Weekly SAC Women’s Basketball Notes - Feb. 5, 2007

Women's basketball game recaps and notes for week ending February 4, 2007

CARSON-NEWMAN - Shari Buford scored a career high 22 points, but Newberry outscored Carson-Newman 14-8 in the overtime period to hand the Lady Eagles their second straight loss, 79-73, in South Atlantic Conference play … Carson-Newman (16-4, 6-3 SAC) shot 56 percent from the floor in the first half, but only made two three-pointers in trailing 35-34 at the break. Midway through the second half, Stefanie Holbrook's jumper gave C-N a four-point lead, but Newberry (18-2, 7-2 SAC) tied the game at 57-57 with a little more than six minutes remaining. The lead changed hands four times down the stretch, but Ashley Tipton gave the Lady Eagles the lead at 65-62 with 1:02 remaining on a pair of free throws. Newberry's Monica Alexander broke down the C-N defense, made the layup, and completed the three-point play with a free throw to tie the game at 65-65. C-N and Newberry traded turnovers, but both teams couldn't score the winning basket to end regulation tied … In overtime, Newberry's Ashlee Wright scored the first four points to give the Lady Indians a 69-65 lead. Shari Buford and Ashley Tipton hit consecutive jumpers to get within two points at 71-69, but Newberry pulled away with five-of-five free throws in the final 26 seconds to earn the six-point victory … Buford posted a double-double with 14 rebounds to go along with her 22 points. Tipton added 15 points and Cassie Burks chipped in 14 points.

CATAWBA - The Catawba women dropped its only game of the week, falling to Wingate 77-58 ... Catawba fell behind early after shooting just 26 percent in the opening half, trailing 36-21 at the break ... The Bulldogs closed the half on a 13-4 run to begin to pull away ... The ladies would connect on just 33 percent in the second half and could not make up any ground on the Bulldogs ... Wingate shot 53 percent for the contest to just 30 percent for Catawba ... Catawba did hold a 17-5 edge in second chance points, pulling down 19 offensive rebounds ... The ladies also had just 13 turnovers, only one after halftime ... Four players shared scoring honors as Andrell Baxter, NeKeithia Howard, Tamekia Foster and Ingrid Easter all reached eight points ... Foster added seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks ... Howard leads the team with her 10.2 scoring average, while Hillary Hampton and Corin Muldrow each average 8.0 a contest ... The loss to Wingate was the first home defeat for the ladies this season ... The ladies travel to Tusculum on Wednesday and will host Newberry on Saturday.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne women's basketball team (13-8, 6-4) has won three straight games and five of their last six contests after defeating Tusculum (76-68) at home on Wednesday and Presbyterian (67-60) on the road Saturday afternoon … Lenoir-Rhyne is now alone in fourth place as the squad continue to fight for a home game in the first round of the Food Lion SAC Tournament ... The Bears raced to a 39-16 lead against the Pioneers Wednesday and held on for the win … Freshman guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) scored 28 points, including 20 in the first half, and freshman guard Meredith Webster (High Point, N.C.) hit all four treys in the Bears' victory … Sophomore center Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.) added 18 points and nine rebounds as the Bears avenged an earlier loss to the Pioneers … As a team, L-R limited Tusculum to just 21 percent shooting (six-for-28) for the contest … Three players scored in double figures, led by freshman guard Jami Safrit's (Hickory, N.C.) 18 points and eight assists, as the Bears rallied from a seven-point, second-half deficit to sweep PC for the season … Holt added 17 points including four three-pointers in the victory … Holt has averaged 25.0 points per game in her last three contests while Webster has hit nine straight three-pointers over a three-game span … Lenoir-Rhyne hits the road against for its next two games: Wednesday at 6 p.m., against first-place Newberry and Saturday at 6 p.m., versus Carson-Newman … The Bears three straight to both squads … L-R leads the all-time series against Newberry (18-8) but trails the Carson-Newman series, 29-15.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Wingate University women's basketball team defeated Lincoln Memorial University 78-50 in a South Atlantic Conference game in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus Wednesday. Wingate improves to 15-5 overall and 7-2 in the SAC ... Lincoln Memorial freshman forward Andi Winney (Yorktown, Ind.) topped the Railsplitter team charts with 11 points and nine rebounds. LMU senior guard Betsy Bowser (Galveston, Ind.) added 10 points and four rebounds for the visitors. Railsplitter senior guard Madeline Richards (Floyds Knobs, Ind.) scored nine points ... Wingate held a 36-25 advantage over Lincoln Memorial at the break. Barrett led the first half scoring for Wingate with 11 points. Atkinson had a team-high four first half rebounds ... Richards led the LMU offense with seven first-half points. Bowser had a team-high three boards for the Railsplitter in the first 20 minutes ... Wingate head coach Johnny Jacumin (583 wins) and Lincoln Memorial head coach Roger Vannoy (459 wins) have a combined 1,082 career wins following tonight's contest. The two coaches rank fourth and 12th, respectively on the NCAA Division II winningest active coaches ­ total victories chart (entering the season).

MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-1 on the week. The Lions are now 12-9 overall and 5-5 in the SAC … In the first game of the week, Reigning South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, TN) led Mars Hill with 20 points as the Lions downed Presbyterian College 89-65 in SAC women's basketball action on Wednesday evening at Stanford Arena. DeBusk also had six assists and four steals in 29 minutes on the court. DeBusk was one of three Lions in double figures. Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) tallied 14 points in the victory, while guard Allison Schafer (Advance, N.C.) chimed in with 12 points ... The Lady Blue Hose were led once again in the defeat by Morgan Johnson (Marietta, Ga.), who had 16 points and 12 rebounds to secure her 10th double-double of the 2006-07 season. Bridget Takach (Chapin, S.C.) picked up 13 points for PC in the loss ... Presbyterian and Mars Hill stayed close to each other in the inaugural minutes of the contest. Tishe Sanders (Laurens, S.C.) scored five early points, including the game's opening three-pointer that gave PC a very early 3-0 lead ... Mars Hill rolled off to an 11-0 run a few minutes later to pull ahead by nine at 21-12. PC's Takach nailed a three-pointer with just under 11:30 left in the first stanza to thwart the lead and negate the run ... The Lions from that point on continued to pad on to their advantage, outscoring the Lady Blue Hose 27-15 in the final 11 minutes to take a 21 point lead into halftime at 48-27. Mars Hill, who had two 11-0 runs in the first half, was led in the first stanza by Debusk's 11 points and five assists ... Presbyterian commenced the second half by scoring eight of the first 10 points in the half to cut the MHC lead to 15 points. The Lions would not let the Lady Blue Hose get any closer, going on a 12-3 run to take their largest lead up to that point of the contest at 23 points ... The Lions would eventually push their lead to as many as 30 points in the second half ... In the second game of the week, MHC lost at Newberry. In a span of 3:53 from the 19:30 mark to 15:37 remaining in the second half, the Newberry College Lady Indians took control. The scarlet and gray out scored the Mars Hill College Lions with a 14-4 run to open the second frame after a grueling first half left both sides with 27 points ... Newberry bolted out of the locker room with tenacity on the glass, claiming four offensive boards in a 14-second span before junior forward Tonique Frasier banked a close range leaner for the opening points of the second half. After Mars Hill re-tied the game at 29-29 on an Allison Schafer (Advance, NC) jumper, Monica Alexander sunk a three ball when Ashlee Wright kicked it out after drawing a double team ... That was the only lead the Lady Indians needed in the second half going ahead for good with 18:55 still to go ... The Lady Indians continued consistent shooting from outside the paint, hitting 8-of-17 jump shots from in and around the perimeter. Though the scarlet and gray hopped out to a lead as large as 16 late in the game, Mars Hill drew within 10 points at the 9:35 mark when Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, GA) converted a second chance bucket to cut the lead to 48-38 ... Newberry then stepped up the defensive pressure scoring five points in 16 seconds off of Mars Hill turnovers. Tonique Frasier converted an old-fashioned three-point play and gave the Lady Indians a 53-38 edge with just over seven minutes remaining ... Mars Hill couldn't make a comeback and the Lady Indians went on to win, 63-47 ... Saturday's victory was Newberry's seventh straight. Norcross, Ga. native Monica Alexander led all scorers with 17 points. The 5-5 guard also recorded six assists and snared five rebounds. Tonique Frasier picked up her eighth double-double of the season with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort ... Newberry also received quality efforts from many sources including juniors Tosha Goodman and Ashley Marine. The two shooting guards combined for 16 points, eight a piece, and seven rebounds. Marine's four rebounds set a new season-high and tied a career-high. Tiffany Smalls registered a career-high four steals and 19 minutes. Smalls also picked up three points ... Newberry's bench outscored Mars Hill's 13-0. The Lady Indian defense forced 20 Lion turnovers which resulted in 25 Newberry points. Newberry held an opponent under 50 points for the 10th time this season ... Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, TN) led MHC with 16 points followed by Schafer with 11. Jessica Blanford (Concord, NC) added 10 points and five rebounds ... MHC will host Carson-Newman College on February 7, at 6 p.m. before playing at Lincoln Memorial on Saturday night, also at 6 p.m.

