Women’s Basketball Notes, February 22, 2010
Women's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending February 21, 2010
BREVARD - The Tornados went 0-3 this week … They lost to Carson-Newman, 91-62 on Wednesday … Samantha Winn and Holli Flippo led the team with 11 points a piece … Anna Schlobohm followed with ten points … The Tornados led 37-36 at the half thanks to Millie Wharton's 3-pointer as time expired … Brevard played Thursday night as well losing to St. Andrew's, 84-81 at home … Winn recorded her fifth double double of the year with 21 points and 12 rebounds, ten of which were defensive rebounds … Brevard ended the week with a loss at Tusculum, 78-55 … Ten players contributed in scoring for the Tornados, led by Flippo, Lindsay Brendle, and Amanda Whitaker with nine each … Winn followed with eight points … The Tornados will finish the season this week with two home games, first against Newberry on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. and then Catawba on Saturday at 2:00.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The No. 22 Carson-Newman Lady Eagles picked up two wins in South Atlantic Conference play last week in their final two regular season home games at Holt Fieldhouse ... C-N defeated Brevard, 91-62, Wednesday night on Senior Night and outlasted Lincoln Memorial, 69-65, Saturday afternoon ... Brevard led the contest 37-36 at the half but Carson-Newman outscored the Tornados 55-25 in the second half ... Senior forward Shari Buford posted 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks going 10-for-18 from the field to lead all players ... Senior guard Ashley Kyle and junior guard Katlin Moore each had 12 points while Kyle added five assists and four steals ... Freshman forward Tasha Phillips had 11 points and four steals as well ... Carson-Newman shot 46.2 percent (36-for-78) from the field, and outrebounded Brevard 43-34, also forcing 26 turnovers ... Saturday afternoon, the Lady Eagles battled back and forth with the Lady Railsplitters for the entire afternoon as neither team led by more than seven points at any point ... Down by two points with less than one minute left to go, Carson-Newman scored the final six points of the contest to come away with the victory ... Kyle posted a team-high 19 points and went seven-for-seven from the line while Buford had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks ... Junior guard Mandy Mendenhall had 11 points while sophomore forward Zoriah Williams and Phillips each had eight points and seven rebounds with Williams adding four steals ... The Lady Eagles will round out the SAC Regular Season this week with contests at Catawba Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., and Saturday at Wingate at 2:00 p.m.
CATAWBA - The Catawba women lost both its games this week, losing 76-69 at Lincoln Memorial and 60-58 to league-leading Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday ... Against LMU, Catawba led most of the early part of the second half, but back-to-back three-pointers by the Railsplitters erased the advantage ... Catawba went down by six with just under four minutes left and got one chance to pull even, but Milica Ivanovic was off the mark on a three-point attempt with 15 seconds left ... LMU salted the game away with four free throws in the final 13 seconds ... Kisha Long led Catawba with 18 points, while Dana Hicks posted her 14th double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds ... Ivanovic added 16 points ... the Lady Indians had a three-point attempt at the buzzer hit off the back rim in their upset bid of #24 Lenoir-Rhyne ... Catawba trailed by double digits in the first half and battled back from a seven-point deficit to lead 56-55 with 2:17 left ... Lenoir-Rhyne got a steal and layup followed by a three-pointer to go up 60-56 with one minute remaining ... Renee Welfare hit two free throws with 15 seconds to go and after a L-R miss at the line Nisha Long got near the top of the key before shooting her rushed three-pointer at the buzzer ... Kisha Long scored a career-high 26 points in the loss and was the only Lady Indian in double figures ... she hit on 10-of-18 shot and went 4-of-6 from behind the arc ... Hicks pulled down 11 rebounds ... Hicks is still averaging a double-double on the season at 14.8 points and 11.3 rebounds ... Catawba has lost five of six since knocking off Carson-Newman in overtime back on Jan. 27 ... Catawba closes regular-season action this week, hosting Carson-Newman on Wednesday and traveling to Brevard on Saturday ... Catawba won both meetings earlier this season.