Weekly Women’s Basketball Notes, February 9, 2009
Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending February 8, 2009.
BREVARD - The Tornados dropped two heartbreakers this week, losing to Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, 74-66 after being in the game most of the way, then allowing Lincoln Memorial to come back into the game with 17 seconds left in falling 63-61 ... Brevard falls to 5-16, 0-11 in the SAC for the 2008-2009 season ... On Wednesday, Samantha Winn broke her career scoring record for the third time this season, scoring 28 points on 10-13 shooting from the field, while pulling down 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season ... Brevard used a 13-4 run ending with 5:50 left to go up 22-15. Millie Wharton continued her recent hot streak by driving in for a pair of layups, and Winn got in on the action with a pair of free throws and a layup. Amber Roberts ended the run with a three-pointer to give the Tornados the biggest lead of the opening half ... However, the Bears rallied back, forcing the Tornados to go into halftime, trailing 31-28, despite only hitting one three-pointer, Brevard's calling card, in the first half on 1-12 shooting ... Winn scored 14 in the second half to keep the Tornados in the game, but Brevard was unable to regain the lead in falling, 74-66 ... On Saturday, Brevard battled back from a 25-14 deficit in the first half to bring the score at 29-25 as the teams went into the locker room. Holli Flippo, Lindsay Brendle, and Paige Bridgers each hit a three in the 11-4 run ... The second half was a series of runs by both teams as Anna Schlobohm and Brendle went on a personal 10-4 run against Lincoln Memorial to put Brevard up 48-40 with 9:46 left ... The Tornados had the lead with 53 seconds on the clock as Wharton put in a pair of free throws to give the Tornados a 61-60 lead. However, late fouls put the Lady Railsplitters on the line and they were able to convert as Brevard fell on the road, 63-61 ... Winn led the Tornados with 13 points, her sixth straight game leading the team in scoring, while also picking five steals. Schlobohm ended with 12 points, six assists, and Flippo went for 11 and six rebounds ... Brevard takes a night out of conference play as the Tornados host North Greenville University on Wednesday. The Tornados defeated the Crusaders in Hayes Gymnasium, 81-76, back on January 24th. On Saturday, Brevard jumps back into the SAC schedule as they go on the road to face off with Wingate.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles won their only game of the past week, running by Mars Hill on Saturday afternoon, 94-79…Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.)scored 20 and 18 points, respectively, to pace Carson-Newman... The Lady Eagles improved to 16-5 on the season and 7-3 in league play...Twelve of Kyle's (Jefferson City, Tenn.) 20 points came from behind the arc while Buford (Hampton, Ga.) added six boards to her performance...Ashley Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored 14 and Angela Volentine (North Platte, Neb.) tallied 12 to round out the double-digit scorers for C-N...Buford hit a layup 25 seconds into the game and the Eagles never trailed...C-N led by as many as 15 points (40-25) with 7:01 left in the first frame...C-N went into the locker room at the intermission ahead 55-45...C-N then went on a 9-2 run to extended their lead back to double-figures (71-60) with 9:38 left in regulation after Megan Hunter (Ashland City, Tenn.) hit a shot in the lane...C-N hit 48.5 percent (32-66) of their shots, 57.9 percent (11-19) of their 3-pointers in the game and scored 34 points off MHC miscues...Tipton is within two three-pointers of 200 for her career and is 18 points shy (982) of 1,000 for her career…She grabbed her 400th career rebound during Saturday's win…The Lady Eagles will host Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday night in Holt Fieldhouse...Tipoff is at 6 p.m… C-N will wrap its week with a road trip to Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee on Saturday…Tipoff is at 2 p.m. in Pioneer Arena…Both Tusculum and L-R were in the region's Top 5 last week…Lenoir-Rhyne was the region's No. 1 ranked team, while Tusculum was ranked fifth.
