2008-09 Women's Basketball Team Notes - March 2

	Armstrong Atlantic State (17-10, 12-8) -- The Armstrong Atlantic State women’s basketball squad finished the 2008-09 regular season with two wins, tying for third in the league’s regular season standings - its highest finish in the league since the Lady Pirates won consecutive South Division titles in 2002-03 and 2003-04 ... AASU began the week by traveling to No. 7 Francis Marion and knocking off the Patriots in overtime, 92-91 ... It was AASU’s second top 10 opponent defeated this season and the highest-ranked opponent the Lady Pirates have knocked off on the road in school history ... Lacey Willis notched 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while Dartayvia Thomas notched 17 points and 11 rebounds ... Saturday, the Pirates hosted Lander for Senior Day and got another 22 points from Lacey Willis, to go with 11 rebounds in a 71-64 win over the Bearcats ... Kelly Versluis recorded her first double-double of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds, to go with five blocked shots ... Versluis is now just one blocked shot shy of 100 for her career, extending her career record, and is just two blocks shy of the single-season record of 59, set by Michelle Phillips in 1987-88 ... AASU faces Lander in the PBC Quarterfinals on Thursday in a rematch of the 2008 PBC Tournament Championship game. The Lady Pirates will be searching for their fourth trip to the PBC Title game and will most likely need to win the tournament in order to advance to the NCAA Championships, which would be their third berth in school history.
	Augusta State (5-22, 3-17) -- The Lady Jaguars posted an 0-2 record last week and had their losing streak extended to a school-record 10 games … ASU finished the regular season at 5-22 overall and 3-17 in the Peach Belt Conference … The Lady Jags lost 19 of their last 21 games after beginning the season 3-3 … ASU fell 67-64 on Wednesday, Feb. 21 on Senior Night in Christenberry Fieldhouse and closed out the regular season with a 72-60 road loss to Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, Feb. 28 … The Lady Jags return to action on Wednesday, March 4 in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament … ASU will be the No. 10 seed and will take on No. 7 seed Columbus State (17-13, 10-10 PBC) at 3:00 p.m. in the USCA Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C. … The Lady Cougars swept ASU during the regular season, winning 81-57 on Feb. 2 in Columbus and topping the Lady Jags 67-64 last Wednesday in Christenberry Fieldhouse … The Lady Jags avoided setting a new school and snapped an eight-game losing streak in the same night with a 61-60 upset of No. 18 USC Aiken in the USCA Convocation Center on Monday, Jan. 19 … The victory was the first over a ranked opponent for ASU under first-year head coach Tes Sobomehin and the first for the Lady Jag program since a 75-59 win over No. 24 Newberry on Nov. 24, 2007 … ASU junior point guard Eboni Davis drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining that proved to the difference against the Lady Pacers … ASU nearly pulled off back-to-back upsets, battling league-leader Francis Marion to the wire before falling 93-90 in Christenberry Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21 … ASU opened its PBC schedule on a high note with a 71-69, come-from-behind victory over Georgia College & State on Monday, Dec. 15 in Christenberry Fieldhouse … The Lady Jags scored on a putback at the buzzer to make first-year head coach Tes Sobomehin’s PBC debut a success … ASU enjoyed its then-most lopsided win of the season in an 81-59 victory at Paine on Saturday, Dec. 6 … The victory was the seventh straight for ASU in the series vs. Paine … Three of ASU’s 22-regular-season losses were at the hands of nationally-ranked opponents – Nov. 28 vs. No. 16 Tusculum (83-76), Nov. 29 vs. No. 13 Wingate (90-76) and Jan. 5 vs. No. 18 USC Aiken (72-68).
	Clayton State (22-5, 16-4) -- The Clayton State Lakers closed out the regular season on a high note with two victories at home. The Lakers downed USC Aiken 67-59 on Wednesday, followed by a heart-pounding 86-80 overtime triumph over seventh-ranked Francis Marion on Saturday... The Lakers held off a late USC Aiken rally to preserve a hard-fought victory against the Pacers. Nikkisha Pritchett paced Clayton State with 15 points, while Brittany Hall scored 11 points and Lisa Jackson tallied 10 points... Clayton State overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half against Francis Marion and then pulled away in the overtime to prevail on Senior Day. Shanrika Hardeman had a banner game with career-highs 22 points and 18 rebounds for a double-double, while Marie St. Fort scored 16 points, including the Lakers’ first 10 points in overtime. Pritchett added 12 points... Clayton State is now 71-21 in Peach Belt Conference play under head coach Dennis Cox, and 86-11 under Cox in games when the Lakers score at least 70 points... St. Fort is now tied for first all-time at Clayton State in 3-point field goals with 135... St. Fort is also only 31 points shy of becoming the fifth player in Clayton State women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career points... Clayton State leads the Peach Belt Conference in 3-point field goal percentage... Clayton State will be the No. 2 seed this week at the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. The Lakers will face either Columbus State or Augusta State in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 5 p.m.