NEWBERRY - Newberry College women's basketball continued it's outstanding 2006-07 campaign, notching up two more South Atlantic Conference wins over the past week … First, on January 31, two top teams in the SAC collided in Jefferson City, Tenn. as the Lady Indians traveled to Holt Fieldhouse to take on the 21st ranked Lady Eagles of Carson-Newman … Down three points twice in the final two minutes, Newberry came back to tie the game and force an overtime … Newberry jumped out to a six point advantage and Carson-Newman could not rally resulting in a 79-73 overtime victory for the scarlet and gray … Three Lady Indians scored at least 19 points led by junior forward Tonique Frasier's 26 … The Walterboro native also snagged six rebounds and hit 6-of-9 free throws … Fellow junior Monica Alexander posted 20 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field including Newberry's final five points in regulation … The point guard from Norcross, Ga. hit 10-of-12 free throws and also dished out three assists in a season-high 39 minutes … Ashlee Wright chipped in 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and scored the first four points of overtime … The junior from Myrtle Beach also grabbed six rebounds and hit 5-of-6 free throws … On February 3, Newberry hosted Mars Hill at Eleazer Arena, the last team to defeat Newberry … Tied 27-27 at the half, Newberry bolted to a 14-4 run to start the second stanza and never looked back en route to a 63-47 win … Alexander led Newberry with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field including 2-of-3 behind the arch … Tonique Frasier posted her eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds … With the win, Newberry improved to 19-2 on the season and 8-2 in the SAC both setting school records for most wins in a season (19) and most wins in conference play in a season (8) … The two wins also extended Newberry's winning streak to seven games.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian fell in both of its games last week … The Blue Hose have now fallen in 11 straight contests and are still winless in league play … In PC's loss to MHC last Wednesday Morgan Johnson tallied her 10th double-double of the campaign … The Marietta, Ga. native had a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds in the game … Johnson just missed out on securing her 11th in the Lady Blue Hose loss to L-R last Saturday … Johnson finished the contest with nine points and 10 rebounds … Bridget Takach had one of the better games of her season in the game with the Lady Bears, scoring 17 points … Presbyterian next travels to Lincoln Memorial for the first time ever for a league game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

