:44 of the extra frame ... The Tornados cut the lead to one with only 22 seconds remaining, however, LMU's Stephanie Wagner hit two free throws to help seal the 69-66 overtime victory for the Lady Railsplitters ... Sophomore Samantha Winn had a double-double, her first on the season, as she had both a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Tornados on the afternoon ... Freshman Kelsey Sill added 15 points of the bench for the Tornados, while Krogman added 13 points, with 10 of those coming in the second half and overtime sessions ... The Tornados will play not one but two games at home this week, as they will take on the Lady Crusaders of North Greenville on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. and then will play host to the Lady Bulldogs of Wingate on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Lady Eagles played just once on the week, falling to Mars Hill 100-69…C-N is now 11-10 on the season and a game above .500 in the SAC at 5-4…Carson-Newman took a step backward in the loss after winning at Newberry last Saturday, 72-58…Senior Emily Mason led C-N with 12 points and eight rebounds…Junior Ashley Tipton had 13 points and four boards…Angela Volentine added 10 points, as did freshman Nikki James…James' 10 points is a career high…The 100 points is the most a Dean Walsh team has surrendered in his seven years at C-N…The Lady Eagles continue to be a very solid rebounding team at +11.5 boards per game…C-N is also still very balanced in scoring with Tipton, Mason, Volentine, and sophomore Shari Buford averaging in double-figures…Carson-Newman travels to Hickory, North Carolina on Wednesday night to face Lenoir-Rhyne…C-N won the first matchup with the Bears 77-66…C-N will host Tusculum next Saturday…The Lady Eagles lost the first meeting with the Pioneers 79-74…Carson-Newman trailed by as many 17, before cutting the lead to one late…The Lady Eagles have three of their next four games at Mossy Creek, before closing out the regular season with back-to-back games at Catawba and Wingate…The Lady Eagles are only 2-3 at home in SAC play, but an impressive 3-1 on the road.

CATAWBA - The Catawba women dropped both its outings last week, falling 90-68 at Wingate and 89-73 at home to Tusculum ... The only lead Catawba held in either game was at 2-0 vs. Tusculum in the opening seconds ... A Brittany Higgins three-pointer had the Lady Indians within nine at Wingate early in the second half, but that would be the last time the ladies were as close as single digits ... the ladies shot just 35 percent and committed 28 turnovers ... Higgins scored a season-high 19 points, while NeKeithia Howard added 17 points and nine rebounds ... Tusculum ran out to a 20-6 lead in the opening five minutes and kept a double-digit lead most of the contest until a late run got the Lady Indians within seven at 71-64 with 3:46 to go ... Tusclum would make nine-of-10 at the line down the stretch to keep its edge ... Howard scored a career-best 27 points for Catawba, hitting on 13-of-17 from the field ... She also just missed a double-double by pulling down nine boards for the second straight game ... Hillary Hampton, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with a shoulder injury, and Kisha Long each added 11 points ... Howard is averaging 15.8 points per game and is hitting on 58 percent from the field after canning 19-of-25 (76 percent) last week ... She is adding nearly eight rebounds a contest ... Higgins, who missed five games with a concussion, is scoring at a 10.6 clip in league games despite not scoring vs. Tusculum ... Catawba heads to Newberry on Wednesday then returns home on Saturday to face Mars Hill on its women's basketball alumni reunion day ... The Lady Indians fell to both team in the earlier matchup this season..