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The No. 24 Lenoir-Rhyne University women's basketball team (18-6, 11-3) made it five in a row with a 60-58 victory over Catawba College Saturday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference contest at Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury, N.C. … L-R senior guard Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.) led the Bears with 16 points while senior guard Jami Safrit (Hickory, N.C.) added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists as Lenoir-Rhyne completed the season sweep of Catawba and has now won six in a row against the Lady Indians … Catawba, led by Kisha Long's game-high 26 points, rallied to take the lead late in the game (56-55) and had a chance to win but Nisha Long's game-winning, three-point attempt rimmed off in the closing seconds of the contest … L-R is also ranked second in last week's NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Rankings … Lenoir-Rhyne is 9-0 at home this year and has won 15 consecutive games South Atlantic Conference Regular Season contests at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium … The Bears have a chance to clinch at least a share of their second straight league championship with one win in their last two regular season games … L-R is 45-11 overall and 24-6 in South Atlantic Conference play since the start of last season … Senior guard Amber Holt (Charlotte, N.C.), who scored 10 points against Catawba, moved into fifth-place on L-R's all-time scoring list with 1,449 points … Holt also ranks third in assists in school history with 398 … Safrit ranks fourth in career assists with 391 … Lenoir-Rhyne hosts Wingate on Wednesday at 6 p.m., before ending the regular season with a game at Mars Hill on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. … L-R honoring its eight seniors for 2009-10 against the Bulldogs: Holt, Safrit, Mitch, Kristen Fulmer (Bradenton, Fla.), Leslie Conetta (Sarasota, Fla.), Jacquelyn Kremer (Sevierville, Tenn.), Denise Moore (Newport News, Va.) and Meredith Webster (High Point, N.C.) … Wingate leads the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne, 49-11, and prevailed earlier this season by a 73-70 score on January 27, 2010, in Wingate, N.C. … Mars Hill leads the series between the two schools by a 33-32 count but Lenoir-Rhyne won earlier this season, 79-59, on January 13, 2010, in Hickory, N.C. … L-R has won nine straight games against Mars Hill.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team improved to 9-15 overall and 6-8 in the South Atlantic Conference Wednesday evening by knocking off the SAC's No. 4 ranked team, Catawba College 76-69 at home in the Tex Turner Arena … The Lady Railsplitters went toe-to-toe throughout the first half with the Catawba Indians but went into the locker room trailing by one point 33-32 in a first half that had seven lead changes and five ties … The second half brought more of the same as the lead changed hands numerous times before the Lady Railsplitters were able to take the lead from Catawba for good with 6:06 to play on a jumper in the lane by Blandine Kikwiki Mamuku … Although Catawba attempted several runs in the final minutes, the LMU women held strong before coming away with the win on their biggest margin of the night at the final buzzer 76-69 … Sophomore guard Dayshalee Salaman led all scorers, coming off the bench to pump in 30 points … Center Blandine Kikwiki Mamuku had a good night in the paint with 12 points while sophomore guard Amberly O'Dell chipped in 10 … Junior forward Whitney Holmes led LMU on the glass with eight rebounds … The Lady Railsplitters had the late lead, but Carson-Newman came back to squeak out the 69-65 win over LMU Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference action … LMU (9-16, 6-9 SAC) had three players in double figures, led by Dayshalee Salaman with 21 points … Carolyn Mills had 17 and Blandine Kikwiki Mamuku added in 12 points … The Lady Eagles led for most of the game, but never were able to pull away from a scrappy LMU squad … LMU claimed the lead on a fast-break layup by Salaman with 14:51 to go in the game. The Lady Railsplitters then pulled ahead but never by more than five points … Carson-Newman tied the game up at 65-65 on a layup by Kyle with 55 seconds to go … LMU then had a turnover and was forced to foul. C-N hit both to go up 67-65 … Mills then missed a three pointer and LMU had to foul to get the ball back. Kyle hit both to put the game away … The Lady Railsplitters will face Urbana on Wednesday in their final home game of the season before closing out the regular season next Saturday at Newberry. