GWU Wins the Big South Conference Regular Season Title Outright
Conway, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb Lady Bulldogs are the 2009-10 Big South Conference Regular Season Champions, as GWU held off Coastal Carolina for the 74-68 win on Friday night in Kimbel Arena to win the regular season championship outright.

Gardner-Webb overcame foul trouble all night long and a Coastal Carolina team that shot 25-of-29, 86.2 percent, from the free throw line for the game, to pick up its 15 conference win and its first-ever regular season conference championship in the program's 35-year history.

With the win, the Lady Bulldogs finished the regular season at 26-3 overall and 15-1 in Big South Conference play, including going 8-0 on the road during its conference slate.

In the first half, GWU came out on fire offensively and overcame both early foul trouble and 10 first half turnovers, as the Lady Bulldogs shot 52 percent, 13-of-25, from the floor over the first 20 minutes of play.

It was the two preseason all-conference selections for GWU that led the Lady Bulldogs hot offense, as both senior Margaret Roundtree and Dominique Hudson had 10 points apiece to take a 38-25 lead into the halftime intermission.

Foul trouble haunted the Lady Bulldogs in the second half, as Coastal Carolina cut the lead to single digits in the closing minutes of the contest, yet two free throws by junior guard Courtney Epps and strong team defense by the GWU allowed the visitors to come away with the 74-68 win.

Epps had a team-high 18 points, while redshirt-junior center Sandra Vaitkute added 17 points in the paint for the Lady Bulldogs.  Hudson had 16 points, including going 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line, while Roundtree poured in 14 points and eight rebounds for the game.

Coastal Carolina was led by Sydnei Moss, who had a game-high 23 points, while Amanda Stull and Devin Rivers added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Gardner-Webb will now set its sights on the 2010 Big South Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament hosted by High Point University in High Point, N.C.  The Lady Bulldogs, who will be the No. 1 seed.

Coastal Carolina will host Presbyterian College in its regular season finale on Monday, March 8, at 7 p.m. in Conway, S.C.

Fansler, Cole Lead Winthrop To Victory At UNC Asheville
ASHEVILLE, NC- Jessica Fansler scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to lead Winthrop to a 73-66 victory over UNC Asheville, Friday evening at the Justice Center.

The win is the first on the road in the Big South this year for the Lady Eagles, who improve to 13-16 overall and 7-8 in the league. UNC Asheville falls to 8-21 overall and 3-13 in the Big South.

Fansler opened up the second half by scoring eight straight points and 10 of the Lady Eagles first 14 second half points to help Winthrop get back in the game and take a 38-36 lead with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game. Lacey Lyons hit a three-pointer with 10:30 to go in the game to put Winthrop in front 45-38, but UNC Asheville responded as Lindsey Thompson beat everyone down the floor for an easy lay-in to make it 45-40. UNCA cut the lead to 47-43 as Dana Wagner came off the bench and drained a three from straight away. Fansler fired right back with a three of her own for a 50-47 advantage.

The lead was cut to 61-55 after a Kendall Shepard jumper off a turnover and Winthrop turned the ball over right after the basket, but UNCA gave it right back and Fansler hit another three off an offensive rebound.

Winthrop shot 65 percent from the floor in the second half and only committed three turnovers as it tied its highest total for a half this season at 49.

It was difficult to pull away from the Bulldogs as they continued to get to the foul line and finished the game a perfect 23-for-23.

Much of the first half was back and forth that saw four ties and seven lead changes, but UNC Asheville finished the half on an 8-3 run for a 29-24 lead at the break. After TaQuoia Hammick scored inside to tie the game at 21-21, the Bulldogs reeled off six straight points behind back-to-back Shepard lay-ups and a short jumper by Kiana Rainey. 

Neither team shot the ball very well in the first half, as Winthrop was 11-for-34 (34 percent) and 1-for-11 behind the arc. UNC Asheville was 9-for-27 (33 percent) as well as a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line. Each team committed 10 turnovers.

