Women’s Basketball Notes, February 15, 2010
Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending February 14, 2010
BREVARD - The Tornados went 0-1 this week, losing to Wingate University on a buzzer beater, 57-56 ... Samantha Winn led Brevard with 15 points followed by Amber Roberts with 11 ... Roberts shot 60 percent from 3-point range (3-5) ... Brevard led by as many as 11 points in the first half led by Roberts with eight and Amanda Whitaker with seven ... The Tornados stole the ball away ten times in the first half alone led by Winn with three, and Amanda Whitaker and Asheley Watkins with two a piece ... Brevard continued to dominate in second half ... Winn, who had just two points in the first half, shot six for six from the free-throw line in the second, and added a 3-point field goal at the 12:58 mark to give the Tornados their biggest lead of the game at 15 ... Winn also added two jumpers to total 13 second half points ... Wingate battled back within one point with 1.7 remaining on the clock ... With possession under the Bulldog's basket, the Tornados turned the ball over giving the Bulldogs possession of the ball, under their own basket, down by one, with 1.7 still remaining on the clock … Sarah Wollet, who led the Bulldogs with four assists, found Kurie Washington cutting through the key for the layup and last second, 57-56 win.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The No. 21 Carson-Newman Lady Eagles went 1-1 last week, falling at Lenoir-Rhyne 85-76 on Wednesday and defeating Tusculum 99-90, in an overtime thriller at home on Saturday ... In Hickory, C-N got a team-high 19 points from senior guard Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and a double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) from senior forward Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) but the Bears' backcourt got the best of the Lady Eagles ... Though C-N shot 42.6 percent from the floor for the game, their accuracy from behind the arc wasn't as good ... Carson-Newman made just 3 of their 15 (20 percent) three-pointers, compared to 7-for-18 for Lenoir-Rhyne ... L-R also held an advantage at the free throw line and on the boards as well ... With the 85-76 victory, the Bears sweep the season series from Carson-Newman for the second-straight year ... On Saturday, C-N got back on track with a thrilling 99-90 win over Tusculum at Holt Fieldhouse ... Freshman forward Tasha Phillips (Clarkrange, Tenn.) tallied a career-high 27 points in just her fourth start of her career ... Phillips went 12-for-19 from the field, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked three shots ... Freshman guard Candis Clear (Memphis, Tenn.) had 22 points off the bench while Kyle chipped in 17 of her own ... Junior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) was scoreless for most of the game but still ended up with 10 points and 10 rebounds as she went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe late in contest while Buford had 14 points of her own ... The Lady Eagles, who trailed by as much as 12 in the first half, battled back after halftime to take the lead ... Tusculum would not go down without a fight and forced the extra five minutes ... It was all C-N in overtime as the Lady Eagles hit 12-for-12 free throws to gain a 13-point advantage which they rode to the 99-90 victory ... Carson-Newman will host Brevard on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., a game which will also be senior night for the Lady Eagles' three seniors ... Lincoln Memorial will come to town on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. matchup.