CATAWBA - The Lady Indians dropped both its outings last week, falling to Wingate 95-80 and at Tusculum 97-49 ... The 48-point loss to Tusculum was the worst loss for Catawba since a 63-point loss to Florida Southern in 1987 ... Brittany Higgins continued her quest for 1,000 career points, scoring a team-high 21 in the loss to Wingate ... She also pulled down seven boards ... The game against Wingate was a parade to the free throw line as Wingate made good on 32-of-43 attempts, while the Lady Indians made 20-of-27 ... Sara Crane equaled a career-high with 10 points ... Against Tusculum, the Lady Indians went down by double-digits early and never threatened the 15th-ranked Pioneers ... Nisha Long paced the ladies with 15 points, while twin sister, Kisha, added 10 points ... Higgins scored nine points to bring her within 83 of the 1,000-point plateau ... Higgins is averaging 11.7 points a game to lead Catawba ... Cameron Clark is adding 10.6 a contest and 13.3 in league games ... Catawba plays host to Newberry and travels to Mars Hill on Saturday afternoon for its action this week.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne women's basketball team (19-3, 9-2) split its two South Atlantic Conference road games this week, defeating Brevard by a 74-66 score on Wednesday before falling to Newberry, 73-52, on Saturday … L-R, ranked No. 22 in the latest USA Today/ESPN WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll and first in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional rankings, also saw its eight-game winning streak snapped in the process … L-R is now tied for first in the SAC standings with Tusculum … Against Brevard, junior guards Jami Safrit (Newton, N.C.) and Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) each scored 13 points and limited the Tornados to just 17 percent (four-of-23) from behind the three-point line … After holding a 58-56 advantage with 5:58 left, L-R put together a 10-2 run culminated by a Mitch lay-up to take control … Lenoir-Rhyne won despite 28 points and 10 rebounds from Brevard's Samantha Winn … Against Newberry, L-R was outscored, 44-20, in the second half and hit just 13 percent (three-of-22) of its field goal attempts after break in losing just its third game of the season … Senior guard LaCourtney Rann (Charlotte, N.C.) came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points despite the loss … Newberry had four players score in double figures, led by Monica Alexander's 19 points, and forced L-R into 28 turnovers ... Junior guard Amber Holt now has 1,042 points for her career, ranking 13th on L-R's all-time list … Safrit is the reigning South Atlantic Conference Player-of-the-Week award winner, the first Bear to win the honor this year … Lenoir-Rhyne is one win away from its first 20-win season in 22 years (the Bears went 20-10 in 1986-87) … Lenoir-Rhyne faces Carson-Newman on Wednesday beginning at 6 p.m., in Jefferson City, Tenn., before returning home to play Lincoln Memorial on Saturday at 8 p.m. … The Bears defeated the Eagles by an 87-65 score on Saturday, January 24, in Hickory, N.C., but Carson-Newman leads the all-time series, 32-17 … L-R downed Lincoln Memorial, 75-51, on Saturday, January 17, in Harrogate, Tenn., and leads the series, 3-2, with the Railsplitters … L-R is also 5-0 against league teams this year at home and 9-1 at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium in 2008-09.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - Jasmine Gunn poured in a game-high 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting to lead the No. 15 Tusculum College women's basketball team to a 79-58 South Atlantic Conference win over Lincoln Memorial University on Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena. The Lady Railsplitters fall to 8-13 and 2-8 in conference action … Dayshalee Salaman led the Lady Railsplitters with 15 points, four assists and five steals. Whitney Vannoy and Kara Harris joined Salaman in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Salaman, Cena Nasiloski and Andi Winney tied for the team lead with four rebounds each … The Lady Pioneers led wire-to-wire, opening the game with a 16-2 run which was capped by a driving layup by Gunn with 14:06 remaining in the period. After an LMU layup by Vannoy launched the Lady Railsplitters on a 10-6 run, Tusculum went on an 18-6 spurt over the next eight minutes to take a 40-18 lead on a layup by Gunn with 2:44 to go in the half … Lincoln Memorial would close out the half with a 6-2 spurt which cut the Tusculum lead to 42-24 heading into the intermission … Lincoln Memorial built on its momentum from the closing moments of the first half with a 16-6 run in the opening minutes of the second half, cutting the lead to 48-40 on a Timethia Bennett layup with 13:07 left on the clock … The Lady Railsplitters would keep the game close for the next four minutes, before Kat Spears launched the Lady Pioneers on a 14-2 run with a layup at the 7:29 mark. Gunn would cap the spurt with a three-pointer at the 3:18 mark as the Lady Pioneers opened their largest lead of the second half at 75-54 … The Lady Pioneers closed out the win