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2007-08 Women's Basketball Team Notes - March 2

  Armstrong Atlantic State (17-10, 11-9) -- The Armstrong Atlantic State women’s basketball team, despite its No. 7 seeding, comes into the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the league, having knocked off three of the league co-champions in the final month of the season ... All-PBC and All-American Kaneetha Gordon has had an outstanding senior season, averaging 13.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. She became AASU’s all-time leading rebounder (1,109) and second-leading scorer (1,336) during the season and is one of only four players in PBC history to record 1,000 career points and rebounds ... Junior Lacey Willis is also on fire of late, averaging 20.5 points per game over her last four contests, and is second on the squad in scoring at 13.4 points per game ... Junior Lindsey Holmes ranks among the league leaders in three-point baskets and percentage, while senior Jasmine Herron has dished out 100+ assists for a second straight season ... Thanks to the work of Gordon and junior Alandris Griffin (6.7 rpg), the Lady Pirates are the second-best rebounding team in the league ... Gordon enters the tournament with a pair of targets in her sights. She needs just 25 points to become AASU’s all-time leading scorer (Gigi Gibson, 1360) and needs just five rebounds to crack the NCAA Division II’s Top 25 career chart in rebounds (1,114).
   Augusta State (19-8, 13-7) -- Augusta State enters the Peach Belt Conference Tournament riding a wave of momentum after capturing a share of the PBC regular-season championship with Saturday’s 104-55 Senior Day victory over Georgia Southwestern … The league title is the first for ASU since finishing the 1994-95 season as league co-champions with USC Upstate and Columbus State … The Lady Jaguars, who will enter the tourney as the No. 3 seed, caught fire with wins in four of their last six and nine of their last 12 games down the stretch … ASU will face No. 6 seed Columbus State in the quarterfinals of the PBC Tournament on Thursday, March 4 at 3:00 p.m. … The Lady Jags split with CSU during the regular season, winning 66-57 at home on Feb. 4 and falling 71-64 just last week in Columbus … By virtue of its 13-7 conference mark and 19-8 overall mark, ASU earned its first bye in the league tourney since 2005 … That season, the Lady Jags and CSU both received byes and faced each other in the quarterfinals, with the Lady Cougars coming out ahead 65-61 … ASU is 1-5 all-time in the PBC tourney against Columbus State … The Lady Jags are 2-8 under head coach Greg Wilson in PBC tourney play and 11-13 all-time since their first league tournament in 1992 … ASU won the first two PBC tourney titles in 1992 and 1993 and won five straight games in the tournament play before suffering its first loss … ASU went 9-5 in tourney action from 1992-99 … During the 2007-08 regular season, ASU enjoyed winning streaks of six and five games, respectively … ASU’s 104 points scored vs. Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, March 1 were the most by a Lady Jaguar squad in 10 years, dating back to the 1997-98 when ASU trounced Limestone 115-52 … The Lady Jags shot a season-high 58.1 percent from the field, including 68.0 percent in the second half, and connected on 10 3-pointers, one off its season high, against the Lady Hurricanes … ASU’s 79-66 victory over Clayton State on Jan. 5 marked its third victory over a nationally-ranked opponent this season.
   Clayton State (18-9, 13-7) -- The Clayton State Laker women’s basketball team recorded a split in its final two games of the regular season, enough to win a share of its third Peach Belt Conference regular season championship in the last four seasons. The week started sour for Clayton State with a 72-61 overtime defeat at USC-Aiken. However, the Lakers won a 76-74 thriller over first-place Francis Marion to win a share of the title… Clayton State could not hold a 12-point halftime lead as USC-Aiken rallied furiously in the second half, and then scored the first 12 points of the overtime period. Clayton State was paced by Shantel Ragin with 24 points, followed by Dominique Jennings with 15 points… With a championship on the line, Jennings scored the final five points of the game for the Lakers, including three free throws in the final eight seconds to seal the victory. Ragin again paced Clayton State with 19 points, while Shanrika Hardeman recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Marie St. Fort added 12 points… In her last four games, Ragin is averaging 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals a game, while shooting 51 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range… Clayton State will be the No. 2 seed in this week’s Peach Belt Conference Tournament, aiming for its third PBC Tournament championship in the last four seasons.
