Game recaps and notes from around the South Atlantic Conference:

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Lady Eagles wrapped up the 2005-06 season this week by going 1-1 in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Nicole Avrett gunned 18 points to lead the Carson-Newman College Lady Eagles to a 70-58 win over the Lenoir-Rhyne College Bears Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse in the first round Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Tashea Ledbetter added 13 points from the paint, while Cassie Burks and Ashley Tipton) added 11 and 10 respectively from the perimeter. The Lady Eagles bounded out to their biggest lead of the half at 15-10 when Avrett scored four straight points. Lenoir-Rhyne battled back to keep the second-seeded Lady Eagles from getting a larger cushion. There were 15 lead changes in the first 20 minutes of the ballgame. The Bears had a chance to make it a one-possession game before halftime, but failed to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded. The Lady Eagles gradually put the contest away late in the second half behind a strong shooting performance. The home team shot 47.4 percent in the second half. The Bears made three consecutive 3-pointers to cut the lead to one point with 12:01 to play in the game, but Tipton answered with one of her two treys to extend her team’s lead. Gabby Smith made a free throw with 1:16 to play in the contest to put C-N up by 10 for the first time. Tusculum College senior forward Amber Redding and junior guard Chassity Martin combined for 40 points, leading the Pioneers to a 76-59 victory over Carson- Newman College in the semifinals of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball tournament Saturday night at the Catawba Valley Community College Arena. Carson-Newman senior forward/guard Giovanni Booker had 16 points for the Eagles. Junior guard Cassie Burks contributed 13 points, while sophomore center Tashea Ledbetter chipped in 10 markers. On Saturday evening, Tusculum took a 36-22 halftime lead. Burks opened the second half with a three- pointer and a two-pointer to move the Eagles within nine (36-27) at the 17:41 mark. Carson-Newman would get no closer, as Martin and freshman guard Ashli Oliver combined for six points to push the Tusculum advantage to 42-27 with 15:23 remaining. The Pioneers gradually pulled away, taking a 69-48 lead on a trifecta by freshman guard Shantae Shank with 3:19 to play. The 21-point bulge was Tusculum’s biggest lead of the semi-final contest. Tusculum opened the game on a 9-0 run fueled by three-pointers from All-SAC selections, Martin and Underwood. Four different Pioneers scored as TC opened a 13-2 advantage. Carson-Newman answered 12-0 run of its own to take a 14-13 lead on a jumper by senior guard Gabrielle Smith. Tusculum quickly regained the upper hand as Shank hit a floater on the next possession. Redding went on a personal 8-0 run, including back-to-back three-point field goals. Redding’s flurry put the Pioneers up 34-18 at the 2:19 mark of the first half. The 16-point bulge was Tusculum’s biggest lead of the opening frame.

CATAWBA - The Lady Indians saw their season end with a 65-59 loss at Tusculum in the opening round of the league tournament ... Catawba led for much of the game, but missed several key free throws down the stretch ... The ladies were just 5-of-14 at the line for the game and 3-of-10 in the second half ... Freshman Brittany Higgins scored 15 points, finishing the year by hitting double digits in her last nine games ... Gia Colombo scored a career-high 14 points, reaching double figures for just the second time in her career ... Hannah Davis finished the season with a team-leading 14.2 scoring average and pulled 6.6 rebounds ... Temekia Foster added 11.6 points and grabed 7.3 boards a contest ... Higgins finished at 9.1 a game and tossed in 10.9 points in league games ... Davis was named to the All-SAC first team, while Higgins made the SAC All-Freshman squad.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College women’s basketball team (10-18) fell to Carson-Newman, 70-58, in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament Wednesday evening at Jefferson City, Tenn. … It was the third time this year the Bears fell to the Lady Eagles … Sophomore guard Leah Barrier (Morganton, N.C.) led Lenoir-Rhyne with 17 points on the game but Carson-Newman opened a close game at halftime (Bears trailed by just four, 29-25) by slowing pulling away after break … Nicole Averett led the way for Carson-Newman with 18 points and Carson-Newman shot 24 second-half free throws compared to Lenoir-Rhyne’s three … This was the first season under Head Coach Todd Starkey … Senior forward Shannon Jones (Warrenton, N.C.) was the lone Bear to earn All-South Atlantic Conference honors, making the second-team squad … Jones led the league in rebounding (10.3 rbg) and the team in scoring at 13.4 points per squad … Jones’ 289 rebounds were sixth-best in school single-game history and her 631 career boards rank eighth in school history … The Bears also suffered their first losing season since the 1998-99 campaign … Lenoir-Rhyne returns three starters for next year.

