Women’s Basketball Notes, December 20, 2009

Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending December 20, 2009.

BREVARD - The Tornados defeated Belmont Abbey 56-51 in their only game this week. Samantha Winn, who leads the conference in scoring, scored 23 points, while shooting 60 percent (9-15) from the field, and pulled down six rebounds … The Tornados continued good defensive play with 17 team steals led by Holli Flippo and Anna Schlobohm with four a piece. Schlobohm also led the team with five assists ... The Tornados will return to action when they travel to Mars Hill on January 2 for their second conference game of the year.

CARSON-NEWMAN - No. 22 Carson-Newman improved to 10-0 this week with a 78-64 win over USC Aiken on the road ... The victory came just two days after the Pacers knocked off the No. 23 Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne and it was only the seventh time since the 2007-08 season that USCA has lost at home ... Senior Ashley Kyle led the way for C-N with 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals while freshman Candis Clear tallied a career-high 19 points including five three-pointers ... Junior Mandy Mendenhall and sophomore Cassie Bates registered 14 and 11 points, respectively, while sophomore Zoriah Williams had eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds ... The Lady Eagles shot 42 percent from the floor and 82 percent from the free throw line and hit a season-high eight treys ... C-N is off for 11 days before their next contest when they travel to Augusta State on December 30 to complete the home-and-home series between the two schools.

CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians picked up a pair of victories to improve to 6-3 … Sophomore Dana Hicks (York, SC/Gaston Day) scored 22 points to help Catawba to an 85-71 win over visiting Saint Paul's in women's basketball action on Wednesday night at Goodman Gym ... Catawba placed three players in double figures as Milica Ivanovic (Belgrade, SERBIA/Sports High/Bethel) followed Hicks with 19 points and Nisha Long (Dallas, NC/Gaston Day) added 14 points, five assists and four steals. Hicks pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds, while Ivanovic added five rebounds and four blocked shots ... Catawba held as much as a 23-point lead early in the second half, but had to withstand several Saint Paul's rallies. A 9-0 run pulled the Lady Tigers within 48-34 at the 14:54 mark, but Long had two free throws and a jumper to push the Catawba edge to 57-37 with 12:22 remaining. Cook canned consecutive three-pointers to cut the Lady Tiger deficit to 63-48 with 9:04 to go then Jolysa Connor (Charlotte, NC/Waddell HS) hit a pair of free throws and had a steal and layup to give Catawba a 70-51 lead with 7:22 left ... Saint Paul's made one last run, trimming the margin to 76-66 with 1:42 remaining, but Hicks iced the issue as she converted a three-point play with 1:25 left for a 79-66 advantage. Catawba wrapped things up by converting four free throws in the final 34 seconds and finished the night 30-of-34 (88 percent) at the line ... Catawba shot 33 percent (10-of-30) in the first half, but had a huge edge at the line, converting 21-of-25 chances … Catawba led wire-to-wire in posting its third straight win with an 83-69 victory over visiting Mount Olive in women's basketball action on Friday afternoon at Goodman Gym. The Catawba Indians improve to 6-3 and give Coach Angie Morton her 200th career win ... Nisha Long (Dallas, NC/Gaston Day) scored 18 points to lead Catawba, scoring 13 in the opening half as the Lady Indians raced to a 42-28 edge. Kisha Long (Dallas, NC/Gaston Day) followed with 16 points, 13 in the second half, including a key three-pointer with 3:10 remaining for a 70-62 lead. Maggie Sullivan (Fort Mill, SC/Charlotte Christian HS) and Dana Hicks (York, SC/Gaston Day) also reached double figures for Catawba with 12 and 10 points, respectively ... Catawba shot 52 percent in the opening half ... The Lady Indians hit on 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to hold on ... Milica Ivanovic (Belgrade, SERBIA/Sports High/Bethel) scored eight points, pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and dished out five assists. Sullivan hit on all six of her field goal attempts … Catawba continued its hot shooting, making 56 percent in the final half to finish at 53.4 percent for the game … The Lady Indians also held a 38-31 edge on the boards.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (7-2) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped on Thursday when the Bears fell to the Pacers of USC Aiken (5-4) by a 63-51 score at the Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C. … Sophomore guard Cameron Sealey (Gastonia, N.C.) and senior guard Jami Safrit (Hickory, N.C.) led Lenoir-Rhyne with 11 and 10 points, respectively, but the Bears shot just 31 percent (15-of-48) from the field in the loss … USC Aiken's Catherine Cain led the Pacers with a double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds) as the Pacers avenged an earlier loss to the Bears (L-R defeated USC Aiken at home by a score of 59-57 on November 24) … Senior guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.) is currently eighth in points (1,273) and fifth in assists (347) on Lenoir-Rhyne's career lists… Senior center Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.) and Safrit are looking to become the 14th and 15th players in school history to cross the 1,000-point mark for their Bear careers … Moore has 880 points while Safrit is up to 877 … Lenoir-Rhyne is off until December 29 and 30 when it plays in the Heritage Bank Holiday Classic in Morrow, Ga. … L-R plays Lander (December 29 at 3:30 p.m.) and Clayton State (December 30 at 5:30 p.m.) … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series with Lander, 3-1, but Clayton State holds an all-time advantage of 2-0 over L-R.