Fansler also had a career-high five three pointers made en route to her 19 point performance. Cole added 16 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Cole also led the team with seven rebounds and had four assists. Chanel White came off the bench to score 11 points and Lyons put in nine points off the bench.

Rainey's 16 points led four Bulldogs in double-figures as Shepard had 13 points, Lindsey Montgomery added 12 points and Thompson had 10.

Winthrop will travel to N. Charleston, SC on Monday for its regular season finale against Charleston Southern at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, Asheville's next game will come in the first round of the 2010 Advance Auto Parts Big South Women's Basketball Championship.  A full release of the seeds will be announced on Monday, March 8 after the regular-season is complete.

Career night propels Bucs to 53-41 win over PC
CHARLESTON, S.C. - LeChell Rush poured in a career-high 20 points to lead the Charleston Southern women's basketball team to a 53-41 victory over Presbyterian College Friday night inside CSU Field House.

The win gives Charleston Southern (16-12, 8-7 Big South Conference) the second most victories in a single season in school history, and the Buccaneers are guaranteed a winning record for just the third time in school history and the first time since 2000-01.

Rush finished the game 8-of-11 from the floor, while also connecting on 4-of-5 free throws. She grabbed four rebounds and recorded a career-high four steals in 24 minutes.

Kelsey Wasmer contributed 10 points (all in the second half) and four rebounds, and Tina DeCarvalho added six points and a season-high eight rebounds. Danielle Gibson tied her career high with eight points and was one shy of her career high with seven rebounds.

Amanda Mills scored 11 points for Presbyterian (5-24, 3-12 Big South), and Chelsea Wright pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds for the Blue Hose.

Neither team could find any offensive rhythm in the early going, as the score was just 8-6 CSU through the first 10 minutes.

Rush scored 10 straight points for Charleston Southern from the 12-minute mark of the first half to a little more than two minutes to play in the opening frame.

She was on fire, but the rest of the Buccaneers struggled as they limped into the locker room with a 22-18 advantage.

Mills drained a triple right out of the gates for PC to cut the lead to one, but a quick 6-0 run by the Bucs pushed the home squad 28-21 with 15 minutes to play.

Chelsea Parker hit a jumper to cut the lead to 28-23, but CSU went on a 7-0 run and never looked back. The Blue Hose were never able to get any closer than nine points, and Charleston Southern pushed the final score to 53-41.

CSU outshot PC 35 percent to 29 percent, and the Blue Hose were only able to knock down 8-of-15 free throws (53 percent). Charleston Southern went 21-of-30 from the line (70 percent) and hit four trey's. PC won the rebound battle 38-36, but CSU had less turnovers (16 to 21) and more steals (16 to 6).

The Buccaneers improve to 7-2 all-time against Presbyterian, and they are now on a five-game win streak over the Blue Hose.

Charleston Southern will next face Winthrop University in a revenge game for the Buccaneers, as WU defeated CSU 58-48 Feb. 1 in Winthrop Coliseum. Tipoff for the regular season finale is set for 7 p.m. March 8 inside CSU Field House.

Presbyterian will play Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. March 8 in Conway, S.C.

Lady Flames Double Up Radford, 66-33
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Led by Avery Warley, Liberty controlled play inside the paint, Friday evening versus Commonwealth rival Radford. The Lady Flames outrebounded the Highlanders, 46-23, and scored 48 points in the paint during their 66-33 triumph at the Vines Center.

Warley led all players in both points (17) and rebounds (12), helping Liberty improve to 23-5 overall and 13-2 in the Big South. The Lady Flames have won six straight games and 16 of their last 17 outings. They have also triumphed in seven consecutive matchups with Radford.

Meanwhile, the Highlanders shot just 23.5 percent (12-of-51) from the field as they lost for the ninth time in their last 10 contests. Radford falls to 6-21 overall and 5-11 in conference action.