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-0 during the previous week of play. Junior guard Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) poured in a career-high 37 points as the Lions knocked off the Bulldogs of Wingate University 101-100 in overtime in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening in Cuddy Arena. The Lions improve to 5-20 overall and 2-12 in the SAC. Mars Hill ended a nine-game losing streak to Wingate and a 12-game overall losing streak … Young hit 11-of-19 shots from the field and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. She also knocked down four-of-six from beyond the arc, while collecting five steals and four assists. Sophomore forward Margaret Harvey (Greensboro, N.C.) added 24 points, hitting nine-of-15 shots from the field … Mars Hill came out hot, jumping out to a 17-5 lead at the 13:28 mark of the first half. Young had nine points in the opening spurt. The Bulldogs used a 6-0 run to slice the lead to four with seven minutes remaining … Young answered with a three, followed by a jumper from Harvey to push the lead back to 28-19 six minutes before halftime. Wingate used an 11-3 run to cut the lead to one at the 2:45 mark. The Lions had the answer, closing the half on a 12-2 run. Harvey had four points in the spurt, while freshman forward Sasha Zebrowski (Burnsville, N.C.) capped it with a jumper with four seconds left … The Bulldogs used a 13-4 run to tie the game at 63 eight minutes into the second half. Washington had five points in the spurt, including the layup that tied it. A pair of free throws from Brooks put Wingate on top 68-67 with 11 minutes left. A pair of jumpers from junior forward Jessy Keitt (Charlotte, N.C.), along with a Washington bucket gave Wingate its largest lead of the game at 75-67 at the 9:45 mark … The Lions chipped away at the lead over the next several minutes. A three-point play from Young tied the game with 3:14 left in regulation. Young would drain a jumper at the 2:33 mark to give Mars Hill a one-point lead. A layup from Wollett, followed by a pair of Brooks free throws gave Wingate an 85-81 lead with 48 seconds left … Sophomore guard Narcissa Grayson (Danville, Va.) canned a layup to cut the lead to one with 33 seconds to go. Wingate sophomore guard Gladney Brown (High Point, N.C.) answered with a layup for a three point lead with 25 seconds remaining. The Lions once again turned to Young, who drained a three with 16 seconds left to tie it at 88 and send it into overtime … Jumpers from Young and Grayson, followed by a layup from Young gave Mars Hill a 97-92 lead halfway through overtime. The Bulldogs would not go away, cutting the lead to one on a trifecta from Washington with 35 seconds remaining. Young hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three. Washington could not connect on the next possession, and Young knocked down another free throw with seven seconds left. Washington drained her fifth three of the night at the buzzer for the final score … Mars Hill shot 46.7 percent from the field, while hitting nine-of-19 from three point range (47.4 percent). The Bulldogs shot 46.5 percent, while hitting seven-of-18 shots from beyond the arc (38.9 percent). Wingate held a 50-37 rebounding advantage. Each team had 16 fast break points and 24 points off of turnovers … Mars Hill hosts Tusculum inside Stanford Arena next Wednesday at 6 p.m.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team split its games last week with a loss to Tusculum and win over Wingate… Against Tusculum, the teams were evenly matched in every aspect of a game that came down to the wire, but a last-second layup put Tusculum on top… Tusculum's game-winning buzzer beater was the only thing that separated the teams' field goal efforts as the Pioneers shot .442 (23-52) while Newberry went .431 (22-51) from the floor… The rebounds were close as well with Tusculum pulling down 35 compared to 29 for the scarlet and gray… Newberry is now 2-6 in games when outrebounded by opponents… Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) dominated in the first half despite being defended by the 6'8" Catherine Hintz (Hastings, Minn.)... Bulcher accounted for each of Newberry's first eight points in the game… Tusculum managed just one field goal in the final seven minutes of the first half as Newberry closed on a 15-4 run to trail just 32-30 at the half… Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) later put up six points in less than 30 seconds on a pair of three pointers to put Newberry up 38-35… Newberry later mustered just three points in over four minutes while Tusculum dropped 14 to lead 62-56 with 3:40 showing on the clock… Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) drew a foul diving for a loose ball late in the game... Creet converted her free throws in clutch fashion to give Newberry the 67-66 advantage with 15 seconds left… On Tusculum's ensuing possession, the ball was tied up and the officials called for a jump ball with four thenths of a second remaining and the possession arrow favoring the Pioneers… Kat Spears (Memphis, Tenn.) gave a bounce pass to a cutting Jasmine Parker (Rex, Ga.) who somehow managed to get up the game-winning layup off before time expired… Bulcher finished the game with a career-high 35 points and 15 rebounds to complete her sixteenth double-double of the year and sixth consecutively… McKinney managed 11 points for the scarlet and gray while Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) contributed five assists… Newberry bounced back with a comeback win over Wingate… Newberry (17-7, 10-4 SAC) trailed 33-26 at the half but outscored Wingate (14-11, 7-7 SAC) 42-28 in the second half to win 68-61… Wingate started