Weekly Women’s Basketball Notes, January 12, 2009
Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 11, 2009.
BREVARD - The Brevard College women's basketball team went 1-2 on the week, defeating Montreat College at home on January 5th, 75-64, while dropping contests against Lenoir-Rhyne on January 7th, 61-45, and Lincoln Memorial on January 10th, 75-64. The Tornados move to 4-8 on the season, 0-4 in South Atlantic Conference play ... In the game against Montreat, the Tornados took a 37-31 lead into the locker room as the Tornados were led by Amanda Whitaker's 10 first half points and Holli Flippo's offensive hustle in recording eight points and five rebounds ... Montreat came back in the second half, taking the lead back with 14:43 to play at 48-47, but as she has done in several games this year, Anna Schlobohm took over the game, putting on a personal 7-0 run against the Cavaliers to put the Tornados up 59-50 ... The Tornados would not give up the lead as won their third game in Boshamer Gymnasium in the 2008-2009 season, 75-64 ... Brevard out-rebounded Montreat 39-24, with 20 of their rebounds coming on the offensive glass as the Tornados improve to 3-0 against teams from the Appalachian Athletic Conference ... Whitaker (16 points-10 rebounds) and Samantha Winn (13 points-11 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles, while Flippo narrowly missed one coming of off the bench in the game with 14 points and eight rebounds ... The Tornados fell behind 41-15 in the first half against Lenoir-Rhyne this past Wednesday ... Brevard would bring the game back within 20 with 1:55 left in the game as Whitaker completed a three-point play and Paige Bridgers nailed an uncontested three-pointer from the top of the key to put the score at 61-41. Flippo and Micah LaJoie would both add free throws, but the comeback would fall short as the Bears took home the win, 61-45 ... The Tornados would outscore the Bears 30-20 in the second half as Flippo and Whitaker led Brevard with 10 points apiece. Whitaker narrowly missed her second straight double-double with nine rebounds in the game ... Millie Wharton opened up the game with a personal 9-2 run against the visiting Lady Railsplitters. The Tornados team defense kept up the pressure against LMU as they forced several early turnovers in building a 25-14 lead with 7:26 left in the first half ... From there, Lincoln Memorial went 15-2 run spanning the next 5:28 as Timethia Bennett converted four free throw attempts, Dayshalee Salaman added five points and Amberly O'Dell hit back-to-back three's, before a pair of free throws by Brevard's Whitaker ended the run with 1:28 left in the first half with score at 29-29. However, Holli Flippo and Anna Schlobohm both connected from behind the arc in the remaining time as Brevard went into the locker room with a 35-33 lead ... The turning point of the back-and-forth game came at the 15:49 mark in the second half as LMU's Brittany Craney drove in for a layup and was fouled by BC's Schlobohm. Craney made the layup and the resulting free throw, putting the Lady Railsplitters up by one, 42-41 ... Lincoln Memorial would go on an 18-4 run as a variety of players scored before a jumper in the left corner by Flippo ended the run with 8:47 to play and the Lady Railsplitters up 60-47 ... Brevard continued to battle back, keeping the game close, but Lincoln Memorial rode their lead out, taking the victory, 75-64 ... Wharton would lead all scorers with 17 points, while Schlobohm (15), Whitaker (14) and Winn (10) all scored in double figures for the Tornados ... Brevard continues its homestand with three games this week in Brevard, N.C. The Tornados will host Erskine College on Monday, then will continue SAC play on Wednesday by hosting Catawba College, and end their homestand on Saturday as they take on Wingate.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles turned in a 2-0 week with a 78-74 win at UNC Asheville on Wednesday and a 95-78 win over Mars Hill on Saturday night in Holf Fieldhouse...C-N is now 11-3 overall and 2-1 in South Atlantic Conference play...Senior forward Ashley Tipton set the school's all-time three-point mark with her final of five threes against Mars Hill…The Knoxville product now has 181 career three-pointers, breaking Kandi Duncan's mark set in 1999…Carson-Newman Lady Eagles rallied from a seven-point deficit with three minutes to play in the win at UNCA... Forward Shari Buford led the way for the Lady Eagles with 18 points and six rebound... Mandy Mendenahll had 17 points and Ashley Kyle added 15 and six assists...Carson-Newman went 14-for-16 from the foul line in the second half after missing all five foul shots in the first half...made their final 14 consecutive free throws...C-N forced 25 turnovers, led by Tykira McDaniel's four steals...The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles used a 15-0 second half run to pull away from Mars Hill on Saturday night, 95-78...Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) led the Lady Eagles with 21 points, finishing 9-of-11 from the floor, including burying consecutive three pointers during C-N's decisive run...Lady Eagles would connect on five-straight field goals to explode to a 77-57 lead...C-N led by as many as 26 points down the stretch...Senior Ashley Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) turned in one of her best efforts of the season, knocking down 5-of-7 three pointers, to finish with 19 points...Junior Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) added 20 points behind 7-of-10 shooting night...C-N finished a season-high 60 percent (35-of-58) from the floor, and was 27-of-41 from inside the three-point arc...Through 14 games, the Lady Eagles are averaging 82.9 points per game...Leading C-N is scoring is junior Ashley Kyle, averaging 15.1 points per game... Buford is second with 13.1...Carson-Newman returns to action on Wednesday night at Wingate at 6 p.m...C-N is back in Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday night to host Tusculum...Tipoff is at 6 p.m.
