Lady Bucs Take First Conference Victory in Final Seconds
CHARLESTON, SC- The Lady Buccaneers got their first Big South Conference victory Saturday evening by defeating conference rival Coastal Carolina by a final score of 65-63. The win takes the Buccaneers to 6-8 on the season and 1-2 in league play while the Chanticleers move to 9-4, and 1-2 in conference play. The victory not only snaps a three game skid for the Bucs but also marks the first win for head coach Julie Goodenough, now in her third season at CSU, over Coastal Carolina.

The Bucs came out strong and had to use that strength the entire game as the Chanticleers also showed they were not going down easily. Kiki Rutledge would start the charge for he Bucs making the first layup of the game but would be answered by a layup from the Chanticleers Katie White. The first half of play would be more of the same as the teams tied and traded the lead over ten times. Rutledge would continue to lead the offensive charge all the way to the locker room, ending the first half with 10 points to lead the team. Taking charge for the Chanticleers was forward Kendra Reynolds who entered halftime with 11 points. The first half would end with the Buccaneers leading 29-24 and shooting nearly over 40 percent from the floor.

The Bucs would improve on their numbers in the second half, but it would not come easily as Coastal Carolina fought back and responded to the Bucs' successes. Sophomore forward Lydia Johnson would be the first to find the basket in the second half. Coastal Carolina's Reynolds would again be the first to answer for the Chanticleers with a layup, but freshman Ali Schwagmeyer would respond with a made shot from behind the arc to give the Bucs' their largest lead of the game at 8 points.

The score would then return to a back and forth battle for control as each team answered baskets from the other, with the Chanticleers gaining the lead at 9 points with just under 10 minutes to play. The Bucs would steadily climb back into the lead and regain the board on a three-point shot form senior guard Pam Tolbert, putting the Bucs up by one. The Bucs would hold control of the game, but would fight to keep the victory after a 3 point shot from the Chanticleer's Amanda Stull pulled Coastal within one point with 40 seconds remaining on the clock. Tolbert would add two points to the Buc lead on shots from the line, but the Chanticleers would tie the game at 63 with 21-seconds remaining. Tolbert would show her experience hitting a jumper to give the Bucs the victory with 3-seconds remaining on the clock.

Tolbert lead the team with a total of 25 points, stepping up and scoring 22 of those in the second half . Fellow point guard Kiki Rutledge would also help lead the team in scoring with 10 points, while sophomore forward Lydia Johnson would add another 8 points and 5 rebounds. Freshman Lechell Rush would lead the team in rebounding grabbing four offensive and four defensive rebounds for eight total, giving her a season and career best. Fellow freshman forward Ali Schwagmeyer would be close behind with 6 rebounds while bringing in 5 points. Defensively, the Bucs out-rebounded the Chanticleers and were able to capitalize on second chance opportunities adding 14 points to Coastal's 8. The Buccaneer victory was lead by a shooting performance of .481 from the floor, their second best showing this season- the Bucs shot .600 from the floor in their game against North Texas in November.

The Lady Buccaneers will be back in action at Savannah State on Tuesday looking for their second victory over the Tigers this season. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.  Coastal Carolina will play at Winthrop on Jan. 13.

Late Rally Lifts Liberty Women Over Winthrop, 55-51
ROCK HILL, SC— In a battle between the preseason favorites to finish first and second in the Big South, Liberty used a late run to defeat Winthrop 55-51, Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.

Liberty (7-7, 2-0) was chosen as the preseason favorite to capture the Big South championship and Winthrop was voted second. The game lived up to the billing as both teams battled for 40 minutes and in the end Liberty finished the game on a 14-4 run to remain unbeaten in league play. The loss drops Winthrop to 6-7 on the year and 1-1 in the Big South.

Trailing by three points at the half, 29-26, Winthrop fought its way to a five-point lead midway through the second half and eventually led by six points with 4:53 to go. That’s when Liberty stepped up its defensive intensity and held Winthrop to just four points for the remainder of the game. Megan Frazee cut the lead to 47-44 after a mid-range jumper. Franchesca Davenport made two free throws to extend the lead to five points again, but a Megan Frazee three followed by an Amber Mays jumper in the paint after a Winthrop turnover tied the game at 49-49 with 2:11 to go. Yvonne van Daalen had a good look from three with 50 seconds remaining, but the shot rimmed out.

Liberty entered the game as one of the top rebounding teams in the country at +8.7 and despite being outrebounded for most of the game, Avery Warley picked up the most important rebound of the game. Warley took a jumper in the lane, missed it short and got the rebound. Her put back with 31 seconds to go in the game turned into the game-winning shot. Warley finished the game with six points and seven rebounds.

