Game recaps and notes from around the South Atlantic Conference:

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles dropped both games played at the Chatham Orthopedics Holiday Classic in Savannah ... C-N had a season-high 33 turnovers in a 66-58 loss to Fayetteville State. C-N had only six field goals in the first half and ended the game with a 33.3 percent (20-60) field goal percentage ... Amanda Ray had a double-double as she scored 21 points and added 17 rebounds. Nicole Avrett also had a double-double as she scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds ... The Lady Eagles dropped their second straight game as they lost to Armstrong Atlantic 58-53 on Saturday, the second time this season C-N has been defeated by the Lady Pirates ... Amanda Ray once again had a double-double as she scored 15 points and had 12 rebounds. Ashley Tipton came off the bench to score 13 points ... The C-N defense forced 22 turnovers and held AASU to only seven field goals in the second half. But C-N could muster only a 31 percent (21-68) field goal percentage of their own in the loss ... The Lady Eagles return to action on Dec. 29-31 as they travel to Denver to take part in the Mile High Inn and Suites Classic. C-N faces Colorado School of Mines on Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. and Ft. Hayes State on Dec. 31 at 3 p.m.

CATAWBA - Virginia Union overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to top host Catawba 70-69 in women’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym. The Lady Panther got 23 points from Shanell Roberts (Miami, FL) as Virginia Union improves to 3-4. Catawba falls to 3-7 ... Virginia Union trailed 56-49 with just over nine minutes remaining before the comeback. Roberts hit a pair of jumpers and LaToya Green (Richmond, VA) capped an 11-2 run with a three-pointer to give the Lady Panthers a 60-58 edge with 5:32 left. The game was tied three times after that before VUU pulled out to a 69-64 lead with 50 seconds to go ... Hannah Davis (Williamsburg, VA) hit a layup for Catawba before a free throw by Andrea Colbert (Columbus, GA) put the Lady Panthers up 70-66 with 16 seconds remaining. Davis connected on a three-pointer with 7.3 second to play and Catawba drew and offensive foul on the inbounds play to regain possession, down 70-69. An initial shot by Catawba was blocked out of bounds by Shewanda Geter (Augusta, GA) with 5.7 seconds left and Geter came up with a steal with three seconds to go to seal the win ... The game featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes in the back-and-forth battle. Catawba got a career-high 23 points and a career-best equaling 14 rebounds from Tamekia Foster (Chesapeake, VA) in the loss. Ingrid Easter (Cana, VA) tallied a season-high 14 points off the bench for the Lady Indians. Colbert also reached double-digits for VUU with 19 points, while Geter had 13 rebounds and four blocks ... Catawba plays at Shaw on Monday.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College women’s basketball team (6-4) won back-to-back games for the first time this season after defeating Virginia State, 90-76, Saturday evening at Shuford Gymnasium ... Lenoir-Rhyne, which also scored a season-high in points, defeated Virginia State for the second time this year (on Tuesday, November 29, the Bears defeated the Lady Trojans by a 63-50 in Petersburg, Va.) ... L-R built a 20-point lead (57-37) early in the second half and was able to hold off a late VSU rally for the win … Virginia State, fueled by its three-point shooting (12-of-18, 67 percent), cut the lead to nine (75-66) with a little under five minutes remaining but L-R quickly put the game away with a 6-0 run ... Junior forward Joanie White (Claremont, N.C.) key Lenoir-Rhyne’s attack, finishing with 21 points on nine-of-10 shooting while senior forward Shannon Jones (Warrenton, N.C.) added 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in a stellar all-around game … The Bears, who out-rebounded the Lady Trojans by a 34-21 margin and hit 86 percent (19-of-22) of their free throws, also received a career-high performance from freshman forward Jackie Williams, who finished with 11 points on four-of-four shooting … Lenoir-Rhyne next plays in the All-State Insurance Holiday Classic on Thursday, December 29, in Spartanburg, S.C., when it takes on Tampa beginning at 6 p.m.