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College women's basketball team (11-10, 2-7) split its two home games this week, defeating Brevard (74-36) Wednesday before falling to Newberry (83-76) in a South Atlantic Conference contest on Saturday night … Lenoir-Rhyne held Brevard to just 23 percent shooting (10-of-44) for the game while sophomore guard Jami Safrit (Newton, N.C.) tallied 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the victory … Sophomore guard Meredith Webster (High Point, N.C.) and Jacquelyn Kremer (Sevierville, Tenn.) each added 10 points as the Bears totaled their largest margin of victory this year in sweeping the season series from the Tornados … Newberry, on the other hand, took both games from Lenoir-Rhyne this season with its win at Shuford Gymnasium Saturday … Tonique Frasier (17 points) was one of five Lady Indians to score in double figures in the road victory … Lenoir-Rhyne, behind Safrit (20 points), rallied from a 15-point second half deficit (45-30) to tie the game late in the contest but Ashlee Wright (12 points) came up with a key three-point play with under two minutes left to lift Newberry to the win … The Indians were also aided by an 82-percent free throw shooting performance (32-of-39) … Lenoir-Rhyne looks to snap its five-game losing streak within the South Atlantic Conference when it hosts Carson-Newman (Wednesday at 6 p.m.) and travels to Harrogate, Tenn., to face Lincoln Memorial on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. … Lenoir-Rhyne fell to Carson-Newman by a 77-66 score on Jan. 26, in Jefferson City, Tenn., and lost by one point to Lincoln Memorial (60-59) at home on Jan. 19 … Carson-Newman (31-16) and Lincoln Memorial (2-1) lead the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Tusculum College women's basketball team used three point shooting and transition basketball to an 82-67 win over Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday night, sweep the home and away series for the 2007-08 season … Lincoln Memorial trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half of play before making a run just before the intermission to pull to within five at the break 36-31 … As the second half got underway, Tusculum again opened up an eight point advantage before the Lady Railsplitters came storming back to cut the deficit to three with 13:41 to play. Finally, with about 12:40 remaining in the second half, the Pioneers went on a run that extended their lead to 19 points on two different occasions before eventually coming away with the 15 point win to improve to 18-3 on the year and 8-1 in South Atlantic Conference play … "We didn't defend the perimeter very well in the first or the second half," said LMU Head Coach Larry Just. "We committed too many turnovers and didn't do the things we needed to do to win." … For Lincoln Memorial, senior Heather Benton took top scoring and rebounding honors with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Andi Winney contributed 15 points and junior Kara Harris scored 13 on the way to the Lady Railsplitters' tenth loss of the season … Freshman Stephanie Wagner set a new LMU record for consecutive free throws made as she missed her first free throw of her career against TC, breaking a streak of 33 straight makes … For the second time in less than a month, the Brevard College women's basketball team took the Lady Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial University to the limit before falling in overtime … On Saturday afternoon, the Tornados battled the Lady Railsplitters for 45 minutes, ultimately falling 69-66 in overtime … In the first half of play, Lincoln Memorial jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, forcing Coach Wilson and the Tornados to call a time out to regroup and stop the Lady Railsplitters' early run. However, in the next three minutes of play, LMU pushed their lead to 10 points at 12-2 with 15:53 remaining in the half … Yet the Tornados did not blow away, as Brevard slowed down the pace of the game and cut the Lincoln Memorial lead to one point on three separate occasions before taking a 27-25 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the first half … Brevard shot 10-of-24 from the field, 41.7 percent, to take the 29-25 halftime lead, as the Tornados ran their offense both efficiently and effectively in the closing minutes, only committing six turnovers in the period. Despite the hot shooting by Lincoln Memorial in the second half, the Tornados maintained a slight lead over the Lady Railsplitters for the majority of the final 20 minutes of play, losing the lead only two times and never trailing by more than two points … The Tornados held a slight two point lead with just under one minute remaining in the contest, when a BC foul put LMU guard Kara Harris on the free throw line. Harris knocked down both foul shots to knot the score up at 58-58 with 46 seconds on the clock … Brevard take the lead with 33 seconds to go, as senior Holly Krogman made a strong move to the basket, making the lay-up and giving the Tornados the 60-58 advantage. Lincoln Memorial would have the last shot, as they found themselves with the ball underneath their basket with only nine seconds to go. LMU would inbound the ball to forward Andi Winney at the free throw line, where she made a strong move down the right side of the lane to make the lay-up and knot the score up once again at 60-60 with only 6.9 seconds remaining in regulation … BC took the ball out and dribbled the distance of the court, but was unable to get a shot off as the Lincoln Memorial pressure held tight in the closing seconds of play … The Lady Railsplitters shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half, outscoring the Tornados 35-31 to help force the overtime period … In the overtime period, the Lady Railsplitters' scored first on a three-pointer from Harris, giving them the 63-60 lead, a lead that they would hold onto for the final 4:44 of the extra frame. The Tornados cut the lead to one with only 22 seconds remaining, however, LMU's Stephanie Wagner hit two free throws to help seal the 69-66 overtime victory for the Lady Railsplitters … For the game the Tornados had a season-low 11 turnovers and forced Lincoln Memorial into 14 turnovers … Lincoln Memorial was led by forward Andi Winney's game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. Fellow starters Kara Harris and Heather Benton were also in double-digits in points with 16 and 12, respectively. Lincoln Memorial improves to 11-10 with the win.