CATAWBA - The Catawba women split its games last week ... The ladies dropped a 63-57 decision at Newberry on Wednesday then returned home to snap a three-game losing streak with a 62-56 win over Mars Hill ... The Lady Indians played without top scorer and rebounds, Dana Hicks, at Newberry and was within two points in the final three minutes ... Newberry used a 7-0 run to pull out to a 59-50 lead in the final minute ... Catawba got eight points and a career-best 10 rebounds from freshman Elizabeth Merritt in the loss as the Lady Indians beat the league's top rebounding team 47-44 on the boards ... Another freshman post, Taylor May, added five points and five rebounds ... Nisha Long scored 15 points and Brooke Whitley added 10 ... Catawba shot 33 percent and just 28 percent in the second half ... The Lady Indians overcame an early eight-point deficit in the second half to stop its losing skid ... Hicks brought Catawba even on a three-point play with 8:27 to go and Maggie Sullivan put the ladies on top 48-46 with a pair of free throws ... Sullivan added a steal that led to a Kisha Long layup for a 50-46 lead with 5:28 remaining ... Mars Hill had a final chance to tie the the last minute, but failed to convert ... Nisha Long and Hicks iced the issue with free throws in the final 24 seconds ... The Lady Indians held a 50-44 edge on the boards to help offset just 31 percent shooting ... Hicks returned to the lineup and posted a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds ... Milica Ivanovic added 13 points ... Catawba continues to be clutch at the line in close game, making 81-of-85 in the final two minutes and overtimes when the margin is single digits ... The Lady Indians will travel to Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday and host Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (17-6, 10-3) moved into sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a pair of wins over Carson-Newman (85-76) and Lincoln Memorial (72-58) last Wednesday and Saturday, respectively … L-R, winners of four straight, have taken a half-game lead over Newberry in the league standings … Senior guard Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) led all scorers with 20 points as the Bears completed the season sweep over the Lady Eagles with the victory at home … Senior guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) added 17 points and eight rebounds as the Bears built a 16-point (51-35), second-half lead and were able to hold on for the win … Carson-Newman entered the game ranked No. 21 in the nation and second in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Rankings ... Against Lincoln Memorial, L-R used a 22-2 run in the second half to rally from a 10-point deficit in the victory in Harrogate, Tenn. … Senior center Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.), who became the 16th player in school history to score 1,000 points, finished with a game-high 21 points while senior guard Jami Safrit (Hickory, N.C.) added a double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds) as Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Lincoln Memorial for the fifth straight time … The Bears were ranked fifth in last week's regional rankings … L-R has also won 15 straight South Atlantic Conference Regular Season games at home and is 9-0 at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium this year … Senior guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) ranks fifth all-time in Lenoir-Rhyne history in career points (1,439) and is third in assists with 395 … Safrit ranks fourth in career assists now with 388 … L-R is 44-11 overall and 23-6 in league play since the start of last year … Lenoir-Rhyne next travels to Salisbury, N.C., to face Catawba on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. … The all-time series between the two schools is tied at 32 but the Bears prevailed over the Indians earlier this year by an 87-66 score on December 2, 2009, in Hickory, N.C.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team roared back from a ten point second-half deficit to pull out the 76-75 win at Mars Hill in South Atlantic Conference action Thursday evening … The win gives the Lady Railsplitters a season sweep of the Lions … LMU spurted out to an early lead, going up by eight, 16-8, on a free throw by Cena Nasiloski with 14:35 to go … Mars Hill chipped away at the score and finally tied the game at 24-24 all with 7:42 left in the half … The Lions then pulled out to take a 38-32 lead into the intermission … MHC continued to build on the lead in the second half while surviving several attempts by the Lady Railsplitters to cut into their deficit … The Lady Railsplitters went on a late 20-7 run that erased a 10 point deficit and gave LMU the 72-69 lead with 2:28 to go … LMU led 74-71 with less than a minute to go when Mars Hill's Margaret Harvey cut the lead to one with a lay-up … MHC Coach Jennifer Nance then called timeout to set up the defense … The Lion defense then caused a LMU turnover a few seconds later that led to another timeout by Nance … Following the timeout Brittni Young then drove the lane to put the Lions up 75-74 with 15 seconds left … LMU immediately inbounded the ball and Dayshalee Salaman went straight to the basket and hit an acrobatic jump shot with 8 seconds