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The LMU women basketball team dropped a pair of close games at the Florida Tech Holiday Tournament … The Lincoln Memorial University women dropped a close 67-64 decision Friday evening with Fort Valley State University … LMU led through much of the first half only to see a seven point lead diminish to a 34 all time at the end of the first twenty minutes of play. With the beginning of the second half, the Lady Railsplitters pulled out to as much as a five point lead with 16:18 to play before FVSU came back and tied the game at 44 with 10:36 to go … After trading the lead over the next few minutes, Fort Valley State University took the lead for good with 7:50 on the clock and held off the Lady Railsplitters down the stretch to come away with the 67-64 win … LMU sophomore guard Amberley O'Dell (Argos, IN) finished the night as the team's leading scorer with 20 points, while junior center Blandine Kikwiki Mamuku (Kinshasa DR, Congo) turned in a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore point-guard Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, Puerto Rico) also chipped in 13 points … On Saturday evening, the Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team closed out the early portion of the 2009-10 schedule with a heartbreaking 76-72 loss to the Panthers of Florida Tech in the Florida Teck Holiday Classic in Melbourne, Florida … LMU and Florida Tech traded leads throughout the first half with the Lady Railsplitters leading most of the way but Florida Tech pulling to within one (34-33) just before the half to erase LMU's 9-point first half lead … The final 20 minutes of play had nine lead changes and saw the Lady Railsplitters open up as much as a 7-point lead. LMU held the lead from the 13:49 mark of the second half until Florida Tech tied the game at 59 with 2:56 to play. At that point, the Lady Railsplitters regained the lead on back-to-back layups by Whitney Holmes (Oklahoma City, OK) and Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, Puerto Rico) but FTU tied the game again at 63 with six seconds to go to eventually send it to overtime … Although LMU's Salaman scored the first two points of the overtime period on a jumper in the paint, the game belonged to Florida Tech from that point, with the Panthers taking the lead with 4:09 to go and holding it to the end for the 76-72 win … Dayshalee Salaman led the Lady Railsplitters in scoring with 23 points and was named to the all-tournament team along with LMU's Blandine Kikwiki Mamuku (Kinshasa DR Congo). Kikwikia Mamuku completed her second double-double in as many days with 15 point and 11 rebounds … Now 2-6 overall, the Lady Railsplitters return to action on December 29 against Georgia College & State University in the first round of the GC&SU Holiday Classic. LMU will take on UNC-Pembroke in the final game of that classic.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill lost both of their games last week playing in Florida Tech's Holiday Classic in Melbourne, Florida … In the first game of the event, Mars Hill lost in the first round of Florida Tech's Holiday Classic to the host institution, 71-58 … Mars Hill's Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) came into the tournament leading the team with an average of 20 points per contest. In the first six minutes, she collected five of her team's first 11 points as the Lions held a 11-3 lead over the Panthers. Tech clawed back into the game and a three-pointer by Amanda Allen trimmed Mars Hill's lead to just three, 14-11. Nelson gave her team a one-point lead following two free throws, but a layup by Narcissa Grayson (Danville, Va.) put the Lions back up by one point. With her team trailing by three, McClairen caught fire, converting a three-point play, nailing a three-pointer and swishing a jumper on three straight possessions to put her team on top, 25-23, with 3:18 remaining in the opening half. Mars Hill would add one more point on a free throw prior to halftime, but the Panthers went into the locker room with a five-point advantage, 29-24. In the second half, Tech extended its lead to a game-high eight points following layups by McClairen and Kristen Dixon. Before Mars Hill was able to cut the Panthers' lead back to single digits, McClairen launched another three-pointer to give Tech a 45-34 advantage. Mars Hill showed some resiliency, cutting its deficit to eight on a three-point play by Beth Miller (Burlington, N.C.), but just as the Lions appeared to inch closer, McClairen hit her third long-distance shot of the game to give Tech a 61-50 lead with 4:31 to go. As the Lions began to foul in an attempt to come back in the final few minutes, Nelson and McClairen were able to help the Panthers seal the win by converting their free throw chances. Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) led MHC recording a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. It was Deal's third double-double so far this season. In the second game of the tournament, Mars Hill lost to unbeaten Fort Valley State. MHC lost by a score of 77-61 and fell to 2-8 on the season. The Lions trailed 38-30 at halftime and was out scored 39-31 in the second frame to make the final tally, 77-61. Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) led MHC with 20 points and six rebounds. Margaret Harvey (Greensboro, N.C.) and Narcissa Grayson (Danville, Va.) followed scoring 11 points apiece. Mars Hill will play at Belmont Abbey College on December 30. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