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill split their games last week. The Lions are now 12-9 overall and 3-6 in the SAC … In the first game of the week, the Newberry College women's basketball team defeated Mars Hill College, 84-77, in South Atlantic Conference action at Stanford Arena on Wednesday. Newberry was led by Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.), who scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds … Mars Hill was led by Allison Schafer's (Advance, NC) game high 19 points. Jessica Blanford (Concord, NC) scored 16 points and Jocelyn Williams (Greensboro, NC) scored eight points and pulled down a game high 10 rebounds coming off the bench. Brittini Young (Ramseur, NC) rounded out the double-digit scorers for MHC with 12 points … The Lions shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the floor, but the Lady Indians benefited from 18 offensive rebounds and 24 made free throws to pull out the key road win … MHC only connected on nine shots from the charity stripe in the contest … The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither side able to take a lead of more than six points at the break. It was the guests who were able to hold the advantage after 20 minutes, as Newberry led 39-36. Newberry extended the lead to five right out of the locker room, but the Lions tied the game for the seventh time at 48-all with 13:49 to play … Mars Hill took a 50-49 lead at the 12:50 mark on an Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, GA) jumper. There were three more ties in the game, but the Lady Indians took the lead for good on a Frasier layup and closed out the game on a 10-4 run … The Lady Indians scored 26 points off turnovers and earned 26 second chance points to earn the victory … In the second contest of the week, Mars Hill College used a 19-4 run at the end of the first half to run by Carson-Newman 100-69 Saturday night in Holt Field House … Mars Hill shot 56 percent as a team (36-of-64) from the floor and were red-hot from behind the arc, connecting on 9-of-15 threes. Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, GA) led Mars Hill tying her career high 27 points, finishing 8-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-11 at the line. She was one of six Lions that reached double-figures … Jocelyn Williams (Greensboro, NC) and Allison Schafer (Advance, NC) each had 12. Shamia Terry (Greenville, SC) and Jessica Blanford (Concord, NC) each had 10. Brittini Young (Ramseur, NC) finished with a double-double on 11 points and 10 assists … The Lady Eagles, one of the nation's best rebounding teams, were beaten on the boards 42-29 … MHC will host Lincoln Memorial on February 13 at 6 p.m. in Stanford Arena. And then play at Catawba College on February 16 at 2 p.m.

NEWBERRY - The Lady Indians went 2-0 this week on a 2-game road trip … Newberry defeated Mars Hill 84-77 … Ashley Marine set the school record for three-pointers in her career with her first made triple, and her career total now stands at 119 made three-pointers … Newberry was led by Tonique Frasier who scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds despite coming off the bench for the first time this season … Janine Ward netted 12 points and dished out five assists, while Laura Marquardt rounded out the three Lady Indians in double digits with 10 markers … The Lady Indians scored 26 points off turnovers and earned 26 second chance points to earn the victory … Newberry won its second road game of the week by knocking off Lenoir-Rhyne 83-76 … Five Lady Indians scored double-digit points … Tacarra Harris earned her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead five Lady Indians in double figures … Tonique Frasier scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a career-high seven assists … Leanne Watson scored 13 points in the game, while Janine Ward and Ashlee Wright rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 each … The Lady Indians connected on 32-of-39 free throw attempts in the game, and scored their final 13 points of the game from the charity stripe to seal their fifth straight road victory in league play … Newberry sits in third place in the SAC at 16-6 (6-4 SAC) … The Lady Indians host Catawba on Wednesday night in their only game of the week.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum women's basketball team (19-3, 9-1 SAC) recorded a pair of South Atlantic Conference wins last week to remain in first place in the league… Tusculum accounted for road wins at Lincoln Memorial (82-67) and Catawba (89-73)… TC has matched its best start in school history through 22 games (1994-95)… Junior Shantae Shank recorded a career-best 24 points to lead to an 82-67 win at LMU… Shank shot 8-for-12 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, while junior Ashli Oliver added 20 points, including five 3-pointers… Freshman Jasmine Gunn finished with 13 points while sophomore Stephany Neptune accounted for a dozen markers, six rebounds and six assists… LMU scored the first five points of the game, but Tusculum responded with a 12-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer Oliver at the 13:41 mark of the first half. TC took its biggest lead of the opening period at 32-20 with 2:50 left before the break following a jumper by Neptune… LMU closed out the half with an 11-4 spurt, including