by scoring five of the last nine points to notch the 79-58 win … The Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team slipped out of the Tex Turner Arena Saturday evening with a narrow 63-61 win over conference opponent Brevard College on two free throws by sophomore Stephanie Wagner with less than a second remaining in the game … Wagner's free throws were after the officials called a Tornado foul at the opposite end of the floor in a battle for a rebound after a missed Tornado shot … The game between the Lady Railsplitters and Brevard College was close throughout the entire contest, as the score was tied six times and there were 11 lead changes before the LMU women emerged with their third South Atlantic Conference win of the year to improve to 3-8 in conference and 9-13 overall … Lady Railsplitter senior guard Kara Harris, Wagner and freshman point-guard Dayshalee Salaman all finished the game with top scoring honors. All three contributed 14 points each, with Salaman also handing out six assists and Wagner pulling six boards to help the LMU cause … The Lady Railsplitters now turn their attention to this Wednesday night's home game with conference opponent Mars Hill College. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-1 in the previous week of play … Megan Clevenger (Parrottsville, Tenn.) hit a layup with 14 seconds left in the second half to propel Mars Hill over Newberry 81-80 Wednesday night inside Eleazer Arena. The Lions improve to 12-9 and 5-5 in the SAC … With the game tied 11-all, the Lions went on a 13-6 run capped by a three-pointer by Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) at the 6:32 mark. Mars Hill again matched its largest advantage of the half of eight points, 28-20, off a layup by Clevenger with 4:05 remaining in the first half. Mars Hill led at halftime 32-26 … The Lions came out of intermission and grabbed their largest lead of the game, 36-26, at the 18:55 mark off a jumper by Bria Smith (Snellville, Ga.) … Newberry would respond as two Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) free throws triggered a 12-0 spurt in the span of 2:22. Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) had seven points during the stretch, including the go-ahead layup, which made the score 38-36 in favor of Newberry with 16:33 left in the game … A Smith trey at the 11:07 point gave Mars Hill a four point lead, 52-48, but Newberry regrouped, and a Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) shot from behind the arc with 5:34 left in regulation gave Newberry its largest lead of the game, 67-62 … Mars Hill tied the affair with 3:28 left in the game at 72-all off a bucket by Clevenger … Trailing 78-76 with 1:59 left, Young was fouled on a running layup attempt but sank the bucket and converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Lions a 79-78 advantage. Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) was fouled with 58 seconds left in regulation and converted both free throws to give Newberry the upper hand, 80-79 … With the chance to ice the game, McKinney was called for three-seconds in the lane which turned the ball back over to the Lions and set the stage for Clevenger's late game heroics … Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) and Bulcher both missed go-ahead layup attempts in the final seconds to preserve Mars Hill's victory … Jessica Blanford scored a team-high 17 points and was 8-11 from the field for Mars Hill. The Concord, N.C., native is now six points shy of 1,000 for her career. Young chipped in 16 points. Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) finished with 13 points … The Lions shot 57.1 percent (32-56) from the field, while Newberry shot only 37.7 percent (23-61) from the field. Newberry was 26-33 from the free throw line. Mars Hill was 11-16 from the free throw line … Ashley Kyle and Shari Buford scored 20 and 18 points, respectively, to pace Carson-Newman's women's basketball team to a 94-79 victory over Mars Hill Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena. MHC fell to 12-10 overall, 5-6 in the SAC … Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) came off the bench to lead MHC with 19 points followed by Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) with 17. Blanford recorded a double-double with 10 boards and entered the Lions' elite 1,000-point club during the contest. She entered the game needing only six points to score 1,000 career points. Shamia Terry (Greenville, S.C.) also posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds while Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) added 12 points and eight boards … Buford hit a layup 25 seconds into the game and the Eagles never trailed. C-N led by as many as 15 points (40-25) with 7:01 left in the first frame after Kyle hit a shot from behind the arc. C-N went into the locker room at the intermission ahead 55-45 … MHC cut the Eagles' lead to just four points (62-58) with 13:07 left in the contest after Jocelyn Williams (Greensboro, N.C.) hit a layup. C-N then went on a 9-2 run to extended their lead back to double-figures (71-60) with 9:38 left in regulation after Megan Hunter (Ashland City, Tenn.) hit a shot in the lane. A 3-pointer by Okunowo and a free throw by Blanford brought the Lions within five points (71-66) with 8:19 on the clock but that was as close as the Lions would get. C-N scored nine unanswered points over the next three minutes to seal the win … C-N hit 48.5 percent (32-66) of their shots, 57.9 percent (11-19) of their 3-pointers in the game and scored 34 points off MHC miscues. MHC won the rebound battle, 50-34 … The Lions will play at Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, February 11. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