	Columbus State (17-13, 10-10) -- CSU clinched the #7 seed in PBC Tournament with a 70-63 Homecoming win over UNC Pembroke on Saturday; Phebe Smith tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds and was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line; Nikki Urbizo had 12 points on four treys; Monique Jefferson and Chauntel Ferdinand had 11 points and 10 points, respectively; Rosetta Hollis returned from a knee injury and played 14 minutes...CSU picked up a 67-64 road win over Augusta State last Wednesday; Smith had 24 points and 14 rebounds and made 10-13 FT; Hali Moore had a double-double (15 points, 14 rebounds...#7 CSU takes on #10 Augusta State in the opening round of the PBC Tournament on Wednesday at 3 PM...In addition to the road win over ASU last week, CSU won at home over the Lady Jaguars 81-57 back on 02/02/09...Phebe Smith leads the conference in three major categories - 18.8 ppg, 11.0 rpg, and FG% (56% - 203-363)...Smith broke the CSU single season scoring and rebound mark last week - she currently has 563 points and 331 rebounds on the season.
	Francis Marion (24-3, 17-3) -- 7th-ranked FMU lost two overtime decisions last week, to finish the regular season 24-3. FMU won its second straight PBC regular-season title and third in team history. The ranking is the highest since FMU was ranked 7th in the 1999-2000 preseason poll. FMU’s 15-game winning streak was fifth-best in team history and the longest since a 17-game streak in 1998-99.....The 24-1 start was the second-best in team history behind only the 1998-99 squad (26-1) that also won the PBC championship....Last week, sophomore F Shannon Singleton-Bates averaged 14.5 ppg.....Senior F Creshenda Singletary has 998 career points, just one basket shy of becoming the 24th Patriot to surpass 1000 career points....In just two seasons, senior PG Kevina Ransom has moved into third place on the school’s career list for steals with 266....Junior G Shana Franks leads the team for the season at 13.3 ppg....Senior G Jennifer Dyer pushed her career point total to 1,118....FMU leads Division II in four statistical categories, including scoring offense (89.2 ppg)....Freshman C Dominique Powell had a career-high equaling 14 points vs AASU....FMU is 38-2 in its last 40 games when scoring 85 points or more (over 9 seasons)....In its 27 contests, FMU is forcing 34.4 turnovers per contest. FMU has nearly more steals (554) than turnovers (600)....11 different Patriots (of the team’s 14) have scored in double figures at least once this season....FMU is 141-39 in its last 180 home games in the Smith University Center (14-1 this year).... FMU will play in the PBC Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday at 1 p.m. against the North Georgia/UNCP winner. FMU is 13-15 all-time in the PBC Tournament, including winning the 1998 tournament.
	Georgia College & State University (16-10, 11-8) -- The Bobcats fell to the No. 7 slot in the regional rankings … Georgia College went 0-2 this week falling to UNC Pembroke Wednesday 64-61 in overtime and to USC Aiken 67-58 Saturday … The ‘Cats averaged 59.5 points while giving up 65.5 points … Georgia College was outrebounded to a 47-34 average in the two games … Tiauna Brantley posted a double-double against UNCP scoring 11 and grabbing 12 rebounds … Brantley had a near double-double facing Aiken with 17 points and six rebounds … Brantley averaged 14 points and nine boards over the two contests … Georgia College averaged 70.5 points in games won this season and held opponents to 56.8 points … In games lost the ‘Cats scored 65.4 but gave up 72.5 points … Also, GCSU was outrebounded 47-38 in losses … The Bobcats were 12-2 at home contests this season … The Bobcats will face the Pacers of USC Aiken in the quarterfinals of the PBC Tournament Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
	Georgia Southwestern (8-19, 3-17) -- The Lady Hurricanes, 1-0 on the week, wrapped up their 2008-09 season with a 72-60 homecoming win against North Georgia on Saturday...Brittany Reynolds led Southwestern with 18 points, on 8-of-14 shooting. Reynolds added seven boards, three assists and five steals. Clarissa Corbett and Terra Branch chipped in 12 points apiece. Seniors Jamilah Sharp, Arile Hadley, Monica James and Brittany Smith played in their final collegiate games for GSW… Southwestern finished tied with Columbus State as the top rebounding team in the PBC (averaging 44.8 rpg) and second to CSU with a +6.4 rebounding margin. The Lady ‘Canes finished plus-seven in the win column from a year ago (1-26).