left to give LMU the 76-75 win … The Lady Railsplitters were led in scoring by Carolyn Mills, who poured in 23 points and a career-high 11 rebounds … Nasiloski scored 15 points, Salaman had 12 points and Amberly O'Dell chipped in 11 points … LMU shot 44.4 percent from the field, a blazing 45 percent from behind the arc and 73.3 percent from the charity stripe … LMU dominated on the boards, outrebounding MHC 47-33 … A second half surge by league-leader Lenoir-Rhyne enabled the Bears to grab the lead and hold on for the 72-58 South Atlantic Conference win over the Lady Railsplitters Saturday evening … LMU (8-15, 5-8 SAC) was led by Carolyn Mills with 19 points … Amberly O'Dell scored 15 and Whitney Holmes added in 10 points … Cena Nasiloski led LMU on the boards with eight rebounds … The first half was a series of runs that featured five ties and four lead changes … LMU came out of the gates strong, building up an 10-2 lead off a jumper from Mills with 16:59 to go in the half … L-R tied the game at 12-12 with a free throw by Safrit with 9:30 left … From then on the rest of the half was a see-saw affair with each team grabbing a lead and then relinquishing it … A three-pointer at the buzzer by O'Dell gave LMU the 28-27 lead at the half … The Lady Railsplitters exploded out of the gate in the second half, as Mills and Holmes led LMU on a 12-3 run to build the lead up to ten … The Bears then clawed their way back to tie the game at 43-43 with a Brittany Mitch jumper with 14:09 to go … From that point on L-R withstood several attempts by the Lady Railsplitters to cut into the lead and held on for the 72-58 win … L-R won the rebounding battle, outdoing LMU on the boards 42-30 … LMU will host Catawba Wednesday night in SAC action. It will be senior night for LMU's lone senior, Cena Nasiloski … Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 0-2 during the previous week of play, losing to LMU and Catawba. The Lions fall to 4-20 and 1-12 in the league … The Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team narrowly defeated Mars Hill 76-75 inside Stanford Arena on Think Pink night … A Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) layup gave Mars Hill an early four-point lead, but a three by Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, Puerto Rico) gave Lincoln Memorial a 12-6 advantage four minutes into the game … A Cena Nasiloski (Hammond, Ind.) free throw gave the Lady Railsplitters a 16-8 lead at the 14:35 mark in the first half before Mars Hill made a push … With the game tied at 24, the Lions went on a 10-2 run. A Beth Miller (Burlington, N.C.) free throw with 2:51 left in the half made the score 34-26 in favor of Mars Hill. The Lions carried a 38-32 advantage into halftime … Mars Hill opened up a 12-point lead, 44-32, 30 seconds into the second half off a trey by Krystal Moore (Summerfield, N.C.). The Lions held three more double-digit leads before Lincoln Memorial came roaring back … Down 64-54 with 7:42 left in the game, the Lady Railsplitters went on a 18-5 spurt. A LaChelle Hyatt (Oklahoma City, Okla.) jumper gave Lincoln Memorial a 72-69 advantage with 2:28 left in the game … Mars Hill answered, and with 15 seconds remaining in the game, back-to-back buckets by Margaret Harvey (Greensboro, N.C.) and Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) gave the Lions a 75-74 upper hand … The Lady Railsplitters responded with a Salaman layup with eight seconds left to win the game … Young scored a game-high 23 points. Harvey and Moore each finished with 12 points. Deal netted 11 points and eight rebounds … Catawba snapped a three-game losing streak with a 62-56 win over visiting Mars Hill in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym … Catawba led by two at the half as Hicks already had her double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Mars Hill quickly took control after the break, going on a 10-0 run over the first four minutes. Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) and Krystal Moore (Summerfield, N.C.) each had three-pointers in the spurt … Hicks stopped the run with a free throw and Catawba closed within a point several times before finally tying the contest at 44-all on a Hicks three-point play at the 8:27 mark. Maggie Sullivan (Fort Mill S.C.) gave Catawba the lead for good at 48-46 on a pair of free throws with 5:44 left then had a steal that was converted into a layup by Kisha Long (Dallas, N.C.) … Young twice got Mars Hill within a point, the last time on a pair of free throws with 4:31 to go. Milica Ivanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) gave Catawba a 55-51 lead on a three-pointer with 3:47 left and Hicks pushed the lead to 58-53 on a free throw with 1:26 remaining … Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) reduced the Lion deficit to 58-56 on a putback off a missed free throw with 1:18 left, but Mars Hill missed a chance to tie on its next possession. Nisha Long (Dallas, NC/Gaston Day) connected on a pair from the line with 24 seconds to go and Hicks iced the issue with two more in the final 10 seconds … Young led Mars Hill with 15 points, while Deal pulled down 16 boards. Margaret Harvey (Greensboro, N.C.) tossed in 14 points with Moore adding 10 … Mars Hill will travel to Wingate on Wednesday. The game will tip at 6 p.m.