MARS HILL - MHC split their games last week … They won on the road at Lincoln Memorial University, 54-52, and then lost at Clayton State, 86-73 … The Lions are now 7-3 overall and will take some time off for the Holidays … The squad will return to action on December 28, when they play in Florida Southern University’s tournament … They meet the host school first at 2 p.m. and then play St. Leo on December 29, also at 2 p.m. … In the first game of the week, Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, TN) hit a jumper with 19 seconds left in regulation to propel the Lions past Lincoln Memorial University Thursday night in Turner Arena … The game saw 12 ties and 10 lead changes … MHC won despite shooting 36.7 percent (18-49) from the floor. MHC was only 4-18 (22.2 percent) from behind the arc … MHC took their biggest lead of the game with 5:33 left in the first frame after Kristi Ferris (Knoxville, TN) hit a layup to give the Lions a 20-13 advantage … LMU would answer the Lions out scoring MHC 16-to-6 to close out the first stanza and take a 29-26 lead into the locker room at the intermission … At the start of the second half, LMU quickly went up seven points (33-26) after Heather Benton (Wooten, KY) hit a shot in the lane … MHC then reeled off seven unanswered points to tie the game for the sixth time at 33-all after Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, GA) hit a 3-pointer … After that point neither team would enjoy more than a three-point lead until Ferris gave MHC a five-point cushion with 2:41 left in regulation after hitting a pair of free throws … Ferris was 10-for-14 from the charity stripe in the contest … Two Lion turnovers and a missed 3-pointer allowed LMU to score six straight points and take a 52-51 lead with 44 ticks on the clock after Chasity Williams (Evansville, IN) converted a couple of foul shots … Twenty five seconds later DeBusk hit what would later prove to be the game winner … LMU had one final chance to win the game but Madeline Richards (Floyds Knobs, IN) missed a shot in the lane and Ferris was able to pull in the rebound … She was fouled by Richards and hit 1-of-2 free throws at the other end of the floor to make the final tally, 54-52 … Ferris and Lindsey Jones (Crossville, TN) led MHC with 16 points apiece … The duo had seven and six rebounds in the contest, respectively … Okunowo was the only other player in double-figures for MHC as she added 10 points in the win … DeBusk finished with four points, six rebounds and five assists … Benton led LMU with 16 points and seven rebounds followed by Richards with 10 points and four assists … In the second game of the week, The Clayton State women’s basketball team raced out to a big lead Saturday and then held off a late Mars Hill run to capture a 86-73 South Atlantic Region victory at the Athletics & Fitness Center … Clayton State took control of the contest midway through the first half with a 24-6 run that included four three-pointers in six-minute stretch … Senior Carlie Anderson ignited the run, draining one of her three first half shots from behind the arc to give the squad a six-point lead, 21-15, with 11:20 remaining … Two minutes later, junior Teri Willis hit a three-pointer to give the Lakers their first double-digit lead, 28-17, followed by senior Shelcey Harp hitting a three-pointer to give the squad a 14-point lead, 35-21 … Anderson capped the run with another three-pointer at the 4:47 mark, extending the Clayton State lead to 21 points, 42-21 … Mars Hill battled back and cut the deficit to 14 points on a basket by Lindsey Jones in the final minute of the half only to have Clayton State’s Sharon Wiles stick back in a rebound at the first half buzzer, giving Clayton State a 46-30 lead at intermission … After both teams exchanged baskets early in the second half, the Lakers went on a 17-8 run in a four-minute stretch of the second period to take its largest lead of 25 points, 63-38, on a three-point play by junior post Alecia Humphrey with 15:14 to play … Trailing by 25 points with 11:19 to play, Mars Hill battled back in the final minutes with a 24-10 run in an eight-minute stretch but was never able to cut the deficit to less than 11 points … A three-pointer by Kristi Ferris, cut the Laker lead to 79-68 with 3:17 remaining and a free throw by Abby DeBusk cut the margin to 80-69, but that was as close as the Lions would come … Mars Hill shot better from the field than the Lakers, hitting 44-percent (30-of-68) from the floor compared to Clayton State’s 38-percent (30-of-79) … The Lakers made up for the difference, taking 11 more shots from the field, thanks to a 21-10 advantage on the offensive boards and forcing the Lions into 22 turnovers … The Lakers did shoot well from 3-point range, hitting 46 percent (11-of-24) from behind the arc compared to MHC’s 35 percent (6-of-17) … For Mars Hill, Jones led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Ferris with 19 points … DeBusk and Allison Schafer (Advance, NC) chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively … DeBusk also had a team-leading eight assists and seven rebounds.