MARS HILL - MHC ended the 2005-06 season with a 72-67 loss to Newberry in the first round of the SAC Tournament … MHC ends the year with a 16-12 overall record and a 6-8 mark in the league … In the first round of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, SC) scored her career high 27 points to lead the fifth seeded Indians of Newberry College past the fourth seeded Mars Hill Lions Wednesday night in Stanford Arena, 72-67 … The game was played closely throughout … Frasier gave the Indians a 12-10 lead with 14:43 left in the opening half and Newberry would maintain the lead the remainder of the half … The teams went into the locker room at the break with Newberry enjoying a 37-32 advantage … MHC started the second frame on a 14-to-8 run to take a one-point lead (46-45) with 15:52 on the clock after Laura Snider (Old Fort, NC) hit a 3-pointer … Newberry then reeled off seven unanswered points to take a six-point lead (52-46) with 14:46 on the clock after Tonya Deese (Newberry, SC) hit a pair of free throws … MHC trimmed the deficit to just a single point on two occasions down the stretch but was never able to regain the lead … Newberry scored 44 points in the paint, 12 second chance points and out rebounded MHC 44-to-30. Following Frasier’s performance was Cortney Snowden (Augusta, GA) who came off the bench to record her career high 14 rebounds while adding four points … Deese and Monica Alexander (Norcross, GA) scored 14 points apiece and Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, SC) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Indians with 13 … Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, TN) led MHC with 16 points and six rebounds followed by Kristi Ferris (Knoxville, TN) with 14 points and five boards … Lindsey Jones (Crossville, TN) was the other Lion who recorded double-figures in scoring with 10 points … Jones and Ferris were named to 2006 All-SAC first team along with Frasier from Newberry.