CATAWBA - The Lady Indians split a pair of league contests last week ... On Wednesday, Catawba rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to claim a 76-67 win at Wingate ... The ladies dropped a 74-56 decision to No. 9 Tusculum on Saturday ... Catawba shot 55 percent in the second half in is comeback against Wingate ... The Long twins, Nisha and Kisha, provided the lift ... Nisha scored a game-high 15 points, while Kisha added a dozen points and five assists ... Kisha's jumper with 2:22 left gave Catawba the lead for good at 66-65 ... The ladies iced the issue with four free throws in the final two minutes ... Catawba is a perfect 20-of-20 on free throws in the final two minutes this season when the margin is single digits ... Catawba hung tough with nationally-ranked Tusculum for nearly three-quarters of the game ... Cameron Clark pulled the Lady Indians within 51-47 with 11:40 remaining, but Catawba hit just two field goals the rests of the game ... Clark had 18 points in the loss, as did Dana Hicks, who added 15 rebounds for her second double-double in five games ... The Lady Indians out-rebounded the taller Tusculum squad 41-39, grabbing 17 offensive boards ... Catawba had more turnovers than its opponent for just the second time this season and have lost both times ... The Pioneers scored 36 points off 24 Lady Indians miscues ... Catawba hits the road for a mid-weed encounter with Brevard as Coach Angie Morton faces one of her former players in Brevard Coach Shannon Reid, who played for Morton at Pfeiffer ... The ladies will host Mars Hill on Saturday.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (13-2, 3-1) remained in second place in the South Atlantic Conference with a pair of league wins at home last week against Brevard (61-45) and Newberry (61-59) on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively … L-R is currently tied for second place in the SAC race with Newberry (one game behind Tusculum) … Against the Tornados, the Bears jumped on the visitors early as they cruised to a 41-15 advantage at the break and led by as many as 31 points (48-17 and 50-19) early in the second half … Junior center Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.) led L-R with a double-double (19 points and 14 rebounds) and the Bears limited the Tornados to just 27 percent (14-of-52) shooting for the game … Junior guard Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) scored a personal-high 24 points including 17 points after halftime as L-R knocked Newberry from the ranks of the unbeaten in the South Atlantic Conference … Junior guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) had an outstanding all-around game for the Bears (nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists) and her free throws with 17 seconds left with L-R clinging to a 59-58 advantage were key in the victory … L-R was able to win despite a career-high 31 points Laura Marquardt … Lenoir-Rhyne's record after 15 games is its best since the 1979-80 campaign when the Bears started 14-1 … Holt is now just 33 points away from becoming the 14th player in school history to score 1,000 points in Lenoir-Rhyne history … Lenoir-Rhyne also received votes in last week's WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll … L-R plays away from home against Mars Hill (Wednesday at 6 p.m.) and Lincoln Memorial (Saturday at 6 p.m.) this week … Mars Hill leads the all-time series with L-R, 39-32, while the series with Lincoln Memorial is tied at two.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The ninth ranked Pioneers of Tusculum College proved to be too much for the Lady Railsplitter basketball team Wednesday night as they rolled over the LMU women 83-58 to drop the Lady Railsplitters to 5-8 overall and 0-3 in South Atlantic Conference play … Led by the three point shooting of Nikki Van Dine who came in off the bench to score 21 points, Tusculum shot 50.8 percent from the field en route to a 12-1 overall record and a 3-0 conference mark. The Pioneers' Kat Spears also entered the game off the bench to contribute 19 points, while point-guard Jasmine Gunn finished with 13 … LMU sophomore forward Megan Davis was the only Lady Railsplitter player to score double figures. Davis hit 4-8 of her shots from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line to finish with top scoring honors ... Although Brevard College took a 9-2 lead early in the game Saturday afternoon with LMU, the Lady Railsplitters put it all together midway through the first half, coming back from 13 points down to take a 75-64 win over the Tornados to pick up their first South Atlantic Conference victory of the year … Despite trailing by 13 points in the first half, LMU's defensive effort kicked in at about the 10 minute mark of the first half and took them into the locker room trailing by only two at the break … As the second half got underway, the momentum the LMU women took into the intermission carried over into the second half and the Lady Railsplitters eventually took the lead, building up a 17 point margin before emerging with an 11 point win to snap a three-game conference losing streak … Saturday's comeback was also sparked by several big