NEWBERRY - This past week the Newberry College women's basketball team fell to Mars Hill by a single point but rebounded with a win over No. 22 Lenoir-Rhyne… The loss came in a back-and-forth battle in which NC lost by the score of 81-80… Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) played fantastic basketball for the scarlet and gray, earning a game high 28 points... She shot 9-for14 from field goal range and 5-for-7 from behind the three-point line... Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) also played well and earned 21 points and seven rebounds... Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) was Newberry's leading rebounder with 14 boards… Wednesday's game not only marked the team's first home loss, it was also the first time Newberry allowed a team to shoot above 50 percent from the field this season... On the night, the Lions sank 32-of-56 from the floor and 6-for-12 from three-point range... On a positive note, Newberry dominated the glass with a positive rebounding margin of 16… NC rebounded with a dominant win over Lenoir-Rhyne, 73-52… Newberry had four starters in double-digit scoring led by 19 points from Alexander and an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double from Bulcher… Marquardt scored 17 and Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) netted 14 for the scarlet and gray… Newberry won the game with a strong defense, holding the Bears to only 33.3 percent shooting and three field goals in the second half… Now standing at 14-8 overall and 7-4 in the SAC, Newberry will hit the road for only one game next week at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
TUSCULUM - The No. 15 Tusculum women's basketball team posted a 2-0 record last week with a 79-58 win over Lincoln Memorial and a 97-49 victory over Catawba on Saturday…Tusculum enters the week with a 19-3 overall record, having won 15 of its last 17 games, and are tied with Lenoir-Rhyne for the South Atlantic Conference lead with a 9-2 in-conference mark…Jasmine Gunn poured in a game-high 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting in Wednesday's win over LMU, hauling down a season-high eight rebounds and dishing out six assists to pace the Pioneer attack…Stephany Neptune posted her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds…Shantae Shank scored in double figures for the third time in her last five games and hauled down a season-best seven rebounds…The Pioneers then notched an impressive 97-49 victory over Catawba on Saturday, recording a field goal percentage of at least 43 percent for the 15th consecutive game with a 46.7 percent clip from the floor…Gunn registered her second straight 20-point game with 20 markers on 7-of-11 shooting to lead all scorers…The 5-0 guard also dished out six assists to pass Susan Starnes for fifth all-time at TC with 318 career helpers in just her second season with the Pioneers…Neptune recorded her second consecutive double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, extending her streak of five or more boards to 57 games…The 5-9 junior also blocked three shots to tie a program record with 125 career rejections, and became the fourth player in TC history with 800 rebounds… Senior Ashli Oliver knocked down five three-pointers and was 6-of-13 from the field for 17 points…With her five treys, Oliver moves within six triples of a tie for fourth all-time in NCAA Division II history, currently sitting fifth with 348 career three-pointers...The 5-8 guard needs four triples to move into a tie for fourth in NCAA II history, and with four more points, would tie Julie Maples for fifth all-time at Tusculum with 1449 career markers…Emily French turned in career highs of six rebounds and one block off the bench, while Jasmine Parker tied a career best with nine boards…Tusculum has posted a field goal percentage of at least 43 percent in each of its last 15 games, entering the week leading the nation with a 48.5 percent clip from the floor this season…The Pioneers are a perfect 11-0 on their home floor this season, having won their last 21 games in Pioneer Arena dating back to the spring of 2007…Tusculum is 13-1 this year when blocking at least five shots, and are a perfect 13-0 when holding its opponents to less than 70 points…The Pioneers are averaging a SAC-best 85 points per game while outscoring their opponents by 20.9 markers per contest to lead the conference…Tusculum is on the road against Wingate on Wednesday before returning home to square off against its bitter rival, Carson-Newman on Saturday.