Both teams got off to a slow start at the offensive end. At the 12:45 mark of the opening half, Radford's Denay Wood drilled a triple from the right wing, cutting the Lady Flames' lead to 8-7.

Liberty then took control with a 19-4 surge, spanning the next 10:33. Freshmen highlighted the Lady Flames' extended run, with Jelena Antic tallying four points and classmate LaKendra Washington adding nine. Warley's putback on a Liberty offensive possession which included three offensive boards, 2:12 before halftime, gave the Lady Flames a 27-11 advantage.

The Highlanders cut their halftime deficit to 29-17 when Kaylyn Crosier hit a pair of three-pointers during the final 1:53 of the stanza.

Liberty shot 44.0 percent (11-of-25) during the opening 20 minutes, while holding Radford to 22.6 percent (7-of-31). The Lady Flames scored 20 points in the paint and 17 bench points.

Liberty also collected 28 first-half rebounds, owning a sizable advantage over Radford's 12 caroms. However, the Highlanders stayed within striking distance by converting 15 Lady Flame turnovers into 13 points.

Individually, Washington's nine points and Antic's eight tallies paced Liberty in the first half. Antic and Warley each corralled seven rebounds to lead the Lady Flames.

Crosier scored nearly half (8) of Radford's points before intermission. Meanwhile, Ema Reskoska, making her first career start, pulled down a team-high three boards.

A Warley layup and pair of free throws bookended a 10-2 Liberty surge, early in the second half. Her pair of charity tosses with 13:17 left gave the Lady Flames their first 20-point bulge at 41-21.

Wood countered with a trifecta on Radford's ensuing possession, before Liberty put the game away with a 13-0 run. Warley scored seven more points during the burst, including a layup at 9:03 which made it 54-24, Lady Flames.

Liberty's advantage bounced between 27 and 34 points for the remainder of the contest, and the Lady Flames wrapped up their 200th all-time win at the Vines Center, 66-33. Liberty is now 200-53 at the on-campus facility, since it opened in November 1990.

While Radford struggled shooting from the field, Liberty ended up at 51.0 percent (26-for-51). The Lady Flames, ranked No. 5 nationally in field goal percentage, made more than half of their field goals for the 11th time this season. All 26 of Liberty's field goals were two-pointers.

Liberty's sizable rebounding advantage included 19 offensive caroms, which led to 18 second-chance points. The Lady Flames also tallied 15 steals, recording 25 points off of Radford turnovers.

Warley, one of four Lady Flames to score in double figures, notched her fourth consecutive double-double and her ninth in the last 12 contests. She also reached the 500-career rebound mark on Friday, becoming the 21st player in program history to do so. Finally, Warley extended her streak to 15 straight made free throws, before a second-half miss.

Liberty's other three double-digit scorers were all freshmen, including Washington, who made all five of her field goals on the evening. She finished with 14 points and three steals. Classmate Antic added a dozen points and eight rebounds. Devon Brown chipped in 10 points and six caroms, scoring in double figures for the 17th straight game.

Meanwhile, Danika Dale and Dymond Morgan came up with five and four steals, respectively. Dale's five thefts set a new career high.

Crosier and Wood each drained a pair of three-pointers for the visitors and shared team-high honors with eight points apiece. Victoria Hamilton collected a team-high five rebounds, while Reskoska had four steals.

Liberty will close the 2009-10 regular season Monday, when the Lady Flames host High Point in a battle between the Big South Conference's preseason co-favorites. Prior to the 7 p.m. tipoff, Amber Mays will be recognized during Liberty's Senior Night ceremony.

Meanwhile, Radford will begin preparations for the 2010 Big South Women's Basketball Championship, hosted by High Point. The Highlanders will play in one of four quarterfinal matchups, slated for March 12 at the Millis Center. Tip times are noon, 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.