VanDijk Sets All-Time Rebound Record In Win Vs. ULM
MONROE, La. - The storied career of senior Rebekah VanDijk has seen an exclamation point on Thursday evening against ULM. VanDijk grabbed eight rebounds to surpass Lori Cottington's all-time rebounding mark that stood since 1979.
VanDijk would lead the Lady Mavericks to a 80-53 win, the teams fourth consecutive, as the Nazareth, Texas native ended the day with 21 points. VanDijk heads into the final four games of the regular season with 1,080 rebounds in her career.
"I am so happy and proud for her," UTA coach Krista Gerlich said. "She is so humble and continues to work hard. She just wants best for her team and doesn't even know if the record are available for her some times. It is huge to be able to leave her legacy and write her name in our record books for records that are going to stand for a very long time. Nobody deserves it more than Rebekah. It is really fun that she is the face of the program and what we want Lady Maverick basketball to be all about. To leave her name in the record book is just icing for her."
VanDijk, who points all of her success to the success of her teammates, was honored to be able to reach the milestone on Thursday in a win.
"I think it is an honor to be able to be in the record books at UTA," VanDijk said. "Just as we are going, we are grinding it out and playing our best basketball right now so that is really good for us. It is sometimes now hard to rebound because the other girls are crashing the boards and getting rebounds too. We saw Billie with 10 last game, so it is just really impressive."
The record-breaking day was sparked along by the team's most efficient effort on offense of conference play. The Lady Mavs finished with a 50.0 shooting percentage, connecting on 33-of-66 attempts to achieve the second highest shooting effort of the season, only behind their 50.8 vs. Oral Roberts in the second game of the year. UTA turned the ball over just seven times, four coming in the first quarter.
Crystal Allen, Shelby Richards and Daiane Machado joined VanDijk in the double-figure club. Allen knocked down 14 points, Richards ended with 11 while Machado finished with 10. Richards finished with a career-high six assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: Despite a flawless effort from VanDijk, UTA found itself in a deficit after the first 10 minutes as turnovers plagued UTA. The Warhawks took advantage with a pair of 3-pointers late in the quarter, including one with 10 seconds in the quarter to hold a lead at the buzzer. VanDijk finished 5-for-5 from the field, getting to 10 points midway through the first.
Second Quarter:
VanDijk's string was contagious as the team rallied around the senior. As VanDijk improved to 7-for-7 shooting, the Lady Mavs went on a run in which they'd hit eight consecutive shots, including two from long range by Crystal Allen. The run would put UTA up by eight before ULM countered again. Another barrage of 3-pointers pulled ULM within one with the Hawks hitting on three consecutive attempts from deep.
Third Quarter: To go with the record-breaking rebound from VanDijk, UTA was red hot from the field to outscore the Warhawks 16-9 in the period. VanDijk grabbed two rebounds to earn the mark just a minute into the period and Allen knocked down a trey at the buzzer to send UTA to the fourth with an 18-point advantage.
Fourth Quarter: With the game secured, a run to start the quarter saw UTA hold ULM without a point for the first six minutes of the final frame. Kelsey Johnson came in and finished with a career-high nine points, hitting on 3-of-5 shots. The freshman also grabbed six rebounds.
KEY STATS
UTA outscored ULM 31-17 in the third quarter as it was 81.3 percent in the period... UTA finished with five 3-pointers on 16 attempts, four coming from Allen.... UTA outscored ULM 46-18 in points in the paint... UTA outscored ULM 27-13 in bench points... UTA turned ULM over 21 times and held a 34-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Mountaineers Earn Gritty Overtime Win Over South Alabama
BOONE, N.C. - The second time around, Appalachian State University women's basketball (7-18, 5-9 SBC) needed overtime and was able to pull out a close and thrilling 57-56 triumph over third-place South Alabama (15-9, 8-5 SBC) on Thursday evening inside the Holmes Center.
The Mountaineers snap a three-game skid and a four-game losing streak to the Jaguars, while the Apps improve to 4-1 in their last five home games.
LaPresha Stanley came through once again with a game-high 17 points and tied a career-high with nine off the glass. The freshman for App scored 10 of her points at the free throw line while adding three assists. Nicola Mathews stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field,a season-high seven rebounds and a game-high five assists. Bayley Plummer put in another consistent effort with her league-leading 11th double-double of the season, snagging a game-best 17 rebounds with 10 points and adding three swats. Plummer showcased another solid defensive effort against one of the league's top centers in Chyna Ellis. Plummer helped limit Ellis to 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting. Tierra Wilson also helped on the glass with eight rebounds while scoring four points.