NEWBERRY - Newberry picked up a pair of wins to improve to 8-2 … Newberry limited Pfeiffer to only 13 field goals in the entire game and cruised to a 68-51 victory on Tuesday … Newberry allowed an early three pointer from the Lady Falcons, but then exploded for the next 16 points of the game to build its lead … Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) led Newberry scorers in the opening half with 10 points. In only her second appearance at Newberry after serving a semester of ineligibility, Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) had with eight points, three rebounds and two steals at the break … Newberry stretched the lead to 20 in the opening five minutes of the second half after a handful of jumpers from McKinney and Creet. Newberry saw its biggest lead at 28 when a Briana Johnson (Irmo, S.C.) jumper made it 59-31 just after the midway point of the second half … Newberry shot 84.6 percent (22-26) from the free-throw line … The scarlet and gray held the Lady Falcons to just 28.3 percent (13-46) from the field … McKinney ended the day leading all scorers with 15 points. Amy Browne (Maroochydore, Australia) had 14 points and led the team in assists with five … Creet ended the afternoon with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals … Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) narrowly missed her seventh consecutive double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points. Her six consecutive games with a double-double tied her for tenth place all-time in the NCAA Division-II record book … In its last game before the holiday break, the Newberry College women's basketball team defeated Anderson in non-conference action Saturday afternoon. Newberry (8-2) dominated the second half, outscoring Anderson (3-4) 42-28 in the period en route to a 76-57 victory … Anita Bulcher's (Russia, Ohio) back-to-back fast-break layups put the scarlet and gray ahead 27-18 and gave Newberry its largest lead of the half with four minutes left in the period. Bulcher had eight points at the break … Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) shot 66.6 percent (4-6) on three-point attempts in the first half. She led all scorers with 12 points at the break. Newberry shot 55.6 percent (5-9) on three point attempts as a team in the first half … The scarlet and gray opened an 18-2 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half … Newberry shot 81 percent (17-21) from the free-throw line in the game … Newberry went 26-61 (42.6 percent) from the field on the afternoon … McKinney and Bulcher, Newberry's leading and second-leading scorers this season, led the team yet again with 20 points apiece. Bulcher ended the day with her seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds … Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) also found herself in double digits with 10 points. She was a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line and had three assists as well … Newberry is off next week for the holidays but will return to action on December 29, to face off against the Division I Davidson Wildcats.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculun women's basketball team posted a pair of tough losses to No. 17 Francis Marion and No. 15 Clayton State last week, as each of TC's foes launched a second-half rally to defeat the Pioneers at Wingate's Ortho Carolina Classic … Tusculum fell victim to an 18-0 run by Francis Marion on Friday night to open the second half, propelling the Patriots to an 83-71 win … Jasmine Gunn poured in a game-high 20 points to pace the Pioneers, while Kat Spears pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds and set a school record with seven blocked shots … Staci Hicks also pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds while Brenica Shephard poured in a personal-best 11 points … Clayton State improved its all-time record against the Pioneers to 3-0 with an 87-79 overtime win on Saturday, scoring the final 10 points of the extra period to cap the come-from-behind win … Jasmine Parker and Staci Hicks scored 14 points each to record season-highs in scoring, while Kat Spears notched her fifth game of the campaign with 10 or more rebound as the senior pulled down 12 boards … Freshman Kendal Baxter knocked down four three-pointers, giving her 34 triples through nine games this season … Gunn and Baxter have combined for more than 30 points per game this season, paced by Gunn's career-high average of 16.7 markers per contest … Spears is nearly averaging a double-double this season, averaging 9.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game thus far … Tusculum is off for the Christmas holiday, returning to the court on December 30 at home against Virginia Intermont College.