NEWBERRY - In its only game last week, the Newberry College women's basketball team defeated Catawba to remain near the top of the South Atlantic Conference standings … Newberry (16-6, 9-3 SAC) surrendered the lead just once and bested Catawba (13-9, 6-5 SAC) in virtually all phases of the game … The scarlet and gray matched the Catawba Indians from the floor with a .333 (18-54) shooting percentage ... Catawba attempted more field goals than Newberry but managed a .333 (21-63) percentage as well … Newberry was better from the free-throw line with a .688 (22-32) effort while Catawba went .600 (12-20) from the line ... Newberry also benefited from a superior three-point shooting night by converting on two more three pointers than Catawba despite taking two less attempts ... Newberry was .455 (6-11) compared to Catawba's .231 (3-13) mark … Catawba became only the sixth time to outrebound Newberry this season by pulling down 47 rebounds while holding the scarlet and gray to 44 … Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) dominated en route to her fifteenth double-double and fifth consecutively … Amy Browne (Maroochydore, Australia) tied Bulcher and Nisha Long (Dallas, N.C.) for the game high with 15 points as well … Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) produced a double-double in the game as well with 12 points and 12 rebounds … Newberry played in front of its largest crowd of the season as 602 fans were on hand to see the victory … The scarlet and gray will travel to Greenville, Tenn., to see Tusculum after a full week's rest.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum College women's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end with a 0-2 worksheet in South Atlantic Conference play last week, falling to Wingate at home on Wednesday before dropping an overtime contest to Carson-Newman on the road on Saturday … Tusculum fell at home for the third time this season in conference play on Wednesday, falling to the Wingate Bulldogs by a score of 78-68 despite a 19-point performance by All-American point guard Jasmine Gunn … With her 19 markers, Gunn climbed into eighth on the program's all-time scoring list, becoming the eighth player in school history to eclipse the 1,300-point plateau … Gunn also dished out a team-high eight assists to vault into the top spot in the conference in helpers … Jasmine Parker poured in 14 points to join Gunn in double figures, knocking down 6-of-10 attempts from the floor while dishing out four assists … Freshman Kendal Baxter knocked down four three-pointers to finish with 12 points, moving into seventh on the program's single-season treys list with her 71st triple of the campaign … The Pioneers dropped their second straight SAC contest at Carson-Newman on Saturday, falling to the No. 21 Eagles in a high-octane overtime thriller by a score of 99-90 … Gunn led all scorers with 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting, raising her season scoring average to 18.7 points per game, which ranks third in the conference … The 4-11 guard also dished out three assists to move into seventh on the conference's all-time list with her 489th career helper … Gunn has posted 11 20-point games and three double-doubles this season, including the program's first triple-double in recorded history … Brittni Oliver poured in a career-high 16 points for the Pioneers, going a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc and converting 7-of-8 attempts from the free throw line in a season-high 36 minutes … Senior Kat Spears nearly recorded a double-double with 12 points and a team-high eight boards, while moving into seventh on the program's all-time rebounds list with 530 career glass-cleanings … The Pioneers shot a season-high 60 percent from behind the arc against Carson-Newman, knocking down 6-of-10 attempts from long range … Tusculum registered its first loss of the season when scoring over 80 points, entering the week with an 8-1 record when posting more than 80 markers … The Pioneers rank second in the conference in field goal percentage (43.6) scoring offense (78.1), scoring margin (+8.4), rebounding (43.8) and steals (10.3).Tusculum has six players averaging more than eight points per game, including the scoring duo of Gunn and Baxter, who have combined for over 30 markers per contest through 23 games … Kat Spears is now within striking distance of the program's all-time blocked shots record, currently sitting second all-time with 128 career rejections, 13 behind former teammate Stephany Neptune's school-record total of 141 blocks … Gunn currently ranks in the top 10 in seven career categories, including assists (3rd/489), free throws made (3rd/385), free throws attempted (3rd/491), steals (5th/198), while ranking first all-time in program history with an average of 5.8 assists per game … Jasmine Parker has quietly climbed into the top 10 on the program's career assists list, currently ranking eighth all-time with 268 helpers … The Pioneers return home this week for a pair of conference matchups, hosting Newberry College on Wednesday and Brevard College on Saturday in Pioneer Arena.
