Monday, January 08, 2007

Belmont Bruins

• The Belmont climbed to the top of the Atlantic Sun over the weekend, claiming road victories over Kennesaw State, 62-49, and ETSU, 78-69. • Sophomore Alysha Clark led the Bruins in scoring last week, averaging 23 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 32 points against ETSU en route to picking up her eighth double-double of the season. • This week, the Bruins open a three-game homestand with match-ups against Stetson, Mercer and IPFW.

Campbell Fighting Camels

• No team notes provided

ETSU Bucs

The Lady Bucs finished their first week of 2007 with a split in A-Sun play. ETSU opened the week with a 71-51 victory over Lipscomb on Thursday night, but fell 78-69 to Belmont on Saturday afternoon in the battle of league unbeatens. • For the first time this season, every Lady Buc who dressed saw action in the win over Lipscomb Thursday night. 11 of the 12 ETSU players also found the scoring column, and freshmen Brianna McClelland and Sarah Muniz played in their first collegiate game.

Gardner-Webb Bulldogs

• The Gardner-Webb women's basketball team snapped a four-game skid with a conference road win at North Florida, 39-35. The 35 points scored against the Bulldogs were the fewest allowed in school history. • After a weekend split, GWU is now 1-2 in the conference and returns home for its first two league games in Paul Porter Arena. The Bulldogs host Kennesaw State on Thursday before the Bucs of ETSU come to town on Saturday.

Jacksonville Dolphins

• Against Campbell, the Dolphins finished with less than 10 turnovers (nine) for the first time since 2002. The squad also shot 40 percent from the floor in back-to-back games for the first time since Belmont and Georgia Tech . • Despite the loss to Niagara on Dec. 18, JU set a new standard for steals by tallying a program-record 17 against the Purple Eagles.

Kennesaw State Owls

• KSU went 1-1 last week, falling to Belmont and then hitting key free throws down the stretch to down Lipscomb, 82-71. Jennifer Baker led KSU with 17 points and five Lady Owls scored in double digits. • With Saturday's win over Lipscomb, the Lady Owls surpassed last year's win total of five games. • Freshman Rosetta Hollis continues to pace Kennesaw State in her freshman season. The 5-11 forward is averaging 14.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. She would rank third in the A-Sun in points if not having missed four games with a head injury.

Lipscomb Bisons

• Junior point guard Catie Woods scored a career-high 21 points Saturday in an 82-71 loss at Kennesaw State. She is the first Lady Bisons player to score 20 or more points this season. • Sophomore wing player Jilian Partin has contributed across the board in her last five games, leading the team in scoring and rebounding once, tying for the scoring and rebounding leads once, leading in steals once and leading in assists once.

Mercer Bears

• After seeing its losing streak extended to 10 games, the future does not look bright for the Bears. Mercer hits the road to face Lipscomb (Jan. 11) and Belmont (Jan. 13); Mercer is a combined 0-9 on the road against the Music City duo. • Several players set career or season highs against Stetson last Saturday. Megan delaRosa set career-highs in points (15), field goals made (6), rebounds (3), defensive rebounds (3) and assists (3). Sally Skeldon set a season-high in assists (9) and tied career-highs in rebounds (7) and defensive rebounds (7). Erin Keller tied a career-high in rebounds (8).

UNF Ospreys

UNF covered the spectrum this week, finishing 1-1 on the week as it got back into Atlantic Sun play with a pair of home games. The Lady Ospreys started the week on a high note, building a 19-point lead, then hanging on for a 59-53 win against Campbell. • UNF couldn’t follow that effort up against a depleted Gardner-Webb squad, putting together its worst offensive effort of the season, scoring only 35 points in a loss to the Runnin’ Bulldogs. UNF held Gardner-Webb to only 39 points, but lost the battle of the boards 50-26.

Stetson Hatters

• Hatters took on non-conference opponent the Navy Midshipmen, in only the second meeting between these two teams. Stetson played a great first half, going into the half with the score tied at 29. But the Midshipmen were able to gain momentum during the second half with a 21-4 run with only five minutes remaining. • Junior Jamie Nesbit turned in another game-high performance with 21 points and senior Janene Maclin and sophomore Ayesha Barkley chipped in 15 and 10 respectively. Maclin also pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.