WINGATE - The Wingate University Bulldogs knocked down 37 free throws en route to an 87-85 NCAA Division II women's basketball victory over No. 17 Francis Marion University Saturday afternoon on day two of the 2009 OrthoCarolina Classic. The Bulldogs improve to 6-4 overall, while the Patriots drop their first game of the season. FMU is 9-1 overall entering the Christmas break ... In the FMU victory, sophomore guard/forward Kurie Washington led the Wingate attack with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Sarah Rosser added 14 points, knocking down four-of-four shots from beyond the arc. Senior center Stacie Rhodes had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Bulldogs, while sophomore guard Stephanie Whitenack had 10 points and six assists ... The Bulldogs led 48-45 at halftime. Francis Marion tied the contest early in the second frame, but Wingate answered with an 11-3 run to take a 59-51 lead five minutes into the second half. Bulldog junior forward Erica Crumlin had four points in the stretch, while Washington capped it with a three. The Patriots cut the lead to one, thanks to a 10-1 flurry ... The Bulldogs once again had the answer, stretching the lead back to seven on a jumper from freshman guard Britney Mitchell and a free throw from freshman guard Sarah Wollett with 6:32 remaining. Francis Marion fought back, slicing the lead to one with three minutes to go. Back-to-back lay-ups from Washington built the Wingate lead back to five with 2:33 left ... A Francis Marion inside hoop cut the Patriot deficit to 87-85 Wingate with 48 seconds remaining. The Patriots got the ball back, but Whitenack came up with a huge steal with 24 seconds remaining. Francis Marion had one final chance, getting the ball back with 10 seconds remaining. The Patriots were unable to get a tying attempt before the final buzzer ... Wingate shot 39.6 percent from the field in the game, while knocking down 37-of-50 free throws (74 percent). The Bulldogs hit eight-of-13 from beyond the arc (61.5 percent). Francis Marion held a 44-39 rebounding advantage, while outscoring Wingate 28-14 in the paint. The Bulldogs converted 24 Francis Marion turnovers into 32 points. The Patriots shot 41.2 percent from the field and hit nine-of-25 shots from three point range (36 percent). The game featured 59 fouls and 78 free throws ... On Friday night, the 15th-ranked Clayton State University Lakers rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat Wingate 69-65 on day one of the 2009 OrthoCarolina Classic Friday night in Cuddy Arena. Washington led the Wingate attack with a season-high 28 points, knocking down four-of-five shots from beyond the arc and 10-of-10 free throws on the night. Crumlin posted a season-high 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs, while junior guard/forward CC Brooks contributed five points and five assists ... Clayton State shot 40.3 percent from the floor for the night, while hitting six-of-17 shots from three point range (35.3 percent). The Lakers racked up 19 steals on the night, scoring 24 fast break points compared to Wingate's seven. The Bulldogs shot 39.6 percent from the field on the night, while knocking down seven-of-13 shots from beyond the arc (53.8 percent). Wingate had 10 steals, while forcing 26 Clayton State turnovers. The Lakers held a 46-34 rebounding edge, while pulling down 21 offensive rebounds compared to Wingate's eight ... Wingate's Washington and Francis Marion guard Shana Franks were named to the four-person All-Classic team. The All-Classic team also includes Clayton State University forward Tanisha Woodard and Tusculum College forward Kat Spears ... Earlier in the week, Washington netted 21 points while pulling down six rebounds to lead the Bulldogs past the Trojans of Anderson University 76-51 in Division II women's basketball action Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena ... Washington hit nine-of-15 shots from the field, while knocking down two-of-three shots from beyond the arc. Rhodes had 12 points and five rebounds, hitting six-of-seven shots from the field. Brooks added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Whitenack handed out a career-high nine assists ... Wingate shot 46.2 percent from the floor on the night, while hitting three-of-six shots from beyond the arc (50 percent). Wingate converted 29 Anderson turnovers into 26 points, while holding a 41-40 edge in rebounding. The Bulldogs outscored the Trojans 38-24 in the paint ... Washington averaged 22.3 points per game last week. The 2009 SAC Freshman of the Year shot 50 percent from the field on the week, while shooting 89.5 percent from the free throw line and 66.7 percent from three point range ... The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010, hosting Lincoln Memorial University at 2 p.m.