shots from the perimeter throughout the game by junior guard Whitney Vannoy who finished the afternoon with 11 points, a perfect inside performace by center Andi Winney who was 5-5 in the paint for 10 points and a team-leading 16 point performance by point-guard Dayshalee Salaman who was 5-10 from the field and 4-6 from the free throw line in the battle with the Tornados to knock down 16 points … Add to all of that some quality minutes from the LMU bench which included nine rebounds from forward Cena Nasiloski and LMU was able to capture their first South Atlantic Conference win of the year … The win came among many question marks as to how the Lady Railsplitters would respond without the services of leading scorer Stephanie Wagner who was out of the lineup with an injury sustained on Friday evening in the Lady Railsplitters' last practice before their meeting with Brevard … Also, how LMU would defend without the starter and senior Kara Harris who was out of Saturday's lineup with a medical condition. All those questions were answered with a great deal of heart determination in Saturday's game … Now 6-8 on the year and 1-3 in league play, the Lady Railsplitters will take until Tuesday to get ready for their next road-test and South Atlantic Conference outing when they travel to Newberry, South Carolina to take on Newberry College.
MARS HILL - Newberry ended Mars Hill's two-game winning streak and defeated the Lions 76-64 this past Wednesday night inside Stanford Arena. Newberry improved to 10-4 and 3-0 in the SAC. Mars Hill dropped to 8-5 and 1-1 in the SAC ... With the game tied 8-8 at the midway point of the first half, Mars Hill went on a 9-0 run in a span of 3:10, capped by a layup from Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.). A Shamia Terry (Greenville, S.C.) layup at the 7:37 mark gave the Lions their largest lead of the half, 21-11 ... Newberry would respond as two Laura Marquardt (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) free throws sparked a 14-5 run to close the deficit to one point, 26-25. The Lions withstood the surge and Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) hit a long distance halfcourt shot as time expired to put Mars Hill up 35-29 at halftime ... Both teams' defenses were lights out in the first period. The Lions hit only 37.5 percent (12-32) from the field. Newberry shot 31.3 percent (10-32) and was 0-9 from behind the arc. Mars Hill forced seven turnovers while Newberry turned over the Lions four times ... Both teams opened the second half better in sync offensively. After a Jocelyn Williams (Greensboro, N.C.) layup gave the Lions a 43-32 advantage, Newberry went on a 13-3 run, finished off by a Marquardt jumper from the baseline, to close the gap to one point, 46-45. Newberry then grabbed its first lead since the first basket of the game off a Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) three pointer at the 13:20 mark in the second half. Her trey sparked an 8-0 run that gave Newberry a 58-49 lead at the 9:50 mark ... Mars Hill came back with a 7-0 run. A Terry layup at the 5:50 mark cut the margin to one point, 59-58, but the Lions would get no closer. Newberry finished off the game hitting eight consecutive free throws ... Marquardt posted a double-double for Newberry with 23 points and 10 rebounds. She scored 21 of her game-high point total in the second half. Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. McKinney finished the game with 13 points ... Young led all Lion scorers with 16 points. Terry and Megan Clevenger (Parrottsville, Tenn.) also netted double figures for Mars Hill with 12 and 11 points, respectively ... Mars Hill lost its second consecutive SAC game of the season to Carson-Newman 95-78 last Saturday night at Holt Fieldhouse. Carson-Newman improved to 11-3, 2-1 in the SAC. The Lions dropped to 8-6, 1-2 in the SAC ... Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) scored a game-high 21 points for the Lady Eagles. Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) followed up Kyle with 20 points. Ashley Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored 19 points and was 5-7 from three-point range. Angela Volentine (North Platte, Neb.) grabbed 10 rebounds for Carson-Newman ... Bria Smith (Snellville, Ga.) scored a season-high 20 points for Mars Hill on 4-8 shooting from behind the arc and was a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe. Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) pumped in 17 points for the Lions. Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) scored in double-figures with 11 points ... The Lady Eagles shot 60.3 percent (35-58) from the field while the Lions were only 39.7 percent (25-63) from the field ... Mars Hill will host Lenoir-Rhyne on January 14 inside Stanford Arena at 6 p.m. Tip-time is set for 6 p.m. The Lion Sports Network will host "Inside Mars Hill Basketball with Coaches Thomas Nash and Jennifer Nance" this Tuesday at 6 p.m. This coach's show will be aired live on ESPN Radio 1310 and 970 Big Wise in the Asheville market. The show also will be available live on the Internet at RedZoneMedia.com for listeners in the Mars Hill and out of Asheville markets.
