Game recaps and notes from around the South Atlantic Conference:

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Lady Eagles won both of their games this week by a combined total of three points to stay tied for the conference lead ... Nicole Avrett’s basket with 1.8 seconds remaining lifted the Lady Eagles to a 69-67 win over Tusculum Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse. The win was also the 200th career victory for C-N head coach Dean Walsh. Tashea Ledbetter came off the bench to lead the Lady Eagles with 17 points. Gabby Smith had 14 points, Avrett netted 10 and Giovanni Booker had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds ... Tusculum held a 38-33 lead at the half and the Lady Eagles didn’t take control of the contest until Avrett’s game-winner ... The Lady Eagles led by nine on two occasions in the first half before Redding gave her team its first lead with 1:44 remaining in the first half. Chassity Martin added a free throw and a 3-pointer late in the half to put Tusculum up by five at the break ... The Lady Pioneers built their lead to as much as 11 points early in the final period but the Lady Eagles rallied for the win ... Carson-Newman rallied from a 14-point second half deficit and defeated host Catawba 63-62 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action on Saturday. Carson-Newman trailed 47-33 four minutes into the second half, but limited Catawba to just 15 points the rest of the way in recording the win ... The Lady Eagles took their first lead of the final half at 59-58 on a pair of free throws by Ashley Tipton with 1:43 to go. Nicole Avrett pushed the edge to 61-58 on a jumper at the 1:07 mark. Following a Catawba turnover, Gabrielle Smith upped the margin to 62-58 with 29 seconds remaining ... Avrett made one of two free throws with 10 seconds to play, but a put-back at the buzzer by Catawba was as close as they could get ... Catawba led by as many as 15 in the first half before the Lady Eagles cut he advantage to 40-30 at the half. Avrett led the Lady Eagles with 12 points, while Tipton came off the bench to add 10 ... The C-N defense stepped up in the second half as Catawba shot 60 percent in the opening half, but fell off to just 22 percent in the final half ... The Lady Eagles, who have won four of their last five games, return home for three consecutive games. C-N, who has only played two home games since December 10, hosts Mars Hill on Wednesday and Wingate on Saturday. Both games are at 6 p.m.

CATAWBA - The Lady Indians fell twice at home this week and saw their losing streak extend to four games ... Catawba fell to Mars Hill 88-81 and Carson-Newman 63-62 ... The Lady Indians saw Mars Hill can 60 percent (9-of-15) of its three-pointers in the opening half and fell behind by 14 at the break ... Catawba trailed by 15 with 1:42 left, but stromed back to cut the deficit five with 29 seconds remaining ... The deficit could have been cut even more, but for a missed layup and a free throw during the run ... Mars Hill salted the game away by hitting on 3-of-6 at the line in the final 30 seconds ... Ingrid Easter (19 points) and Hillary Hampton (18 points) each posted career-highs for the Lady Indians ... Hannah Davis (17 pts, 10 reb) and Tamekia Foster (13 pts, 11 reb) each had double-doubles ... Catawba used a 25-3 run midway through the first half to take a 35-21 first-half lead over Carson-Newman ... The Lady Indians shot 60 percent in the opening half to take a 40-30 edge then hit on just 22 percent in the final half and scored just 22 points ... The Lady Indians still led by eight with under six minutes to play, but scored only seven points over the final seven and half minutes ... The Lady Eagles finally took the lead with 1:43 to go ... Hampton had a shot to tie the game in the closing seconds and Foster’s putback at the buzzer left the Lady Indians a point short ... Freshman Brittany Higgins tossed in a career-best 16 points in the loss, while Davis added 11 and Foster 13 points ... Catawba heads to Wingate on Wednesday and Presbyterian on Saturday to close out the first half of conference play.