Western Carolina 71, Wofford 65

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball Head Coach Karen Middleton notched the first win over her career; and junior guard Kendra Carroll career poured in a career-high 18 points, in the Catamounts' 71-65 victory over Wofford Friday in the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts improve to 1-2 on the season, but more importantly get their first Southern Conference win of the year, while the Terriers fall to 1-3 and 0-1 in the SoCon.

Trailing by as much as seven points to start the first half, 13-6 with 16:01 left, the Catamounts were sparked by a three-pointer by junior Emily Clarke. It was the first of two three-pointers, the second by senior guard Jessica Jackson, sparking an 8-0 run and gave Western Carolina a one point lead 14-13, with 12:07 left.

Knotted twice, Western Carolina took the lead for good on one of two free-throws by sophomore Brittany Ferguson - the club never trailed again. The Catamounts had its largest lead of the half, at 10 points, twice the second time off a jumper by Kendra Carroll. WCU went into the locker room up by eight points, 36-28, after a pair of free throws by Jackson.

Western Carolina built its largest lead of the game, at 14 points, early in the second half when Carroll hit one of two three-pointers. Overall, the Catamounts connected on a season-high seven three-pointers after being shut-out from behind the arch against East Carolina.

With 3:09 left to play, Western Carolina led Wofford by 11, 65-54, when the Terriers went on a mini run. Wofford outscored the Catamounts 11-6 in the final three minutes to only drop the contest by six points. The Terriers trimmed the Catamount lead to single digits after Maddie Helms hit a three-pointer with 43 seconds left to make the score 68-61. Jackson was 3-of-4 from the free throw line to close out the game and keep the Terriers at bay.

For the second straight game, Western Carolina had three players in double figures. Besides Carroll's career-high of 18 points, Clarke posted a season-high 17 points and Jackson had a season-high 11.

As a team, Western Carolina had a season-low 11 turnovers and our-rebounded Wofford 41-36. The 71 points was a season-high and it was also the first time the season Western Carolina has led at the half.

The Catamounts head North to Alaska on Saturday in preparation for the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage Classic. Western Carolina opens with Cincinnati on Tuesday, November 24 at midnight Eastern. All four women's games will be streamed live on GoSeawolves.com. Full-tournament subscription packages cost $19.95, while single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95.

College of Charleston 97, Mercer 71

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Five College of Charleston players scored double-digit points on Friday evening as the women's basketball team defeated Mercer, 97-71, at CSU Field House. The game kicked off the Lowcountry Classic, hosted by Charleston Southern and CofC.

Senior guard Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) led the Cougars (2-1) with a game-high 21 points and three steals. Senior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C./Blackville-Hilda) tied her career-high of 17 points.

A three-pointer by Williams gave Charleston a 15-14 lead five minutes into the first half. The Cougars never looked back, stretching the lead to nine points before Mercer (0-2) rallied. The Bears crept back into contention, largely because of redshirt-freshman Lindsey Lowrie's five treys, and closed the half down by three (42-39).

The Cougars came out firing in the second half as junior guard Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek) hit back-to-back three-pointers in the first 1:30. CofC continued to assert its dominance, pulling ahead by 13 as Hughes grabbed an offensive board and put it back for two with 15:03 left to play.

Charleston amped up its defense, limiting the Bears to two second-half treys after they had drilled eight three-pointers in the previous half. Senior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C./Wren) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds while senior center NeShonda McLaurin (McColl, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) grabbed five defensive boards.

Gerty finished the evening with 15 points and a game-high seven assists. Williams also dished the ball a career-high seven times against the Bears. Kotcella scored 12 points while senior Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) added 11 points.

Mercer was led by LaToya Jackson's 19 points. The Bears were held to 43 percent shooting from the floor and connected on just 68 percent of their free throw attempts.

The Cougars went 14-for-23 (60 percent) from outside the arc. Hughes scored four treys, while Gerty made three from downtown, including one as the shot clock expired.

CofC returns to Caroline First Arena on Saturday to host Texas San Antonio at 7 p.m. as the second part of the Lowcountry Classic.

Elon 104, St. Andrews College 27

ELON, N.C. - Elon (2-1) scored its most points since moving to Division I as it defeated St. Andrews (0-2) 104-27 in women's basketball action Friday evening in Alumni Gym. Sophomore Gabby Oloye scored Elon's 101st and 102nd point on a jumper with 33 seconds remaining in the game to best the previous record of 101 points, which came in a quadruple-overtime loss to Western Carolina in 2008. Freshman Ali Ford tied her season-best with 23 points. She also wrote herself into the Elon record book with seven three-pointers, which placed her in a tie for fourth all-time in a single game. She finished with 7-13 shooting from behind the arc, with five baskets coming in the second half.

Julie Taylor (14), Urysla Cotton (12) and Kelsey Evans (10) also scored in double figures for the Phoenix. Cotton led the team off the glass with seven rebounds, followed by Evans with six. Evans recorded Elon's only block of the night, while Ford forced six turnovers and dished out a team-best four assists.

St. Andrews' Natia Gasque recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Knights in the effort. Brittany Roberts finished with eight points.

Elon opened the game with a 22-2 run before a bucket by Roberts and a jumper and free throw by Gasque made it a 22-7 game. A layup by Lei Lei Hairston ended the Knights' rally to make it a 24-7 game. Elon's Cotton extended the Phoenix lead to 21 with a layup at the four minute mark that brought the score to 30-9. A jumper by St. Andrews' Jaquese Smith ended the half with Elon holding a 33-16 lead.