Winthrop got a spark from Jennifer Walker off the bench as she was one of three players to lead the team with 11 points. Walker was a perfect 3-for-3 in the first half and finished the game 5-for-7.

Megan Frazee finished with a game-high 20 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. Amber Mays finished with 11 points and four steals.

Winthrop’s Shanice Cole came off the bench to score 11 points while van Daalen added 11 points and four assists. The Lady Eagles’ two leading scorers, Ashley Fann and Tiffany Rodd, finished a combined 3-for-12 from the field and combined to go 0-2 at the foul line.

Liberty took advantage of 21 Lady Eagle turnovers by turning them into 22 points, including seven over the final three minutes. Winthrop finished with a 34-29 advantage on the boards.

The Lady Eagles will look to rebound against Radford on Monday, Jan. 12, when it hosts the Highlanders at 7 p.m. It will be the second of four straight Big South games at home.  Liberty returns to the hardwood on Jan. 13 when it welcomes East Tennessee State to the Vines Center for a 7:00pm tip.

High Point Holds Off Radford Rally, 65-55
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Four players tallied double-digit points as the High Point University women's basketball team held off a late Radford rally to take the 65-55 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Millis Athletic Center. With the win High Point improves to 3-0 in Big South play while Radford falls to 1-1.

Frances Fields led the Panthers (5-9) with 13 points while dishing out six assists. Mackenzie Maier had her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds while blocking a career-high six shots. Andrea Tucker also had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Jurica Hargraves added 12 points.

For the Highlanders (2-11) Vandy Pullen had a game high 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Taleia Moton added 13 points while Kymesha Alston and Denay Wood had 14 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

Radford opened up the game with a 7-0 run before the Panthers got on the board with a three pointer from Hargraves at the 16:45 mark. The Panthers took the lead to go up 9-8 with 14:20 left in the half off a pair of free throws from Fields. The two teams kept the game close in the first half with three ties and three lead change, but HPU took a one point, 26-25 lead into the break.

Coming out of the intermission Radford jumped out on top with back-to-back baskets, but High Point responded with a 14-4 run to take an eight point 42-34 with 14:22 on the clock. The Panthers were still up by eight (47-39) with just over nine minutes left to go, but the Highlanders would not go away and cut the lead down to four off a three pointer from Pullen with 7:23 remaining.

HPU held off the RU surge to extend its lead to 10, 57-47 with less than five minutes left to play. Radford again went on a run and pulled within three with 1:10 left in the game, but a three pointer from Maier on the next possession pulled the Panthers back on top by six. High Point went 4-of-6 from the line in the final minute to secure the win.

Radford held the 59-53 advantage on the boards. High Point forced 22 Highlander turnovers while only giving the ball up 11 times.

High Point will be back in action on Monday, Jan. 12 when it hosts Gardner-Webb for the first time as a Big South opponent. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Millis Center.  The Highlanders next game will be against Winthrop at 7:00pm on Jan. 12. 

Baker Sets Assists Record as Bulldogs Down Gardner-Webb, 67-59
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Senior guard Ana Baker broke the UNC Asheville Division I career assists record as the Bulldogs defeated Gardner-Webb 67-59 at the Justice Center on Saturday.

Baker who played all 40 minutes led the Bulldogs with 14 points, seven assists, and six rebounds.  She entered the game only needing two assists to pass Vicki Giffin (1993-1997) for first place on the Bulldogs all-time Division I assists list.  She broke the record 16 minutes into the game as she fed Linda Aughburnsfor an open jumper.

Lindsey Montgomery had her first double-double of the season with 12 points while matching her career-high with 11 rebounds. Lindsey Thompson added 10 points for Asheville while Chioma Okoli just missed double figures with nine points and six rebounds.

UNC Asheville (5-11, 2-1 Big South) held the lead for the entire game, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb (7-8, 0-3 Big South) kept it close.   In the first half, the Bulldogs led by as much as nine points until Gardner-Webb brought the score to 30-33 at the end of the half.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 17 in the second half, but they could not bring the margin any higher as they only shot 12-25 in the game from the free-throw line.

With less than five minutes to go in the contest, Gardner-Webb started to cut into UNC Asheville’s lead.  However, their effort was not enough as they could only get to within seven points of the Bulldogs with 17 seconds left in the game.

Teonika Webb led Gardner-Webb with 11 points and nine rebounds while Laura Povilonyte had 10 points and seven rebounds. LaTroya Pope added eight points and 11 rebounds before fouling out of the game with 1:33 left in the game.

The Bulldogs return to action at home on Monday night at 7 p.m. as they host the Blue Hose of Presbyterian.  Gardner-Webb plays at High Point at 7:00pm on Jan. 12.