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College women’s basketball team (8-10, 1-4) lost two of three last week … On Monday, the Bears fell to the Lady Lions, 83-71, before knocking first-place Wingate from the ranks of the unbeaten in the league with a thrilling, 74-67 overtime win on Wednesday … Finally, Presbyterian snapped its six-game losing streak to L-R with a 78-61 win at Shuford Gymnasium … The Bears kept the game close against the Lady Lions but duo of Lindsay Jones and Kristi Ferris combined for 50 points proved to be too much …L-R trailed, 55-41, early in the second half but rallied to cut the lead to 68-66 with 3:27 … However, Ferris (a game-high 28 points), made nine-of-10 free throws in the final 2:44 to spearhead Mars Hill’s victory … Senior guard Sandi Hyatt (Albemarle, N.C.) was one of four players to score in double figures for the Bears, finishing with 14 points … The Bears shot just 37 percent (24-for-65) from the field and committed 24 turnovers … L-R defeated Wingate for the first time in six tries in the overtime win Wednesday … Junior guard Ashley Gordon (Newport News, Va.) led the Bears with 16 points, all in the second half, including 10 in overtime … Junior forward Joanie White (Claremont, N.C.) added a double-double (24 points and 13 rebounds, both game-highs) and senior forward Shannon Jones (Warrenton, N.C.) tallied 15 points and nine rebounds … Like Gordon, all of Jones’ points came after the break … The Bears may have won it from the line, hitting 21-of-23 free throws (92 percent) … L-R also held the second-best team in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage to just 22 percent (five-of-23) in the first half … Against PC, Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a 40-36 halftime but, in the second half, the contest was all Presbyterian … After a Jones’ lay-up 21 seconds in the second stanza gave the Bears a 42-36 lead, PC held L-R without a point for the seven and a half minutes and without a field goal for close to nine minutes … During that span, Presbyterian put together a 24-7 run for a 60-49 lead and would led by as many as 21 points ... L-R shot just 29 percent (six-of-21) in the second half and turned the ball over 27 times … Jones, the SAC’s top rebounder (11.6 rpg), lead the Bears with 16 points and nine boards while sophomore guard Leah Barrier (Morganton, N.C.) added nine points and nine first-half assists … L-R travels to Newberry, S.C., to play Newberry College Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a SAC Television Network/Time Warner Cable televised game, before visiting Greeneville, Tenn., for a 2 p.m., contest on Saturday against Tusculum.

MARS HILL - MHC won two of its three league games last week … The Lions defeated Lenoir-Rhyne College on Monday, 83-71 and then defeated Catawba College 88-81 on Wednesday before losing to Wingate on Saturday, 85-76 … MHC is now 12-6 overall and 2-2 in league play … In the first game of the week, Mars Hill College senior post players Kristi Ferris (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Lindsey Jones (Crossville, Tenn.) combined for 50 points, 15 rebounds, seven steals and four assists as the Lions defeated Lenoir-Rhyne College 83-71 in South Atlantic Conference action Monday night at Stanford Arena … The top free throw shooting team in the SAC (76.7 percent) entering Monday’s play, Mars Hill hit 23-of-27 charity tosses (85.2 percent) against the Bears … Ferris led all scorers with 28 points. She hit 13-of-14 free throws and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Jones finished with 22 points and six rebounds, after posting 18 points in the first half as the Lions gained a 38-29 lead at intermission … Mars Hill junior guard Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, Tenn.) chipped in 10 points for the hosts … Lenoir-Rhyne had five players in double figures … Bear senior guard Sandi Hyatt (Albemarle, N.C.) had 14 points, while junior center Joanie White (Claremont, N.C.) notched 13 points .,. L-R sophomore guard Leah Barrier (Morganton, N.C.) had 12 points and matched Ferris with nine rebounds … Freshman forward Ashlei Helton (Icard, N.C.) had 11 points off the Lenoir-Rhyne bench as the Bear reserves outscored the Lion substitutes 19-6 … Senior forward Shannon Jones (Warrenton, N.C.) rounded out the double figure scorers for the visitors with 10 markers … Mars Hill did not trail after halftime … A lay-up by Lindsey Jones put the hosts up 55-41 with 10:51 to play in the contest … The Bears scored six unanswered points to cut the margin to 55-47 on two White free throws at the 9:28 mark … The Lions kept the advantage, but the Bears would not go away … Lenoir-Rhyne cut the margin to 68-66 on two free throws by Shannon Jones with 3:27 to play in regulation … The Lions missed a three-pointer, giving the Bears a chance to tie the game … Lenoir-Rhyne missed two inside shots on the next possession … Ferris grabbed the second rebound and helped Mars Hill insure the Bears would not pull even … Ferris hit nine-of-10 free throws in the last 2:44 to keep the Bears at bay … Ferris also hit her only three-pointer of the contest with 58 seconds left to push the Mars Hill lead to 77-69 … Hyatt answered with an inside hoop, but the Bears would get no closer … The Bears made only two field goals after cutting the advantage to two (both by Hyatt) … Mars Hill shot 45.2 percent from the field (28-of-62) for