	Lander (17-10, 12-8) -- The Lady Bearcats split their Peach Belt Conference games last week as they rallied from a 17-point deficit at North Georgia to defeat the Lady Saints, 73-69, then lost at Armstrong Atlantic, 71-64. Lander enters the PBC tournament as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 Armstrong Atlantic in the first round. During the season, Lander split with AASU, defeating the Lady Pirates at home, 85-71, then losing last Saturday on the road. The Lady Bearcats trail Armstrong in the all-time series, 24-9. One of those nine victories came in last year’s Peach Belt Conference tournament championship game, when the Lady Bearcats won, 68-65, and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Lander holds a 2-1 edge over Armstrong Atlantic in the PBC tournament. The Lady Bearcats are led by Shannon McKever’s 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Ciara Lyons is averaging 12.6 points per game and TaSheba Butler 10.9.
	UNC Pembroke (12-15, 8-12) -- The UNCP women’s basketball team split a pair of decisions last week taking a win from Georgia College on their home turf, then dropping to Columbus State later in the week. On Wednesday, the Lady Braves overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to tie the game at 56 and send it into overtime, and then came away with a 64-61 victory over the Bobcats of Georgia College. Three Lady Braves finished the night having tallied double-point figures. Lavontay Johnson led the way for UNCP, registering her third career double-double after posting 10 rebounds and a game-high 17 points. JaToya Kemp, who was held scoreless against Georgia Southwestern, responded with her fourth double-double of the 2008-09 season after logging 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ashley Morales had her second-best career outing posting 14 points as well. On Saturday, the ladies of Pembroke fought with all they had down the stretch, but Columbus State’s first half was too much to overcome as the Lady Braves dropped a 70-63 decision to close out the regular season Saturday afternoon in the Lumpkin Center. The Black and Gold received double-point figures from Natalie Ray, who recorded 13, and Johnson, who registered 12. Ray was also the Lady Braves’ leading rebounder after grabbing six boards. The Lady Braves will now travel to Aiken, S.C., to take part in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament on the campus of USC Aiken. They will take on North Georgia at 3 p.m. in Wednesday’s first round at the Convocation Center.
	North Georgia (8-19, 5-15) -- The Lady Saints saw a 17-point lead slip away in the second half last week in their only game, falling 73-69 to Lander University in the final regular season game of the year. Syretha Marble scored a game-high 23 points to lead North Georgia in her final game in Memorial Hall, while Whitney Randolph added 14 points and Sarah Stinson had eight points and 12 rebounds. North Georgia led by 15 points at 52-37 as late as 10:15 remaining in the game when the Lady Bearcats to started to chip away and found themselves down by just four points at 56-52 with 7:15 left. Lander would take their first lead of the game on a pair of foul shots from McKever with 2:51 remaining, and extend their advantage to as many as six points in the final minute before coming away with the 73-69 road victory. North Georgia will enter the Peach Belt Conference Tournament as the #9 seed as they take on UNC Pembroke in the first round. The Lady Braves and Lady Saints split their regular season meetings, with both teams holding serve on their home courts. North Georgia is attending their second PBC Tournament, going 1-1 last season in their debut.
	USC Aiken (20-10, 12-8) -- The University of South Carolina Aiken won its 500th game as a program and vaulted up two spots in the Peach Belt Conference to claim sole possession of third place heading into the PBC Tournament with a 67-58 victory over Georgia College and State in the last game of the regular season on Senior Night in the Convocation Center on Saturday, Feb. 28 … Senior Pacers Megan Starnes , Meredith Legg, Satu Leppanen and Morgan Johnson played their final regular season games in a Pacer uniform in front of over 1,200 fans capping off USC Aiken’s third straight season of 20 or more wins … It marks the first time in school history USC Aiken has had three consecutive 20-win seasons … USC Aiken head coach Mike Brandt collected win No. 123 for his Pacer career in the milestone victory for the program in his seventh season at the helm of the Pacer program in Saturday’s victory over GCSU … Two-time PBC Player-of-the-Week Morgan Johnson finished with another double-double in the contest, grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with 11 points, five assists and three blocks … Fellow senior Meredith Legg, also a two-time PBC Player-of-the-Week, became just the 14th player in NCAA Division II history to make 300 or more career three-pointers earlier in the week in USC Aiken’s game against Clayton State … Legg connected from downtown four times in Saturday night’s Pacer win on her way to a team-high 16 points … The four three-pointers left her with a school and conference record 305 three-pointers … Entering the GCSU game in second place on the all-time scoring list at USCA, Legg is now just 24 points shy of becoming the most prolific scorer to wear a Pacer women’s basketball uniform … The fabulous four seniors have not only helped elevate the USCA women’s basketball program but also re-written the individual record books at USCA in several categories … Starnes, Legg and Lappanen will all finish their careers in the top 10 at USCA in scoring, minutes played and games played … The trio will also finish in the top 15 in assists … Johnson and Legg will leave USCA in the top 10 in rebounds and Starnes has placed among the top 10 in steals as a Pacer … Johnson is also the all-time blocks leader in school history … The win over Georgia College & State as mentioned left USC Aiken as the three seed in the PBC Tournament … The Pacers will next meet the same GCSU Bobcats, who are the sixth seed, in the quarterfinals of the event at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 5.