the game off on a 10-2 run over the first five minutes of the game… The Bulldogs led by as many as ten with 16:38 to play in the second half but Newberry opened a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to eventually take a 42-41 lead… Newberry never trailed again and built a 12-point lead with less than six minutes remaining… A quick 10-3 Wingate run cut the lead to three, but Newberry only allowed the Bulldogs to score two points in the final three minutes as the scarlet and gray held on for the 68-61 victory… Anita Bulcher led Newberry offensively with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Her performance earned her seventeenth double-double of the season and seventh in as many games… McKinney added 20 for Newberry and pulled down a game-leading 16 rebounds… Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) found her way into double digit scoring as well with 13 points… Watson also had two blocks and six rebounds… Amy Browne played 39 minutes for Newberry and scored 10 points to become Newberry's fourth double-digit scorer... Browne also added three rebounds, three assists and a steal… Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) displayed her court vision once again with a game-high six-assist performance... Bearzatto also forced two Wingate turnovers and blocked two shots… Newberry takes to the road for its last regular-season road trip against Brevard on Wednesday, February 24.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum College women's basketball team posted a 2-0 worksheet in South Atlantic Conference play last week, defeating Newberry 68-67 at the buzzer on Wednesday before sweeping the season series against Brevard with a 78-55 win over the Tornados … Tusculum (16-9, 9-6 SAC) has won seven of its last nine games to enter the week in fourth place in the conference standings … The Pioneers evened the season series against Newberry on Wednesday, defeating the Scarlett and Gray 68-67 on a buzzer-beating layup by Jasmine Parker … Jasmine Gunn led all scorers with a career-high 35 points, connecting on 13-of-25 attempts from the floor and going 9-for-10 at the charity stripe to pace the Pioneers … The 4-11 All-American also hauled down a team-high seven rebounds while dishing out four assists … Parker joined Gunn in double figures with 14 points while tying Gunn for the team-lead with seven rebounds … Tusculum won the battle on the glass by a 35-to-29 margin, holding Newberry to a season-low 29 boards … The Pioneers swept the season series against Brevard for the third consecutive year, defeating the Tornados 78-55 behind Gunn's 13th 20-point game of the campaign … Tusculum won the battle on the glass for the second straight game against Brevard, out-rebounding the Tornados by a 39-to-35 margin, including a 16-to-9 edge on the offensive boards … The Pioneers forced 26 Brevard turnovers, converting those miscues into 31 points … Gunn poured in a game-high 27 points while converting 11-of-13 attempts from the free throw line … The Nashville, Tenn. native recorded game-highs of seven assists and five steals, marking the fourth time this season Gunn has recorded at least five assists and five steals in the same game … Gunn also attained an impressive career milestone in Saturday's game, becoming the third player in program history to reach the 500-assist plateau while moving into a tie with Catawba great Ashley Cox for sixth on the SAC's all-time list with 500 career helpers … Catherine Hintz and Kendal Baxter joined Gunn in double figures with 17 and 11 points, respectively … Hintz shot 6-of-9 from the floor and went 5-for-5 at the free throw line, while hauling down eight rebounds and recording three blocked shots … Baxter knocked down a trio of three-pointers for the Pioneers to swell her season total to 78 triples, two shy of tying Nikki Van Dine's 2007-08 mark of 80 treys for sixth on the program's single-season list … Tusculum are 8-1 this season when scoring over 80 points, and enter the week with a 10-1 mark when posting a field goal percentage over 45 percent … The Pioneers rank second in the conference in field goal percentage (43.4), scoring offense (77.7), scoring margin (+8.7), and steals (10.2).Tusculum has five 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 25 games … Kat Spears is now within striking distance of the program's all-time blocked shots record, currently sitting second all-time with 129 career rejections, 12 behind former teammate Stephany Neptune's school-record total of 141 blocks … Gunn currently ranks in the top 10 in program history in seven career categories, including assists (3rd/500), free throws made (3rd/403), free throws attempted (3rd/514), steals (4th/205), while ranking first all-time in program history with an average of 5.7 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 270 helpers … The Pioneers wrap up their regular season schedule on Wednesday when they travel to Mars Hill, N.C. for a 6 p.m. matchup with Mars Hill College.