the contest … Lion freshman guard Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) dished out seven assists and equaled Ferris with a team-best four steals … Barrier’s nine boards helped Lenoir-Rhyne out rebound Mars Hill 44-39. The Bears managed only 36.9 percent (24-of-65) shooting, but pulled down 17 offensive rebounds on the evening … In the second game of the week, Lindsey Jones and Kristi Ferris combined for 42 points to lead the Lions to a 88-81 victory over SAC rival Catawba College Wednesday night in Goodman Gym … MHC is ranked eighth in the first NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region poll released earlier this afternoon … This was the first win for MHC in Salisbury since 1996 when they defeated the Indians 76-47 … Catawba fell to 6-11 on the season and 1-3 in conference play … Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, TN) hit a 3-pointer with 18:42 on the clock in the first half to give MHC a 3-2 advantage they would maintain the remainder of the contest … The Lions led by as many as 13 points with 5:09 left in the first half after Jones scored two of her game high 24 points in the contest … Converting on 52.8 percent (19-36) of their field goals enabled the Lions to take a 49-35 lead into the locker room at the intermission … MHC opened the second half on a 14-to-8 run to take their biggest lead of 20 points (63-43) with 12:14 left in regulation after Shamia Terry (Greenville, SC) hit 1-of-2 free throws … Catawba fought back out scoring the Lions 33-to-19 to trim the deficit to just six points (82-76) with 54 ticks left on the clock after Gia Columbo (Concord, NH) hit a layup but that was as close as Catawba would get … MHC hit 50 percent (32-64) of their field goals in the game and out rebounded the Indians, 45-to-36 … Catawba scored 36 points in the paint and 19 points off MHC miscues … Jones added 11 rebounds to go along with her 24 points to obtain her first double-double on the season … Ferris scored 18 and pulled down nine rebounds while DeBusk added 13 points and seven boards … Allison Schafer (Advance, NC) rounded out the double figure scorers for MHC scoring 12 points in the victory … In the final game of the week, Wingate University juniors Tanetra Barrett (Marshville, NC) and Emily Paffrath (Bakersville, NC) combined for 47 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 85-76 South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball win over Mars Hill College Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena … Barrett recorded her second career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds … Paffrath scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds … Wingate freshman point guard Anna Atkinson (Marion, NC) had 14 points and a career-high six steals … Both Barrett and Atkinson played 40 minutes … Mars Hill senior guard Kristi Ferris and redshirt freshman center Shannon Lee (Four Oaks, NC) had 15 points each to lead the Lions … Mars Hill senior forward Lindsey Jones matched Barrett’s double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds … Wingate ended the first half with a 12-0 run to turn a 34-33 deficit into a 45-34 lead at intermission … Atkinson ended the flurry by scoring five points in the final two seconds of the opening frame … The Bulldogs started the second half in a similar fashion, taking a 57-39 lead on a Paffrath layup with 15:45 to go in the contest … Mars Hill answered with an 11-0 run of its own, pulling within five at 60-55 on a three-point field goal by Lee at the 11:12 plateau … A hoop by Mars Hill freshman guard Katie Davis (Harriman, TN) cut Wingate’s lead to 65-64 with 7:48 to play in the second half … The two teams continued to battle, but Wingate found one more run to seal the win … Wingate put together an 11-to-3 stretch to take an 82-71 lead on a Barrett layup with 2:10 remaining in the contest … Mars Hill would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way … The Bulldogs hit 54.5 percent (30-of-55) of their shots from the floor … Wingate hit 57.1 percent (16-of-28) of its field goals in the second half … Mars Hill was solid from the floor as well, making 45.2 percent (28-of-62) of its field goals … Wingate scored 36 points off 22 Mars Hill turnovers … The Bulldogs outscored the Lions in the paint 44-to-24 … The Lions clawed their way to a 42-26 rebounding advantage … Lee led the way with 11 boards, followed by Ferris with six boards … Mars Hill freshman point guard Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, GA) dished out a game-high eight assists for the Lions … Mars Hill’s bench outscored the Wingate reserves 27-13 … Mars Hill will make a trip up the mountain to face Carson-Newman College Wednesday night. Tip-off in Jefferson City, TN is slated for 6 p.m.