Cotton scored the opening two points of the second half as Elon saw its lead increase to 19. Following a free throw by the Knights, Elon scored 19 straight points that made it a 58-19 game. Elon allowed just 11 points in the second half and hit the century mark on a jumper by Jermile' Batten.

The Phoenix tallied 20 steals and 18 assists in the game. Elon scored 46 points in the paint and 53 points on 38 Knights miscues. Elon's bench earned 46 points.

Elon will travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face Atlantic Coast Conference member Virginia Tech next Saturday, Nov. 28. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.

Charlotte 74, Appalachian State 57

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball took a one point lead into the break, but Charlotte came storming back in the second half, outscoring the Mountaineers by 18 points to earn a 74-57 win over the Apps Friday evening in the Holmes Center.

The loss is Appalachian's first of the 2009-10 campaign and drops the Black and Gold to 1-1 on the young season, while UNCC improves to 1-2 overall. The defeat also gives Charlotte a five-game winning streak in the series, matching its longest between the two teams.

The 49ers came out strong in second half action, going on a 7-0 run to put ASU behind 34-28. The score was tied on two more occasions and for the final time at 37 all before Charlotte took control of the game. An 8-0 49er run proved to be too much for the Mountaineers who found themselves facing a 44-38 deficit.

Two Canesha Edwards free throws moved Appalachian back within six points, but that would be as close as it would get, as an 11-2 Charlotte streak put the final dagger in the Apps hopes of earning a win, pushing the score to 66-50 with a little under three minutes to play.

It was all guard Aysha Jones for the 49ers, as the senior scored a career-high 27 points, including 25 in the second half to pace the deadly Charlotte attack.

The Mountaineers came out on fire to start the game and were poised to take control of the contest, grabbing an early 11-3 lead, thanks in part to seven Sam Ramirez points.

Appalachian's first half defense was solid as well, making Charlotte earn seven of its first twelve points from the charity stripe.

First half action was tied for the final time at 19 apiece, before a Kelsey Sharkey three pointer gave ASU a 22-21 advantage. Edwards drained a jumper with 30 seconds to play to give the Apps a 28-27 lead heading into halftime.

The Black and Gold have now headed into intermission in both games this season leading their opponent, but unlike ASU's win over Marshall, Charlotte out-played the Apps in the second half and were able to notch the win.

Appalachian did not help itself as turnovers proved to doom to the Black and Gold. ASU totaled 33 turnovers on the evening, including 18 in the second half. Charlotte was able to capitalize on the Apps coughing up the ball, as they scored a stout 44 points off of ASU's turnovers, along with tallying 19 second-chance points.

On the offensive front, three Mountaineers finished the game in double-figure scoring with Ramirez and Edwards each recording a team-high 12 points. Freshman Courtney Freeman chipped in 10 points as well, to go along with seven rebounds.

ASU looks to get back on track, as the Apps hit the road once more, heading to Boiling Springs, N.C. to face Gardner-Webb, Tuesday November 24 at 7 p.m.

North Carolina State 79, Davidson 54

RALEIGH, N.C. - Senior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) netted a season-best 16 points, but it was not enough to off-set four N.C. State players who reached double digits in a game of two halves as Davidson dropped a 79-54 decision Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum in non-conference action.

Thompson reached the double-digit mark in points for the third straight time to open the season for Davidson (0-3). She finished 6-of-13 from the field, including a three-pointer, and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. She added five rebounds and dished out a team-best three assists.

Eleven of her points came in a re-energized second half for the Wildcats as they closed shooting 55.2 percent (16-29) from the floor and outscored the Wolfpack, 39-38. In the last six and half minutes, they closed out the game on an 18-8 run, started by a Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.) three-ball and ended on a Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) layup and a free throw from Thompson. 

Of those 39 second half points, 22 of them came in the paint as the Wildcats finished with 32 total points down on the blocks. It marks the third straight game the 'Cats have hit that mark.

The first half was another story for Davidson as it started the game a bit out of sync and never was able to recover, falling behind 41-15 at halftime. The Wildcats were held to just 24.1 percent shooting, compared to the Wolfpacks 47.1 percent.

Leading the way in the first half for N.C. State (3-1) was the duo of Bonae Holston and Tia Bell, who scored 10 points each and finished the game with 21 and 15 points, respectively. The two Wolfpack players opened the game scoring 12 of N.C. State¹s first 17 points to give it a 17-8 early advantage.

Bonae closed with a double-double, hauling in 10 rebounds to pace the team.

Also clipping the double-digit mark in points was Marissa Kastanek (11) and Brittany Strachan (10).

A Lax driving layup from the baseline brought the 'Cats to within seven at 17-10 with 8:38 left in the first half, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the game.

Lax led a 28-point bench effort for Davidson with 13 points. The junior sharp-shooter also pulled down five rebounds, dished out two assists and pocketed two of the team's five steals.

Leading 17-10, N.C. State's Holston went on an 8-0 run of her own and the Wolfpack eventually pushed their lead all the way out to the 41-15 halftime score. Thompson and Lax scored the only buckets the 'Cats would get in the half after Lax's layup at the 8:38 mark.

The Wildcats remain on the road, traveling to Williamsburg, Va., to take on William & Mary this Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. The two schools last met in 2000.

Game Notes: It was a welcome return back to Reynolds Coliseum for head coach Annette Watts, who was an assist coach for N.C. State from 1996-99 ... the Wolfpack head coach Kellie Harper earned her 100th career coaching win ... she previously was at Western Carolina for five seasons ... redshirt sophomore Chloe Woodington earned her first collegiate start ... tonight's game was the third in eight straight road contests for Davidson ... tonight's meeting between the Wildcats and Wolfpack was the first since Feb. 11, 1976.