For the second time in as many matchups, the game came down to the wire. This time, App was able to pull it out with timely defensive stops and late free throw shooting despite going 19-of-32 at the line.
After Plummer hit two at the free throw line to give the Mountaineers a 44-40 lead with 6:57 left in the game, Ellis started an 8-0 surge with back-to-back 3-pointers en route to giving USA a 48-44 advantage with 1:17 left on the clock. Like last week where Stanley brought the Apps back to force overtime against Coastal Carolina, the leading scorer for App was up to her clutch antics again scoring the final five points for the Black and Gold. After hitting a layup to bring App to within one possession, 48-46, the Jaguars went 1-2 at the line to push the lead to 49-46. With 13 seconds left, Stanley rose up for what was the most pivotal shot of the game and connected to tie up the contest at 49-all. South Alabama had an attempt to tie up the game, but App came away with a stellar defensive stop before App's game-winning attempt with 0.9 seconds left on the clock had fallen short.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the final five minutes of the game as neither team held the lead by more than two points. Appalachian scored all eight of its points from the charity stripe including three straight free throws from Stanley that turned a 54-52 deficit into a 55-54 edge with 1:35 remaining. After Stanley came away with a big steal, she was fouled hard and had to go out of the game. Lainey Gosnell shot the first of what turned into four foul shots one possession, hitting one attempt to put App head by two points. Antoinette Lewis drew a foul on the ensuing possession but missed both free throws. Following a 1 for 2 trip at the line from Stanley, Lewis finished drew the and-1 on a layup and with the chance to tie up the game. She missed the tying attempt, and Plummer corralled the board for the victory.
Both teams struggled from the floor shooting under 30 percent. Appalachian harassed USA into tying a season-low shooting 24.1 percent from the field and 7-of-38 (18.4 percent) from beyond the arc. In both games against USA, the Apps shut down the 3-point attack as the Jaguars were just 9 for 57 (15.7 percent). Also, USA's two leading scorers coming into the game in Ellis (14.4 ppg) and Savannah Jones (12.7 ppg), scored just 14 combined points and 5-of-27 from the floor.
App State delivered the first punch opening up with a 12-1 lead in the first 4:37 of the contest thanks to a 4-of-5 start spearheaded by Mathews' spurt with eight points. The defense wouldn't allow the visitors to hit a field goal until the 4:46 mark, missing their first eight shot attempts. App stayed on top of USA with Gosnell's layup pushing the pace to 18-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Jaguars closed the deficit to six, 19-13 before App responded with an 8-1 burst of its own capped off by a Maya Calder layup. The lead grew as large as 15, 31-16 when Stanley found a wide-open Gosnell from deep. Appalachian's lead wouldn't dip below 10 points as it claimed a 33-22 edge going into the break.
USA slowly crawled back into the contest outscoring App, 14-8, in the third quarter and trailed by five, 41-36, going into what was an exciting fourth quarter.
App State turned the ball over 18 times for 25 points and allowed 26 offensive rebounds, but outscored the Jaguars by 10 at the charity stripe.
The Mountaineers will look to end the weekend at 2-0 and match last season's Sun Belt win total when they face Troy at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the annual Play4Kay game.
Bobcats Rally Late to Beat Louisiana, 56-53
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Texas State women's basketball team (17-8, 10-4 SBC) made some clutch plays at the end of the game, defeating Louisiana (13-12, 8-5 SBC), 56-53, inside the Cajundome on Thursday evening. The win gives the Bobcats 17 wins on the season, matching the team's win total from a season ago.
"These kids earned this win tonight," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "We battled through some adversity, these kids battled all night to come away with a big win. I am so proud of this team."
The Bobcats pounced on the Ragin' Cajuns from the opening tip, jumping out to an early 10-0 lead. The run covered 2:06 on the game clock and forced Louisiana into an early timeout. LA responded, rattling off its own 11-0 run to take a one-point lead on the Bobcats. The game turned into a slugfest, both offenses bogged down for the remaining 13 minutes of the first half. The Cajuns carried a five-point lead, 28-23, into the halftime break.
Much like the first half, the Bobcats charged out to a 14-4 extended run to regain the lead at 37-32. The spurt was fueled by the Holle twins as Brooke Holle scored four points and Bailey Holle knocked down a 3-pointer, swinging the momentum into the favor of the road team. Texas State was able to maintain the five-point lead into the final frame of play, entering the fourth quarter up 45-40.