NEWBERRY - This past week, the Newberry College women's basketball team went 1-1 with a victory over Mars Hill and a loss to Lenoir-Rhyne… On Wednesday the scarlet and gray took down the Mars Hill Lions on the road, 76-64… Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) led her team to victory and earned her second career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds... Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) also earned a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds… It was a rough start for the scarlet and gray who began the game shooting 3-for-17... However, their defense was sharp as they only trailed by 5 with 10 minutes remaining in the half… The Lions eventually pushed their lead to 10 points until NC went on a 14-5 run to cut the lead to a single point... Mars Hill pushed back and went back into the locker room with the 35-29 lead… The Lions immediately pushed their lead to 10 in the second half but the scarlet and gray came roaring back... Down by seven, Newberry went on a 19-3 run to retake the lead, 49-58... Despite the deficit, Mars Hill almost made a comeback, cutting the lead to four points with a minute remaining... Newberry hung onto their lead down the stretch and last second free throws pushed them towards a 12 point victory… It was an important win for Newberry as the ladies proved that they could win after being down by double-digits... The scarlet and gray's 10 point deficit was the largest the team has come back to win from this season… On Saturday night, the team traveled to Lenoir-Rhyne but came up short, 61-59… Despite the loss, Marquardt had one of her best games ever by earning a career high 31 points and eight rebounds… She shot 10-for-22 from the field and a blistering 6-for-12 from three-point range... Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) tied Marquardt for the game high in rebounds with eight and also earned a team high six assists… The first half was tight as both teams came out and played hard... Neither team could earn more than a four point lead until the final five minutes of the half... With Newberry leading 19-18, the scarlet and gray finished the half on a 9-5 run to enter the locker room with a five point lead… Lenoir-Rhyne came out of the break and took the fight right to the ladies from Newberry… With NC leading 34-38, the Bears went on a 17-5 run to give them an eight point lead… Newberry never gave up and cut the deficit to 1 point with just over a minute remaining… A pair of free throws gave L-R a three point lead but NC still had 17 seconds to send the game into overtime... Newberry's Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) put up her fifth three-point attempt of the night but it was blocked by Brittany Mitch… Marquardt collected the rebound but was fouled before she could shoot the game-tying attempt... She made the first free throw attempt and missed the second but Newberry could not collect the rebound... Cameron Sealey grabbed the board which sealed the two point victory for the Bears… The Newberry College women's basketball team now stands at 10-5 overall and 3-1 in the SAC… They will return home this Wednesday to take on Lincoln Memorial at 6 p.m.