WINGATE - Wingate University sophomore guard/forward Kurie Washington hit an eight-foot runner at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 57-56 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory over Brevard College Saturday afternoon in Boshamer Gymnasium … Washington led all scorers with 24 points as the Bulldogs improve to 14-9 overall and 7-5 in the SAC. Her buzzer-beater gave Wingate its first lead since the 15:19 mark of the first half … "Coach Nelson put together a great game plan for us…and we followed it," Washington says. "We played as a team and kept fighting. It was an exciting victory." … The 2009 SAC Freshman of the Year, Washington has enjoyed her first two visits to Boshamer Gymnasium. Last year, Washington tallied a (then) career-high 28 points and the Bulldogs rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to pick up a wild 94-88 victory on Jan. 17, 2009 … This year, the script was very similar. The Tornados led 46-31 with 12:58 remaining. The 15-point bulge was Brevard's largest of the evening. Brevard led 52-42 with 4:14 remaining … Washington hit a jumper in the paint on the next trip down the floor. Senior center Stacie Rhodes made one-of-two free throws after a Brevard miss to make the score 52-45 with 3:12 remaining. A jumper by junior guard CC Brooks cut the Wingate deficit to five (52-47) with 2:07 to go … A free throw by Bulldog freshman guard Sarah Wollett completed a 6-0 flurry and made the score 52-48 Brevard with 1:28 to play. Brevard hit one-of-two charity tosses to nudge the lead back to five … Washington made a traditional three-point play with 57 seconds left to bring the visitors with two at 53-51. The Tornados responded with a huge three-point field goal to put the hosts up 56-51 with 46 seconds remaining in regulation … Washington answered with a lay-up at the 36-second plateau to make the score 56-53. Brevard missed a three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down and Washington got the rebound. She made a floater in the paint to pull Wingate within one. The Bulldogs called time-out with 1.7 seconds remaining … The 6-4 Rhodes guarded the in-bounds pass and forced Brevard to call a time-out. The teams returned to the floor and the Tornados threw the ball away to give the Bulldogs the basketball underneath their basket … Wollett made a perfect pass to Washington and the McDowell High School graduate went to work, converting the game-winning basket as time expired. Washington scored 20 points after intermission, making seven-of-12 field goals in the final 20 minutes. She scored Wingate's final nine points Saturday … On Wednesday, Wollett hit a career-high 20 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 78-68 SAC victory over Tusculum College Wednesday night in Pioneer Arena. The Wakefield High School product hit 10-of-12 free throws Wednesday … Wollett led four players in double figures for the visiting Bulldogs (13-9 overall, 6-5 SAC). Rhodes had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Brooks had 13 points, Washington contributed 10 points and five rebounds. Washington scored her 10 points after intermission … Rhodes had two double-doubles in two tries last week, giving her four double-doubles on the season and five in her career. Wingate is 5-0 overall when Rhodes has a double-double (lifetime). The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® candidate had 10 points and 12 rebounds at Brevard Saturday … Wingate is 9-0 overall this season when holding opponents to 59 points or less. The Bulldogs lead the SAC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.6 percent shooting. Wingate held Brevard to 16-of-50 shooting from the floor Saturday (32.0 percent) … Wingate University will celebrate WBCA Pink Zone™ night on Wednesday, Feb. 17, when the Bulldog women's basketball team hosts Mars Hill College at 6 p.m. in Cuddy Arena. The WBCA Pink Zone™ initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond … The Wingate University women's basketball team is partnering with over 1550 other schools around the country to participate in the WBCA's 2010 Pink Zone initiative. The Bulldog athletic department and the Wingate Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) are collecting funds to assist in the fight against breast cancer.