After a Bobcat free throw, Louisiana mounted another 11-0 run to climb back into the lead at 51-46 with 4:49 to play. The home team would score just one more bucket for the remainder of the contest. Once again, Brooke Holle stepped up for the Bobcat offense, drilling a pair of 3-pointers to pull TXST back into the lead at 54-51 with 2:38 to play.
Both teams stalled on the offensive end again as neither team scored a point for the next two minutes of action. Nekia Jones of LA broke the scoring drought with an offensive rebound and put back with 35 seconds remaining to bring the home team within a point.
Louisiana was forced to foul and put Taeler Deer on the line with 20 seconds left. The senior stepped to the line and calmly sank a pair of free throws. LA took over the possession and missed a clean look from deep with nine seconds remaining. The Cajuns lucked into an offensive rebound but were unsuccessful in another jump shot attempt. LA had one more chance, after a tap-back offensive rebound fell into the lap of Troi Swain. Her 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the heal of the rim, securing the win for Texas State.
Holle led the Bobcats in scoring, posting a game-high 21 points. The sophomore has posted two 20-point games this season. She converted 7-of-16 shot attempts, including 5-of-10 from beyond the 3-point line. Holle chipped in six rebounds and a pair of steals.
Deer added to her Bobcat legacy, breaking the Texas State single-season assist record. Her third helper of the game gave her 162 assists this season, topping the mark set by Shelly Borton during the 1989-90 campaign. The Houston native tallied 17 points and six rebounds in the win.
The Bobcats will close out this three-game conference road trip on Saturday with a rematch with the ULM Warkhawks, tip is slated for noon at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday. The Bobcats defeated the Warhawks 86-52 at Strahan Coliseum back on Jan. 18.
Adams Scores 40 as Coastal Topples Troy
CONWAY - Jas Adams scored a career high 40 points to lead the Coastal Carolina women's basketball team to an 84-71 victory over Troy on Thursday at the HTC Center.
Coastal improves to 13-12, 7-7 with the victory, and snapped a six-game winning streak for Troy, which falls to 13-11, 8-5.
Adams became just the second Chanticleer in CCU women's basketball history to score 40 points in a game, and fell just five points short of tying Andrea Singleton (1985-86) for the program's single-game record of 45 points. Adams did however set the HTC Center single-game scoring record as she surpassed the previous record of 36 points scored by AJ Jordan in 2014-15.
Adams finished the night 9-of-18 from the field with six 3-pointers, and 16-of-21 at the free-throw line. After scoring just one point in the opening quarter, Adams tallied 18 points in the second. She then added 11 points in the third, and 10 in the fourth. Adams also pulled in 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
Naheria Hamilton also had a double-double, bringing her season total to seven. The sophomore center scored a career-high 18 points while hauling in 12 boards.
The Chants had previously defeated the Trojans this season on Jan. 20, making Troy the second Sun Belt school that Coastal has swept during regular season play. Coastal also won both of its regular season matchups against Appalachian State last season.
Coastal held game advantages in both field goal shooting percentage (42) and rebounds (51). The Chants also shot 71 percent at the free-throw line, converting 28 of 39 chances.
Troy received 20 points from Jasmine Sanders and 15 from Sky'Lynn Holmes. Kayla Robinson, the Sun Belt Player of the Week for the last three consecutive weeks, was held to seven points.
The first quarter included five ties and five lead changes, and ended in an 18-18 tie as the two sides matched each other basket for basket. The Chants made seven field goals, two 3-pointers and two free throws, while the Trojans countered with eight field goals, including two 3-pointers. Hamilton and Rivers led their respective teams with seven points each.
The Chants began pulling away from the Trojans in the second quarter thanks to a pair of large runs and 18 points by Adams. The senior scored Coastal's first seven points of the quarter, including the first five of a 7-0 CCU run that put the Chants in front, 27-23. Troy managed to tie the game twice more before Coastal scored 10 unanswered points in the final two minutes of the half to take a 41-31 lead. Blanding had the first two points in the run before Adams scored the final eight, bringing her halftime total to 19 points.
The Chants remained in front of the Trojans for the entirety of third quarter as Adams added another 11 points, giving her 30 points after 30 minutes of play. Coastal led by as many as 13 points in the frame following a 10-2 run. Troy responded by scoring 10 straight points, but still trailed by eight going into the fourth quarter.
Adams tacked on 10 more points in the final quarter as the Chants enjoyed a double-digit lead for all but 45 seconds of the frame.
The Chants are back in action at the HTC Center on Saturday hosting South Alabama at 1 p.m. It is also senior day, with the ceremony taking place prior to tip-off.