TUSCULUM - The ninth-ranked Tusculum College women's basketball team posted a pair of double-digit South Atlantic Conference victories last week to improve to 13-1 overall this season, while holding the top spot in the league standings with a perfect 4-0 mark against SAC foes … Tusculum has now won 10 consecutive games, eight of which have featured winning margins of 10 or more points. The Pioneers have also posted nine straight wins against conference foes dating back to last year … Junior forward Kat Spears paced the black and orange in last week's pair of road wins, averaging 14.5 points, seven rebounds, and 4.5 blocks in 26 minutes per game off the bench for the Pioneers. The Memphis, Tenn. native scored a season-high 19 points in Wednesday's win over Lincoln Memorial, knocking down 8-of-13 shots from the field while registering seven rebounds and four rejections in the 83-58 victory. Spears followed that performance with 10 points, seven boards, and five blocks on Saturday as the Pioneers beat the Catawba Indians 74-56 in Salisbury, N.C. for their 10th straight win … Stephany Neptune extended her streak of five or more rebounds to 49 games with five boards against LMU before snatching a game-high 14 shots off the glass on Saturday. The junior forward also scored 11 points against Catawba to record her third double-double of the season, and her fourth game with 10 or more rebounds. Neptune also recorded four blocks last week to claim sole possession of second place on the program's all-time blocked shots list with 108 career rejections … Ashli Oliver knocked down six shots from behind the arc last week to move into seventh place in NCAA Division II history with 335 career three-pointers. With her 12 points against Catawba on Saturday, Oliver is now nine markers away from tying Whitley Campbell for sixth all-time at Tusculum with 1368 career points … Tusculum has shot the ball well over its last seven games, posting a field goal percentage of at least 47.5 percent during that span … The Pioneers enter the week leading the conference in scoring offense averaging 84.8 points per game, and are on pace to post the fourth-highest scoring average in school history. Tusculum is also leading the way in the SAC scoring margin race, outscoring its opponents by 22.7 points per game thus far … The Pioneers are a perfect 13-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points, and have eclipsed the 90-point barrier in six games thus far … Tusculum returns home for a non-conference game against North Greenville on Tuesday night at Pioneer Arena, and then travels to Jefferson City, Tenn. on Saturday for a SAC matchup with its league rival Carson-Newman.
WINGATE - The Wingate University women's basketball team lost a 76-67 decision to Catawba Wednesday evening in Cuddy Arena. Wingate had a 24-game home winning streak come to an end Wednesday, dating back to the 2006-07 season. The South Atlantic Conference contest was Wingate's only action last week ... Bulldog senior guard Anna Atkinson led Wingate, posting a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Freshman guard/forward Kurie Washington followed with 14 points, while junior center Stacie Rhodes had 10 points and seven boards ... Catawba erased a 10-point halftime deficit in the opening six minutes of the final frame, grabbing a 43-42 lead on a jumper at the 14:41 mark. The teams would then battle through six ties and six lead changes down the stretch before a fast-break hoop gave Catawba the lead for good at 66-65 with 2:22 remaining ... The fast-break bucket came during an 8-0 run that saw the Catawba lead grow to 70-65 on a pair of free throws with 1:15 to go. Wingate cut the margin to 70-67 on a layup by Atkinson, but Catawba prevailed ... Wingate scored the opening nine points and held a 37-27 edge at the break. The Catawba Indians made 28 percent of their shots in the opening half and were out-rebounded 27-18. Catawba forced 16 Bulldogs turnovers to keep Wingate in sight ... After its early spurt, a three-pointer by Washington put Wingate on top 24-13 with 10 minutes left in the opening half. Catawba used a 6-0 run to close within five, but the Bulldogs would lead by a dozen before the break ... Catawba improved its shooting markedly in the second half, hitting on 20-of-36 attempts (55 percent). Wingate hit 45 percent in the opening half, but made only 34 percent in the final half. Catawba would win the battle of the boards 43-39 and also the turnover struggle, committing 20 to 29 for the Bulldogs. Wingate returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 14, when they host Carson-Newman College at 6 p.m. ... Atkinson is featured on page 21 of the Winter 2009 edition of Sports Spectrum magazine. Sports Spectrum is a Christian sports magazine that highlights professional and college athletes. The publication has a subscriber base that reaches all 50 states, Canada and 10 foreign countries ... Atkinson is featured with three other NCAA student-athletes in the Up Next feature (A New Generation of Winners), written and compiled by Jim Gibbs. In the Winter 2009 issue of Sports Spectrum, Atkinson is featured next to East Carolina quarterback Patrick Pinkney, among others. In the feature, she shares a few career highlights, her favorite Bible verse and her goals ... This season, Atkinson leads Wingate (10-4 overall) with 15.6 points per game. In addition, she tops the team charts with 6.7 assists per game and 3.5 steals per game. The McDowell High School product leads the South Atlantic Conference in both assists and steals.