NEWBERRY - Newberry’s 1-1 week saw disappointment on Wednesday and a narrow victory over a regionally-ranked team on Saturday ... A trio of sophomore sensations scored 57 of Newberry’s 69 points but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 15 point deficit in the second half as the Lady Indians fell to Presbyterian Wednesday night, 79-69. Monica Alexander (20 points), Tonique Frasier (19 points) and Ashlee Wright (18 points) scored all but 12 of Newberry’s points in the loss. Frasier posted a double-double in the game as she nabbed 11 rebounds while Wright’s 18 points tied a career high ... Newberry and Presbyterian exchanged leads five times and had eight different tie scores in a first half that saw the teams battle back and forth. The Blue Hose made their presence known on the boards, outrebounding Newberry 23-17 in the first period. The Indians were potent from the free throw line, putting in 63 percent of their shots to PC’s 47 percent ... Newberry, who led for a good portion of the first half, saw their lead slip away late as Presbyterian’s Amy Jones hit a wide-open three-pointer on a missed assignment. The basket tied the game with 12 seconds remaining on the clock and Newberry could not get a last second shot off as the teams retired to the locker room, knotted at 32 at the half ... Newberry led by as much as five early on in the second half before PC orchestrated a 15-3 run to take a 12 point lead in the game, 59-47. Newberry was down by as much as 15 with just over six minutes remaining and staged a late rally, pulling within six points with just over a minute left before PC was able to stop the rally and hold on for a win. Late free throws extended the Blue Hose lead to 12 for the 79-69 Presbyterian win ... The Newberry women’s basketball team used a 16-0 run to overcome a 10-point second half deficit in a come from behind victory, 71-67, over conference foe Tusculum College Saturday in Eleazer Arena. Tusculum, who leads the nation in three-pointers made a game, was held to just eight converted threes at 27.6 percent. Sophomore Tonique Frasier poured in a season-high 20 points for the Lady Indians, including six in the 16-0 spurt. With the win, Newberry improves to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in the South Atlantic Conference, while Tusculum drops to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference. The win is Newberry’s fifth ever against the Pioneers ... Tusculum jumped out to a quick start in the second half, seemingly gaining control of the game. After a 38-all tie, Tusculum’s Amer Redding and Chassity Martin hit back-to-back threes, giving them a six-point cushion, 44-38, with 14:12 to go. Just minutes later, the Pioneers built the margin to 10 at 55-45, the game’s biggest lead ... The Lady Indians responded, however, using tight defense and timely shots. With 10:56 to go, senior Tonya Deese sparked the Newberry run with a layup, followed by a Jonelle Yaklich three and two jumpers from Frasier. The Lady Indians took a 56-55 lead with 5:18 left after another Deese jumper in the midst of their 16-0 run. Tusculum was held scoreless for nearly eight minutes. During that span, the Pioneers missed eight shots and committed six of their 20 total turnovers ... A Monica Alexander three-pointer gave Newberry their biggest lead of the game, 64-57, with 2:50 to go. The Lady Indians kept their two-possession lead with 1:38 left after an Ashlee Wright layup, but Tusculum’s Ashli Oliver hit a wide open three-pointer, cutting the Newberry lead to three, 66-63. The Lady Indians responded, but couldn’t quite seal the deal at the free throw line, as they missed five of their eight charity shots down the stretch. Brooke Underwood made a layup keeping the Pioneers close, but a Wright free throw was enough to end the game ... Next up for Newberry is a home contest with Lenoir Rhyne College on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised tape-delay by Time Warner markets in North and South Carolina. Tusculum heads home for a January 25th game against Presbyterian College. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian College improved to 15-3 overall and 4-1 in the South Atlantic Conference to remain in a first place tie atop the league standings. The Lady Blue Hose defeated Newberry College 79-69 at home this past Wednesday, and defeated Lenoir-Rhyne College 78-61 on the road on Saturday ... PC’s 15 wins is the most since the 2001-02 season, when the Lady Blue Hose posted a 21-9 record ... Presbyterian College shot 54.2 percent from the field including a blistering 65 percent in the second half en route to a 79-69 victory at home over instate-rival Newberry College this past Wednesday. Senior forward Rebecca Wessinger (Laurens, S.C.) scored a team-high 16 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the field, while sophomore guard Amy Jones (Warthen, Ga.) continued her stellar play with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three blocked shots. Freshman guard Marie Marquez (Greenville, S.C.) came off the bench to score 11 points and add a pair of steals. Fellow freshman, center Sharie Hopkins (Chesapeake, Va.) notched her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds ... Presbyterian College held Lenoir-Rhyne to only 21 second half points and in the process erased a four-point halftime deficit to defeat the home standing Bears 78-61 on Saturday. After trailing by as many as 12 points on two occasions in the first half, PC trimmed the lead to only four entering halftime at 40-36. The second half was dominated by the Lady Blue Hose who outscored the Bears 42-21 and forced 27 turnovers for the game. Wessinger led the way with 17 points, while senior forward Wesley Campbell (Greenville, S.C.) came off the bench to score 15 points on three-of-five shooting from beyond the arc. Fellow senior, center Cameron Cook (Greensboro, N.C.) added 13 points and eight boards coming off the bench and sophomore guard Bridget Takach (Chapin, S.C.) added 13 points and three steals ... Defensively, PC is allowing only 62.6 ppg and hold a +10.4 rebound advantage this season. When PC holds its opponents to under 67 points, they are 12-1 this season. PC on offense has six players averaging atleast 7.9 ppg and eight players are averaging at least 16 minutes per game ... Sophomore guard Amy Jones has come into her own this season. The native of Warthen, Ga., is averaging 10.3 ppg, 4.1 apg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 spg while shooting 39.9 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three-point range, and 75 percent from the free throw line. She ranks in eight different statistical categories in the latest South Atlantic Conference statistics ... Freshman center Sharie Hopkins is becoming an impact player for the Lady Blue Hose this season. Hopkins is averaging 10.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 1.0 spg, while shooting 61.2 percent from the floor ... Wessinger leads the team in scoring (15.4 ppg), and is fifth in rebounds (4.6 rpg), while shooting 47.3 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 74.7 percent from the line. She currently has 1,225 career points which ranks 11th in program history. She recently passed former All-SAC standout, Chris Mitchum (1992-96) for 11th place with 1,213 career points ... Senior center Cameron Cook continues her move up the program’s career rebounding chart. Cook, a native of Greensboro, N.C., currently ranks 11th in program history with 545 career rebounds. She needs 11 more rebounds to move into 10th place and pass Adrienne Singleton (1982-85) who tallied 555 career boards ... PC travels to Greeneville, Tenn. on Wednesday, January 25 to take on the Pioneers of Tusculum College at 6:00 pm, before returning home to host the Indians of Catawba College for a 2:00 pm tip-off on Saturday, January 28.