the final five points as TC led 36-31 at the intermission… In the second half, LMU stayed with the Pioneers and trimmed the deficit to three (50-47) following a three-point play by Benton. Tusculum responded with a 16-5 run over the next 5:34 as the Pioneers increased their advantage to 66-52 with 7:27 remaining in the game… LMU made another push to cut the TC lead to single digits at 66-57, but the Pioneers put the game away with a 12-2 spurt, capped off by Gunn's three-point play with 4:22 left as Tusculum held its largest advantage at 78-59… TC shot 48 percent from the floor, including 16-of-28 (58%) in the second half. The Pioneers also shot 53 percent from three-point territory, while also shooting 14-of-16 from the charity stripe (88%)… On Saturday, Tusculum built a 20-point halftime lead and held off second half rally by host Catawba to claim an 89-73 win… Tusculum jumped out to a quick 20-6 advantage and would lead by as many as 22 in the opening half… The Pioneers hit on 54 percent of their shots, including 8-of-13 from behind the arc… Oliver had the hot hand with five three-pointers in the opening half… Catawba still trailed by 20 at 67-47 with 10:50 left, but used an 11-0 run to pull within nine at the 7:21 mark and trimmed the deficit to 71-64 with 3:46 remaining… Oliver would squash the rally with her sixth three-pointer of the game to put Tusculum ahead 76-64 with 3:11 left… The Pioneers would make seven-of-eight from the line in the final 1:20 to keep their edge… Oliver scored 22 points to lead Tusculum with 17 coming in the opening frame… Nikki Van Dine had 13 of her 18 points in the first half, while Shank also added 18 points… Gunn totaled 13 points and nine assists… Tusculum's 9-1 SAC start is the best since joining the league in 1999… The nine SAC wins sets a new school record and clinches the Pioneers' first winning SAC slate in school history… Tusculum coach Missy Tiber won her 50th game at TC in the win at LMU... Oliver holds the all-time record at Tusculum with 257 career three-point field goals (2nd in SAC history). She needs 14 to break the all-time SAC mark established by Presbyterian's Chris Mitchum (270) from 1992-96… Tusculum head coach Missy Tiber has led the Pioneers to three straight winning seasons, including this year. Including her four seasons at Belmont Abbey, Tiber's teams have never experienced a losing season… Tusculum has blocked a shot in 35 consecutive games… During the Missy Tiber era at Tusculum (2005-present), the Pioneers are 43-7 when scoring at least 70 points, including 17-1 this season… Van Dine has made a three-point field goal in 17 straight games… Shank has recorded a steal in 12 consecutive games… Tusculum will host SAC co-leader Wingate on Wednesday… The Pioneers have lost their last 11 games against the Bulldogs, including last month's 89-80 decision at Wingate… The loss ended a 12-game winning streak for Tusculum and was the last time TC suffered a defeat… The Pioneers have never defeated Wingate in their eight previous meetings in Pioneer Arena… Tusculum will wrap up the week with a Saturday match-up at Carson-Newman.

WINGATE - The Wingate University women's basketball team captured a 90-68 South Atlantic Conference victory over rival Catawba College on Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs were able to control the pace of the game, forcing Catawba into an up-tempo style of play that resulted in a Wingate victory … Wingate was led by senior guard Kasey Gillis, who tallied 21 points, six assists and four rebounds in the winning effort. Anna Atkinson once again steadied the Bulldog offense, contributing nine points, 11 assists, five rebounds and four steals … The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 24-12 lead at the 10:46 mark of the first half on a basket by senior guard Kate Edwards. Wingate's top three-point threat, Edwards would finish with 20 points on eight-for-10 shooting from the field and two-for-two shooting from the charity stripe … After the Wingate lead increased to 40-21 on an Atkinson free throw with 3:09 remaining in the half, the Catawba Indians would go on a quick 10-0 run over the next two minutes to narrow the margin to nine points at 40-31. Bulldog freshman forward Stefani Shuey (Charlotte, N.C.) hit two free throws and an Edwards canned a three-point basket to end the Catawba run. The Bulldogs went into halftime with a 45-33 advantage … Gillis would come out of the locker room on fire for Wingate, scoring eight of the home team's first 10 second-half points. The Gillis jumper at the 18:29 mark of the second half would give the Bulldogs an eleven-point lead at 49-38. Catawba was unable to get the margin to single digits for the remainder of the game … The number three team in the South Atlantic Region, the Bulldogs will play Wednesday night at Tusculum College. The winner of the showdown in Greeneville, Tennessee will be alone in first place in the SAC … Eight teams from the South Atlantic Region advance to the women's NCAA post-season tournament. Conference tournament winners from the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and the CIAA receive automatic qualification to the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional tournament. The regional rankings will be released every week through February 27 … Atkinson leads the South Atlantic Conference in assists (8.5) and steals (3.9). She ranks third in the nation in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1). Her 14.8 points per game this season is a career-best … On the season, Gillis is averaging 11.8 points per game, 3.0 assists per game and 2.6 rebounds per game. She is second on the Wingate charts in scoring. Gillis is second in the SAC in free throw percentage, hitting 85.2 percent of her charity tosses (69-of-81) … Edwards is third on team with 11.0 points per game. She is fifth in the league with 2.4 three-pointers made per games. Her 50 triples top the Bulldog charts.