   Columbus State (16-11, 12-8) -- Columbus State’s Jay Sparks did not quite get the end to the 2007-08 season he wanted. His Lady Cougar squad entered the season’s final four games right in the thick of the Peach Belt Conference race, needing just a win at Armstrong Atlantic State on February 21 to move into a tie for first place with Francis Marion. What Sparks got, however, was a skid which saw his squad drop three of four games - a skid which resulted in a fall all the way to the #6 seed in this week’s PBC Tournament. CSU’s lone win was an impressive win over a tough Augusta State team at home on Feb. 27, but a somewhat lackluster performance on Saturday at UNC Pembroke left the team with a sour ending to the regular season. Sparks and his Lady Cougars (16-11) must now regroup and prepare to face Augusta State again in their first PBC Tournament game on Thursday. Leading scorer Maria Grimes was held to eight points against UNCP but still enters tourney play averaging 16.1 points per outing and is tops on th e squad with 83 three-pointers made. Ashley Stafford was also held to single digits on Saturday, but enters Thursday’s game averaging 11.6 points per game. Stafford is second on the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game, as well. Monica Sicka scored 14 points on Saturday and upped her season average to 10 points per game, while Hali Moore collected 16 in one of her best games of the year and enters Thursday’s game at 7.8 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per outing.
   Francis Marion (20-7, 13-7) -- 23rd-ranked FMU dropped its final two games of the season to finish 20-7. The Patriots shared the PBC regular-season title, the school’s first since 1999, and enter the PBC Tournament as the top seed.……The 20 wins, and 13 PBC victories, surpass last season’s win totals of 6 and 3. It is FMU’s first 20-win season in seven years and the 20th in the team’s 34-year history. It comes only one year after posting a 6-22 mark….In the latest national stats report, FMU led the nation in scoring (90.9) and steals per game (18.5). FMU’s eight 100-point games this season is the most since the 1986-87 squad eclipsed the century mark eight times.…..Senior guard Brittany Young is only the fourth Patriot to amass 1000 points and 500 assists. She is currently 19th on the Patriot scoring list with 1163 and 4th on the FMU career assists list and 6th on the PBC career list with 522. Young leads the team in scoring this season at 13.6 ppg, and is one of five players averaging in double figures.……Junior guard Kevina Ransom continues to lead the nation in steals per game (124 in 27 games)…..FMU has forced 638 turnovers in its last 20 contests….Senior center Shavone Mack is 3rd on the FMU career list with 193 blocks, while senior Shonelle Downer is 5th with 141..…..12 different Patriots have scored in double figures at least once this season….FMU is 127-37 in its last 164 home games in the Smith University Center (12-2 this year)…….FMU is 12-14 all-time in the PBC Tournament, including winning the 1998 Tournament in Savannah. The Patriots will face the GC&SU and North Georgia winner in Thursday’s quarterfinals at 5 p.m. FMU is 15-15 all-time against GC&SU (1-2 in tournament play) and 2-5 all-time vs North Georgia (never met in tournament play).
   Georgia College & State University (13-14, 8-12) -- The Lady Bobcats enter the playoffs winning two of their last four … GCSU has won four PBC Tournament titles, including the last three even years: coming in 2006, 2004, 2002, and 1996 … GCSU went 1-1 at last season’s PBC Tournament, beating UNC Pembroke 56-47 before falling to eventual NCAA Semifinalist Clayton State 70-60 … The Lady ‘Cats draw North Georgia in the first round of this year’s tournament, the Lady Bobcats and Lady Saints split the regular-season series … Senior guard Lindsey Smith set the school record in career assists Feb. 13, passing Tracy Davis (1994-98); Smith now has 483 career helps; she also owns the top-two single-season assist marks at GCSU … The Jan. 12 game against Lander set the single-game combined points for a Georgia College squad, with the 214 topping the 193 set on four different occasions … The team hit 15-of-30 (.500) from three-point range against Lees-McRae College Nov. 17, setting a school record for most made threes in a game … PBC Freshman of the Year candidate Dominique Huffin scored 41 Jan. 12, the top mark for a GCSU player at home, and second single-game total in school history (48, Dorothy Delaney Feb. 4, 1985); Huffin leads the team and is ninth in the PBC at 13.9 points per game.
   Georgia Southwestern (1-26, 0-20) -- Notes not submitted.