TUSCULUM - Tusculum dropped a pair of SAC road contests last week against Carson-Newman (69-67) and Newberry (71-67)… The back-to-back losses mark the first time this season that TC has dropped consecutive games… The set-back at Carson-Newman came with just 1.8 seconds remaining in the game, when C-N’s Nicole Avrett sank a short jumper to give the Lady Eagles the victory… Senior Amber Redding continued her stellar play of late, netting a career-high 21 points at Carson-Newman and posting 18 points at Newberry. Redding also pulled down seven rebounds in both outings. She shot an impressive 67 percent (6-of-9) from the field in the loss to the Lady Indians. Redding is averaging 16.0 points and 7.4 boards in five conference games… Junior Chassity Martin, who leads the Pioneers with an average of 16.2 ppg, tallied 20 points at C-N and 10 at Newberry. Martin is averaging 17.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in conference action… Freshman Ashli Oliver chipped in nine points against C-N and 12 versus Newberry. Oliver continues to lead TC with 56 three-point field goals, an average of 3.5 per contest… Freshman Stephany Neptune also tallied double-figures at Newberry, scoring 10 points, while corralling seven boards. Neptune leads TC with an average of 8.8 rebounds per game, including 8.0 rebounds in SAC competition…Junior Brooke Underwood had eight assists in both games last week. She is currently averaging 9.1 assists per contest. With 145 helpers to date, Underwood needs just eight more to crack the school’s top five single-season assist leaders… According to last week’s statistics released by the NCAA, TC was among the nation’s leaders in a number of categories. The Pioneers’ 9.8 three-point field goals per game ranked first in Division II, while the team’s 39.9 three-point percentage placed sixth in the country. Tusculum also weighed in at 45th in scoring offense (72.8 ppg) and 49th in field goal percentage (.439). Individually, Brooke Underwood was second in DII in assists per game (9.2). Ashli Oliver was third in three-pointers per game (3.6) and 21st in three-point percentage (.436). Chassity Martin ranked 17th with an average of 2.8 threes per game… Next on the schedule for Tusculum is a pair of home games versus Presbyterian on Wednesday and Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday.

WINGATE - Wingate University juniors Tanetra Barrett and Emily Paffrath combined for 47 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 85-76 South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball win over Mars Hill College Saturday afternoon at Mars Hill ... With the victory, Wingate remains tied for first place in the SAC standings. The Bulldogs are 12-5 overall and 4-1 in the SAC. Carson-Newman and Presbyterian share the league lead with Wingate ... Barrett recorded her second career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Paffrath scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Wingate freshman point guard Anna Atkinson had 14 points and a career-high six steals. Both Barrett and Atkinson played 40 minutes ... Wingate ended the first half with a 12-0 run to turn a 34-33 deficit into a 45-34 lead at intermission. Atkinson ended the flurry by scoring five points in the final two seconds of the opening frame. The Bulldogs never trailed again. Wingate is 10-2 this season when leading at halftime ... Wingate scored 36 points off 22 Mars Hill turnovers. The Bulldogs outscored the Lions in the paint 44-24. The Lions clawed their way to a 42-26 rebounding advantage. Mars Hill’s bench outscored the Wingate reserves 27-13 ... On Wednesday night, Wingate dropped a tough 74-67 SAC overtime decision at Lenoir-Rhyne. Barrett had 23 points, while Atkinson scored a career-high 20 points. Paffrath had 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench ... The number two team in the nation in field goal percentage entering the Lenoir-Rhyne game, Wingate hit only 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the floor against the Bears. Barrett, Atkinson and Paffrath scored 61 of Wingate’s 67 points ... In last week’s NCAA Division II statistics, Barrett was 14th in individual field goal percentage (55.6 percent) and 19th in points per game (20.0). Barrett leads the SAC in scoring. Atkinson was 22nd in assists per game (5.2), while Paffrath was 22nd in blocked shots per game (2.3). Paffrath leads the league in blocked shots ... As a team, the Wingate women were second on the NCAA Division II charts in team field goal percentage (48.8 percent), ninth in scoring offense (79.9 points per game), 19th in team free throw percentage (74.3 percent) and 20th in team three-point field goal percentage (37.1 percent).