WINGATE - The Wingate University women's basketball team racked up 54 second-half points en route to a 95-80 South Atlantic Conference triumph over Catawba College Wednesday evening in Goodman Gymnasium. With the victory, Wingate improves to 13-8 overall and 4-6 in the SAC. The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday, Feb. 11, hosting number 15 Tusculum College at 6 p.m. … Wingate senior guard Anna Atkinson led the way against Catawba with 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Freshman guard Kurie Washington also had 24 points for the Bulldogs. The two combined to go 24-for-27 from the free-throw line. Wingate junior center Stacie Rhodes contributed nine points and a team-best seven rebounds … A jumper gave Catawba a 25-21 lead at the 8:15 mark of the first half, the largest lead for either team to this juncture. Wingate responded with a 7-2 spurt to take a one-point lead (28-27) on a pair of Washington free throws with 6:36 remaining in the half … A lay-up and a pair of free throws from Atkinson put the Bulldogs up 41-36 with 14 seconds to go. Catawba hit a jumper at the buzzer to make it 41-38 at halftime. The first half featured 10 ties and 18 lead changes … The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run midway through the second half to take a 69-59 lead at the 9:20 mark on a lay-up from Atkinson. Catawba sliced the deficit to 69-64 with eight minutes remaining … Wingate would keep the lead above five the rest of the way. A three-point play from Washington built the lead back to 84-74 at the 2:42 mark. A pair of Atkinson free throws with 1:03 remaining pushed the lead to 91-80. The bulge would remain in double digits down the stretch … The Bulldogs shot 47.5 percent from the field (29-of-61), hitting five-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc. Wingate made a season-high 32-of-43 from the free throw line. Catawba shot 44.4 percent from the field (28-of-63), converting four-of-10 from three-point land. The Bulldogs held a 44-36 rebounding advantage, thanks to seven boards from Rhodes and six caroms from Atkinson … Atkinson and Rhodes have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III women's basketball first team (college division), selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Atkinson is a three-time Academic All-District III performer; she was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® first team in 2008 … Atkinson is a Biology major with a pre-dental specialization. She sports a perfect 4.00 GPA. She was the recipient of the 2007-08 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. She is the first SAC student-athlete to be honored with the national CCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. Rhodes possesses a perfect 4.00 GPA as well. She is an Accounting major … This year, Atkinson is listed in the NCAA Division II top 15 in assist-to-turnover ratio (second, 3.4), assists per game (third, 6.9) and steals per game (15th, 3.4). She leads the SAC in these categories. The McDowell High School graduate is third in the SAC in scoring (16.0 points per game). Rhodes leads the Bulldogs in rebounding (5.9 rebounds per game) and blocked shots (1.0 blocks per game) … The Wingate University women's basketball team has partnered with over 900-plus other schools around the country to participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2009 "Pink Zone" initiative. Special events will take place on Saturday, Feb. 21 when the Bulldogs host Newberry College at 2 p.m. in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldog women's basketball team is partnering with the Wingate University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for events throughout the week prior to the contest … The WBCA's "Pink Zone" program is a global, unified effort for the WBCA's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The week of February 13-22 has been set aside for the 2009 initiative.