   Lander (19-11, 13-7) -- The Lander Lady Bearcats (19-11, 13-7) claimed a share of the PBC regular-season championship when they defeated Armstrong Atlantic, 97-87 in the regular-season finale. The Lady Bearcats will be looking to win its second-ever tournament title after winning the crown during the 1998-99 season. Lander, which was picked fifth in the 2007-08 PBC coaches preseason poll, has won five of its last six games entering the tournament. Reigning PBC Player of the Year Tiara Good and two-time NCAA Division II All-American LaShonda Chiles have led the Lady Bearcats all season. Good, the second-leading scorer in the PBC with 20.4 points per game, is also second in the league in free throw percentage (.849) and three-point field goals made per game (3.30); sixth in assists per game (4.13); and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.394). Last year Good was voted to the Daktronics All-South Atlantic Region team and was also honorable mention on the Kodak/WBCA All-American team. Chiles, who enters the PBC tournament needing just four points to tie the NCAA Division II career scoring record of 8,210 points, is averaging 18.8 points. Chiles is third in the league in scoring; fifth in free throw percentage (.794), three-point field goals made per game (2.67), and steals per game (2.43); eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.377); and ninth in assists per game (3.43). Senior Stephanie Ponds, an All-PBC and All-South Atlantic Region selection last year, is averaging 12.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. She is second in the PBC in blocked shots per game (1.73); fourth in rebounds (8.5) and field goal percentage (.595); and seventh in free throw percentage (.764). This year’s unsung heroes have been sophomore Kianna Smith and freshman Shannon McKever. Smith, who transferred from USC Upstate, was the PBC Freshman of the Year last season and is averaging 9.7 points and 5.6 assists per game. She is fourth in the league in assists and seventh in steals per game with 2.31. McKever, a PBC Freshman of the Year candidate, is averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds while playing just 25.3 minutes per game. She is second in the PBC in field goal percentage (.608) and sixth in blocked shots per game (1.13).
   UNC Pembroke (10-17, 5-15) -- UNCP turned in a 1-1 record on the week, dropping a midweek contest to Georgia College (71-56) before snapping a seven-game losing streak to Columbus State with a 61-57 triumph over the Lady Cougars on Saturday … Junior Natalie Ray averaged 15.0 points and 16 rebounds per game over the two games, including pulling down a career-high 19 rebounds against Georgia College … The win over Columbus State was the first for UNCP since a 90-73 home triumph over CSU on Feb. 9, 2002 … Despite registering the historic victory, the Lady Braves will be the 10th seed in this week’s Peach Belt Conference Tournament in Aiken, S.C. … The Black and Gold will square off with seventh-seeded Armstrong Atlantic in the opening game of the tournament … UNCP dropped both regular season meetings with AASU, but only by an average of five points … The Lady Braves fell 61-58 in Savannah, while dropping a 66-59 contest in overtime to the Lady Pirates on February 9 in Pembroke.
   North Georgia (16-11, 9-11) -- North Georgia College & State University finished off the regular season last week with one of the most exciting games of the year at Lander University. The Lady Saints went down to the wire with the Lady Bearcats and played in their second overtime game of the year before falling 92-84 in Horne Arena. Kourtney Singleton led North Georgia with 23 points before fouling out, while Rachael Jolley added 14 points and Syretha Marble had 12 points. Marble led the Lady Saints with nine rebounds while Singleton added eight boards. In regular season finale, North Georgia shot 39-percent from the field, 73 percent from the free throw line, and 23 percent from behind the arc. The Lady Saints enter the Peach Belt Conference Tournament on a three-game losing streak, but have won four of their last five at home. North Georgia has eight of their nine conference wins at home, with their lone road win coming against Georgia Southwestern. Syretha Marble took home the PBC regular season scoring title at 20.5 points per game, and also led the league in rebounding at 10 boards per game, as she was the only player in the conference to average a double double. With the game on the line you have to like the Lady Saints chances as they led the Peach Belt Conference in free throw percentage at 70.2 percent with 523 made foul shots. Quietly making herself one the best long-range shooters in the conference, Brook Baker led the league in three-point field goal percentage at 47.2 Percent, sinking 25 three-pointers in 53 attempts. Kourtney Singleton and Megan Huffman also enter the tournament as the fourth and seventh leading scorers in the conference at 17.2 and 15.6 points per game respectively. Both seniors will play in their only Peach Belt Conference Tournament as North Georgia is in their first season of full NCAA membership and post-season eligibility.
   USC Aiken (20-7, 13-7) -- USC Aiken enters the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the highly-competitive field. The Lady Pacers have won eight of their last nine to spring from seventh place to first. Trailing league-leading Francis Marion by two games with two to play, the Lady Pacers posted big wins over Clayton State and GCSU to claim a share of their third PBC Regular Season Title, but first since 2001-02. With a 20-7 record, it is the program’s second-straight 20-win season, and seventh overall. USC Aiken will enjoy the advantage of playing on their home court for the PBC Tournament. The Lady Pacers were 13-2 at the Convocation Center in its inaugural year, highlighted by winning their final seven home contests, all by double figures, and by an average of 13.6 ppg. Junior guard Meredith Legg ranks sixth in the PBC in scoring and has nine 20-point games this year while senior Avonte Williams is averaging 14.9 ppg over her last eight outings. Junior forward Morgan Johnson missed the final two games of the regular season with an injury but the league’s top shot blocker should return for the postseason.