TUSCULUM - TThe Tusculum women's basketball split its two games last week, ending a six-game losing streak. The Pioneers (12-9, 4-6 SAC) opened the week with a 76-68 road loss at Lenoir-Rhyne, but bounced back with a 73-59 home win over Lincoln Memorial. In the L-R game, sophomore Ashli Oliver tallied 22 points, including five treys, while freshman Lindsay Barta finished with a season-best 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Sophomore Shantae Shank finished with 12 points, rounding out the scoring for the Pioneers. Oliver followed with 21 points on seven 3-pointers to lead Tusculum to a 14-point win over LMU to sweep the season series. Oliver shot 7-for-15 from the floor, all from beyond the three-point line, while also grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. Senior Chassity Martin added 20 points, while freshman Diana Neves finished with nine points. Tusculum made 13-of-35 of its three-point attempts and shot 41.8 percent from the floor. TC scored the first 13 points of the contest, including three straight treys by Oliver in the opening 3:46 of the game. Senior Brooke Underwood dished out a game-high 10 assists. Underwood has posted 10 or more assists in a game on 19 occasions. TC is 16-3 in those outings. Over the last two seasons, Tusculum is 23-4 when scoring at least 70 points. Martin and Oliver have each recorded 143 three-point field goals in their careers, which is tops in school history and 10th in the SAC record books.

WINGATE - The Wingate University women's basketball team (16-5 overall, 8-2 SAC) won two games last week to remain in first place in the SAC standings ... Senior center Emily Paffrath scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 77-58 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball road victory over Catawba College Saturday afternoon in Goodman Gymnasium. In the victory, Paffrath tallied her 1000th career point as a Bulldog. She enters the week with 1010 career points ... Wingate never trailed in the Catawba contest. Bulldog senior guard Tanetra Barrett narrowly missed a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Senior forward Kerri Metzker contributed 13 points ... On Saturday, Wingate led 36-21 at intermission, thanks to the strong inside play of Paffrath and Metzker. The two Bulldog post players had 11 points each in the first half. In the second half, Paffrath hit six-of-six field goals. The Bulldogs made 60 percent of their field goals after intermission (15-of-25). For the week, Paffrath averaged 16.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game and 3.0 blocks per game. She hit 63.2 percent of her field goal tries last week (12-of-19) ... Wingate defeated Lincoln Memorial University 78-50 in a SAC game in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus Wednesday. Barrett led all scorers with 17 points. She added four rebounds, three steals, three assists and one blocked shot. Bulldog sophomore point guard Anna Atkinson (Marion, N.C.) had 10 points, five boards and a team-high four steals ... Wingate head coach Johnny Jacumin (584 wins) and Lincoln Memorial head coach Roger Vannoy (459 wins) have a combined 1,083 career wins entering this week's play. The two coaches rank fourth and 12th, respectively on the NCAA Division II winningest active coaches - total victories chart (entering the season) ... Wingate returns home Saturday, hosting SAC opponent Tusculum College for a 2 p.m. afternoon matinee. The Wingate University Sports Network will broadcast the Tusculum game on Red Zone Media ... Atkinson is 15th in the NCAA Division II in assists per game. Atkinson is averaging 5.6 assists per contest (entering the week). Paffrath is 16th with 2.4 blocked shots per game. Paffrath is the all-time Wingate and SAC leader in career blocked shots with 311. As a team, the Bulldogs rank 17th in the NCAA Division II with 4.6 blocked shots per game. Wingate is number seven in the most recent regional rankings ... Wingate's 16 wins this season gives head coach Johnny Jacumin 584 victories for his illustrious Bulldog career. Coach Jacumin is fourth on the NCAA Division II winningest active coaches victory list. His .729 winning percentage (entering the season) ranks 15th among active NCAA Division II coaches ... The Wingate University Board of Trustees has designated Saturday, February 10 as Johnny Jacumin Day at Wingate University. Alumni and friends will gather for an Alumni Game at 10:30 a.m., followed by the women's basketball team taking on Tusculum College at 2 p.m. in Cuddy Arena. A Dutch treat dinner and roast (honoring coach Jacumin) will follow the games at 7 p.m. at the Wingate Baptist Church Fellowship Hall ... Since the SAC became an all-sports league in 1989, Jacumin's clubs have won or shared the regular season title in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Wingate won the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1997.