NEWBERRY - Freshman Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) hit Newberry’s only three-pointer of the night with 2.4 seconds remaining to give the Lady Indians a 70-69 victory over Limestone College Saturday night at the Timken Center. Newberry (6-3) had trailed by as many as 13 points in the second period before mounting a 19-10 run over the final seven minutes to pull out the win over Limestone (3-5) ... The Lady Indians have compiled a six-game winning streak this year, the longest such since 1997. Tonight’s victory makes Newberry’s fourth straight against the Lady Saints ... Down 65-62 with just under two minutes remaining, Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) made one of two foul shots and Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) connected on a short jumper to knot the contest at 65. A defensive breakdown led to Limestone’s Monica Adams’ (Kings Mountain, N.C.) basket on the other end. When Newberry failed to answer on its next possession, Frasier fouled Melissa DeVore (Mulberry, Ind.) who made both attempts from the charity stripe. Newberry trailed by four with only 24 seconds remaining ... Newberry point guard Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) drove for an off-balance shot in the lane which Frasier rebounded and put back to close the gap to 69-67. After Newberry’s timeout, Frasier fouled Saints’ guard Reagan Robins with 10 seconds remaining. Robins missed both, and Frasier collected the rebound, passing to Alexander to set up the final scoring play ... Cortney Snowden (Augusta, Ga.) was a force in the second period, scoring all 11 of her points after halftime. Snowden committed three fouls in a minute in the first half and played with four for the entire second period. Alexander scored ten points in the second after only a two-point first half. Frasier finished with 13 markers, nine of those coming in the second ... Newberry scored five points off free throws in a 36-second stretch. Limestone was whistled for three fouls, two of those coming after Indian offensive rebounds, allowing the visitors to cut a seven-point lead to two ... The first half was dreadful for the Lady Indians, as they connected on only 30 percent of their shots and missed all six three-point attempts. Newberry endured a four-and-a-half minute span with no field goals and only two foul shots as Limestone put together a 9-2 run. The Lady Saints pushed the lead to as many as 15 at 35-20, but baskets from Wright and Tygress Hope (Hephzibah, Ga.) closed the gap to 35-24 at intermission ... Second-half shooting was not much better for the Lady Indians, but the rebounding was: Newberry won the battle of the boards in the second period, 34-23, to outrebound the Lady Saints 53-47. Newberry is 5-2 this season when claiming more rebounds than their opponent ... Newberry’s next action is at Morrow, Ga., in the Heritage Bank Classic hosted by Clayton State University, where it will face the University of West Georgia on December 29.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian College improved to 9-1 on the season with a pair of home wins last week over North Greenville College and Livingstone College. PC defeated North Greenville College 79-66 this past Wednesday, and defeated Livingstone College 71-61 on Saturday. The Lady Blue Hose have now six in a row this season ... PC 9-1 record is the best start for the program since the 1999-2000 season ... In PC’s 79-66 victory over North Greenville College, sophomore guard Amy Jones (Warthen, Ga.) tallied a game-high 18 points to go along with four boards, three assists, three steals and one block. PC’s freshman center Sharie Hopkins (Chesapeake, Va.) came off the bench to add 16 points and nine boards. Senior forward Rebecca Wessinger (Laurens, S.C.) rounded out the double figure scorers for PC with 11 points and six boards. PC outrebounded the Lady Crusaders 38-30 and forced 23 turnovers on the night. Debbie Wyatt led North Greenville with 16 points ... Wessinger led all scorers with a game-high 16 points as the Lady Blue Hose defeated Livingstone College 71-61 this pat Saturday. Wessinger hit five-of-eight field goal attempts and added six boards and three assists. Hopkins came off the bench to tally a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Freshman Morgan Johnson (Marietta, Ga.) added 10 points and seven boards. Once again the Lady Blue Hose controlled the boards (50-42) despite committing 26 turnovers on the day. PC hit 26-of-41 free throws versus the Lady Blue Bears ... Defensively, PC is allowing only 63.1 ppg and hold a +8.8 rebound advantage this season. When PC holds its opponents to under 67 points, they are 9-0 this season. PC on offense has six players averaging atleast 7.0 ppg and eight players are averaging atleast 11 minutes per game ... Sophomore guard Amy Jones has come into her own this season. The native of Warthen, Ga., is averaging 10.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, 1.8 spg while shooting 39.2 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three-point range, and 77.3 percent from the free throw line ... Freshman center Sharie Hopkins has made the most of her playing time this season. Hopkins is averaging 9.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 0.7 bpg, 0.9 spg, while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor. This past week, Hopkins averaged14.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, and shot 68.8% from the field and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe ... Wessinger leads the team in scoring (15.9 ppg), and is fourth in rebounds (5.6 rpg) while shooting 49.1 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 70.2 percent from the line. She currently has 1,107 career points which ranks 14th in program history. She needs 23 points to surpass former All-SAC standout and teammate Bonnie Werner (2001-04) for 13th place with 1,129 career points ... Fellow senior Wesley Campbell has come up big this season and is averaging 9.3 ppg, a team-best 6.4 rpg, and shooting 72.7 percent from the line ... Sophomore guard Bridget Takach (Chapin, S.C.) leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (46.7 percent), made three-pointers (21) and is 2nd in assists per game (2.7) ... The Lady Blue Hose return to action on Tuesday, December 20 when they travel to High Point, N.C. take on NCAA Division I High Point University at 7:00 pm. PC will take time off for the holidays before returning to action on January 2 with a road game against Mt. Olive College at 2:00 pm.