WINGATE - The Wingate University women's basketball team lost two tough games last week. On Saturday, Newberry College received huge double-doubles from two players as the scarlet-and-gray survived 68-61 over the Bulldogs at Eleazer Arena on the Newberry campus. Wingate is 14-11 overall and 7-7 in the SAC. The Bulldogs visit Lenoir-Rhyne University Wednesday night for a 6 p.m. contest … Wingate sophomore guard/forward Kurie Washington led all scorers with 29 points. The 2009 SAC Freshman of the Year hit 10-of-15 field goals and four-of-seven three-point field goals. Bulldog junior forward Jessy Keitt added 10 points and five rebounds … In the pivotal second half, Washington gave Wingate its biggest lead when she hit back-to-back trifectas early in the frame. The second triple put the Bulldogs up 39-29 with 16:38 to play … Newberry's Helen McKinney put together a personal 9-0 run to give the hosts the lead for good. She hit three straight three-point field goals, the last one at the 11:59 mark to give the scarlet-and-gray a 42-41 edge. Two free throws with 5:49 remaining made the score 61-49 Newberry and completed a 32-10 explosion for the hosts … The Bulldogs did not quit, as Wingate cut the deficit to 61-55 on a jumper by sophomore guard Gladney Brown with 4:14 to play. Two free throws by Keitt made the score 62-59 with 3:07 to go, but the Bulldogs would get no closer … Newberry outrebounded Wingate 47-42. Brown led Wingate with seven boards off the bench. Both teams had one hot shooting half. The Bulldogs converted 48.1 percent of their first half attempts (13-of-27), while the hosts hit 43.3 percent of their second half tries (13-of-30). Both teams shot in the 30th percentile for the game … Wingate's bench outscored the Newberry reserves 18-2. The scarlet-and-gray held an 18-7 advantage in second-chance points. Wingate tallied 32 points in the paint, compared to 22 points in the lane for Newberry. The Bulldogs missed ESPN The Magazine All-America® candidate Stacie Rhodes (Knightdale, N.C.), who did not play Saturday. The senior center was attending the funeral of her grandmother, who passed away earlier in the week … In the first half, Wingate started strong. The Bulldogs led 10-2 on a jumper by junior forward Stefani Shuey at the 14:57 mark. Washington and Keitt contributed four points each to the opening flurry. Newberry rallied, putting together a 16-6 run to take an 18-16 lead at the 7:03 plateau … The 18-16 advantage was Newberry's only first half lead. A free throw by freshman forward Tish Logan nudged Wingate's lead to 31-24 with 38 seconds left in the opening frame. Bulldog junior guard CC Brooks hit a jumper with one second to go, making the halftime score 33-26 Wingate … Mars Hill outlasted Wingate 101-100 in overtime Wednesday night. Washington had a career-high 32 points for the Bulldogs, hitting 11-of-19 shots from the field and five-of-nine from beyond the arc. Rhodes had 11 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists. Freshman guard Sarah Wollett (Raleigh, N.C.) had 11 points and eight assists for the Bulldogs, while Brooks contributed 14 points and five assists … Mars Hill came out hot, jumping out to a 17-5 lead at the 13:28 mark of the first half. The Bulldogs used a 6-0 run to slice the lead to four with seven minutes remaining. Logan had four points in the spurt, while Rhodes capped it with a jumper … The Lions pushed the lead back to 28-19 six minutes before halftime. Wingate used an 11-3 run to cut the lead to one at the 2:45 mark. Wollett got it started with a three, while Washington finished it with a jumper and two free throws. The Lions had the answer, closing the half on a 12-2 run … The Bulldogs used a 13-4 run to tie the game at 63 eight minutes into the second half. Washington had five points in the spurt, including the lay-up that tied it. A pair of free throws from Brooks put Wingate on top 68-67 with 11 minutes left. A pair of jumpers from Keitt, along with a Washington bucket gave Wingate its largest lead of the game at 75-67 at the 9:45 mark … The Lions chipped away at the lead over the next several minutes. A three-point play tied the game with 3:14 left in regulation. Mars Hill took a one-point lead at the 2:33 mark. A lay-up from Wollett, followed by a pair of Brooks free throws gave Wingate an 85-81 lead with 48 seconds left … Mars Hill canned a lay-up to cut the deficit to one with 33 seconds to go. Brown answered with a lay-up for a three-point lead with 25 seconds remaining. The Lions drained a three with 16 seconds left to tie it at 88 and send it into overtime … Mars Hill took a 97-92 lead halfway through overtime. The Bulldogs would not go away, cutting the lead to one on a trifecta from Washington with 35 seconds remaining. The Lions hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three. Washington could not connect on the next possession, and Mars Hill knocked down another free throw with seven seconds left. Washington drained her fifth three of the night at the buzzer for the final score … Mars Hill shot 46.7 percent from the field, while hitting nine-of-19 from three point range (47.4 percent). The Bulldogs shot 46.5 percent, while hitting seven-of-18 shots from beyond the arc (38.9 percent). Wingate held a 50-37 rebounding advantage. Each team had 16 fast break points and 24 points from turnovers.