TUSCULUM - The Pioneers closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 9-2 record, posting victories over Lincoln Memorial (75-46) and Fayetteville State (66-62) and dropping a two-point overtime heartbreaker to host Armstrong Atlantic (86-84) last week… Tusculum’s nine victories surpass last year’s total of eight wins… TC’s games against Armstrong Atlantic and Fayetteville State were part of the Chatham Orthopedics Holiday Classic, which was hosted by AASU in Savannah, Ga… The Pioneers’ victory over Fayetteville State was a come-from-behind effort, as TC trailed at the half (34-29) for only the second time this season and found itself down by as many as eight points in the second period. Tusculum did not take its first lead of the second stanza until the 3:40 mark, when Chassity Martin sank a three-pointer to give the Pioneers their first lead since holding a 29-27 advantage with 2:30 remaining in the first half… The loss to Armstrong Atlantic was a hard-fought shootout, as TC reached the 80-point plateau for just the second time this season. Not only was the score knotted at 74-74 at the end of regulation, but the tally was also deadlocked at 39-39 at the half….Five TC players scored in double figures in the overtime affair, as Ashli Oliver tallied 20, Stephany Neptune had 19, and Amber Redding and Chassity Martin contributed 17 and 15 respectively. All 20 of Oliver’s points came in the first half of the game, while Neptune recorded all 19 in the second half. Neptune also hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds against the Lady Pirates… Ashli Oliver also led TC in its victory over Lincoln Memorial, posting a game-high 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field (78 percent) and a 5-of-7 (71 percent) performance from three-point range… Amber Redding posted two double-doubles last week and narrowly missed a third. Against LMU, she notched 16 points and 11 rebounds. She then tallied 17 markers and 10 boards versus Armstrong and came up just two points shy of a double-dip with eight points and a career-high 15 rebounds in the win over Fayetteville State. Redding’s 16 points against the Lady Railsplitters were a season-high, while her four made three-pointers in that game set a new career best. Redding leads the Pioneers with an average of 9.3 rebounds per game… With 15 points against AASU and a game-high 22 versus Fayetteville State, Chassity Martin was named to the Chatham Orthopedics Holiday All-Classic Team. For the season, Martin leads TC in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per contest…. Brooke Underwood tallied 11 assists against both LMU and Armstrong and dished out seven in the Fayetteville State victory. She joined Martin on the All-Classic Team. Underwood is averaging 9.3 assists per game…. Tusculum will remain idle throughout the holiday break, with its next game coming in the SAC opener versus Wingate on Jan. 7.

WINGATE - Wingate University junior forward Kerri Metzker (Charlotte, N.C.) had a career-high 22 points Saturday in a tough 86-83 loss at Belmont Abbey. She scored all 22 points after halftime. Metzker hit eight-of-11 field goals and five-of-six free throws off the bench for the Bulldogs. In addition, she pulled down seven rebounds … The Belmont Abbey contest was Wingate’s only action last week. She bumped her season average to 8.9 points per game with the 22-point performance ... Wingate is 6-4 overall. Wingate’s four losses have been by a combined 10 points. The Bulldogs will break for the Christmas holidays, returning to action Monday, Jan. 2 in the Catawba College New Year’s Classic. The Bulldogs will play Livingstone College at 6 p.m. on Jan. 2 ... Belmont Abbey pushed its lead to 52-35 when senior guard Whitney Robinson nailed a three-point field goal with 17:29 remaining to give the hosts a 17-point bulge. Wingate mounted a 19-2 run to tie the game at 54-54 on a lay-up by freshman guard Brittany West (Valdese, N.C.) with 10:13 to go in the contest ... Woods and Wingate junior guard Tanetra Barrett (Marshville, N.C.) traded baskets. Crusader freshman guard LeKesha Bell followed with a jumper at the 9:16 mark to give the hosts the lead for good at 58-56 ... Robinson hit her third and final three-point field goal at the 7:25 plateau to put the Crusaders up 68-58. Wingate made one final push, cutting the lead to 76-72 on an inside hoop by senior forward Shannon Proffit (Christchurch, New Zealand) with 2:39 to play. The final margin was as close as Wingate would get the rest of the way ... Barrett contributed 21 points, nailing 10-of-16 attempts from the field. Proffit notched a double-double with 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds ... Belmont Abbey made eight-of-19 three points field goals. The Crusaders hit 56 percent (14-of-25) from the field in the first half. On the afternoon, Belmont Abbey made 51.7 percent (31-of-60) of its field goal attempts ... Wingate shot 58.3 percent (21-of-36) in the second half. For the game, the Bulldogs made 47.9 percent (34-of-71) of their field goal tries. Wingate managed only one three-point field goal (Metzker), compared to eight trifectas for Belmont Abbey.