NEWBERRY - The most successful week in Newberry College women’s basketball history culminated in a South Atlantic Conference tournament championship Sunday afternoon in Hickory. After going 0-2 against both Mars Hill College and Wingate University in the regular season, Newberry knocked off both and three higher seeds altogether to win its improbable first tournament championship in the program’s history ... Tonique Frasier, tournament MVP, had three 20+ point performances to lead the charge, the first coming Wednesday night against Mars Hill. Frasier had a career-high 27 points and Cortney Snowden grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to motor Newberry past Mars Hill, 72-67. Mars Hill came out firing in the second half, as they canned three three-pointers in the first five minutes. The Lions used a 12-4 run to take a 46-45 lead with 15:45 to go, their first lead since early in the first half. Newberry was able to respond with a 7-0 run of their own, sparked by feisty defense and several fast break baskets ... Mars Hill came within one, 65-64, with 3:31 to play, but Snowden’s rebound with 1:10 left gave Newberry the ball with a two-point advantage, 67-65. Seconds later, Snowden’s offensive rebound and follow put the Lady Indians up 69-65, with 46 ticks left. Frasier proceeded to take over the game, as her rebound with :13 left sealed the Newberry victory ... On Saturday, Monica Alexander and Frasier scored 21 points apiece to lead the No. 5 seed Lady Indians to a 70-55 upset of top seed Wingate University in the semifinals ... In the first half, Newberry put together a 16-6 run and another 9-0 run to pull ahead 27-13 with 5:59 remaining in the half. The double figure lead would remain throughout the contest, expanding to 20 points at the 15:49 mark of the second half. Wingate would make a final run in the final moments to cut the lead to 70-55 as time expired ... Newberry College’s championship Sunday saw sophomore Frasier score a game-high 25 points to lead the Lady Indians to the program’s first Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament title in school history with a 57-50 victory over Tusculum College. Newberry’s All-SAC selection, Frasier, led all scorers at intermission with 12 points on five-of-nine shooting from the floor. In the second half, Tusculum mounted an impressive comeback, fueled behind a 22-11 run to tie the game at 42-42 on a pair of free throws by Martin at the 9:25 mark. The game stayed close over the next few minutes with three more ties. Newberry responded by pulling back ahead 53-47 with 1:32 remaining on a jumper by sophomore Ashlee Wright. The Lady Indians would then close the game by hitting four straight free throws including a pair by Frasier with :21 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Frasier led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds en route to Food Lion SAC Tournament MVP honors, while Alexander added 11 points and was named to the SAC All-Tournament team. Snowden chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Indians ... Next up for the Lady Indians is a date with Shaw University, the top seed in the South Atlantic Region. That game will be played Friday at 6 p.m. on Shaw’s campus.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian College (21-7) ended their season with a 77-56 loss to Wingate University in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Food Lion SAC Tournament ... SAC Player of the Year selection, Tanetra Barrett scored 29 points including 17-of-18 from the free throw line to lead the Bulldogs to a 77-56 victory over Presbyterian College. Emily Paffrath added 16 points and six boards for the Bulldogs. Presbyterian was led in scoring by senior Rebecca Wessinger who tallied 15 points, while senior Cameron Cook chipped in 14 points and four boards. Freshman Morgan Johnson came off the bench to add 10 points and six boards for PC. PC held a 33-25 rebound advantage in the game, but turned the ball over 19 times.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum women’s basketball team closed the chapter on its most successful season since TC became a member of NCAA Division II… The Pioneers’ 18-10 record is their best as a DII member, and their No. 3 seed in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament was their best in seven tournament appearances… TC also advanced to the SAC Tournament Championship for the first time in school history… The squad’s performance was a marked improvement over last season’s 8-21 finish. Its 7-7 conference slate was a five-game improvement over the 2-12 mark recorded in 2004-05… Five TC student-athletes were among the honorees announced on last Tuesday’s All-South Atlantic Conference Teams. Chassity Martin, Amber Redding, and Brooke Underwood were named All-SAC Second Team, while Stephany Neptune and Ashli Oliver were named to the All-Freshman team. Missy Tiber was tabbed SAC Coach of the Year… Neptune led TC to its Food Lion SAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Catawba (65-59), posting 20 points and 14 rebounds. Redding chipped in nine points, six rebounds, and a career-high six assists. Oliver had six points and a career-high nine boards… In Saturday’s semifinal victory over Carson-Newman (76-59), senior Redding scored a career-high 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Martin had 18 points, and Underwood tallied 12. Neptune chipped in a team-high 12 rebounds… In Sunday’s championship loss to Newberry (57-50) Neptune tallied her seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Oliver had 10 points… Redding concludes her Tusculum career with 939 points, 706 rebounds, and 55 blocks. Her totals in rebounds and blocks rank fourth among TC’s career leaders… The 2005-06 Pioneer squad etched its name in a number of the TC single-season records. Underwood now holds the single-season mark for assist average (8.8) and assists (246). Redding ranks third in single-season three-point percentage (.444), while Martin is fifth (.392), and Oliver is seventh (.368) in that category. Neptune’s 31 blocks ranks fourth among the Pioneer single-season leaders, as does Martin’s .836 free throw percentage… Missy Tiber will notch the 100th victory of her collegiate coaching career with the first win of the 2006-07 season.

WINGATE - The number two seed Wingate University women’s basketball team (23-6 overall) will face the number seven seed USC Upstate in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional tournament in Raleigh, N.C. Friday (March 10) at 1 p.m. The three-day event will be played in Spaulding Gymnasium on the campus of Shaw University. The Bulldogs earned an at-large bid to the 2006 NCAA Division II play-offs ... First-round games will be played on Friday, March 10, with the semi-finals on Saturday, March 11 and the championship game on Monday, March 13. Top-seeded Shaw will face the number eight seed Newberry College in the first round ... Newberry earned an automatic bid by capturing the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament title. The winner of the Shaw/Newberry game will face the winner of the North Carolina Central University/Georgia College and State University contest ... The second-seeded Bulldogs will play number seven seed USC Upstate. The winner of the Wingate/USC Upstate game will take on the winner of the number three seed Clayton State University and the number six seed Johnson C. Smith University encounter ... Wingate defeated USC Upstate 97-73 November 18, 2005 in the Ferguson Enterprises Classic, hosted by Tusculum College. The Bulldogs have a 3-3 record against regional tournament participants, with two wins over Newberry included in the victory total. Johnson C. Smith, Newberry and North Carolina Central own 2005-06 victories over Wingate. The Bulldogs have appeared in eight NCAA Division II tournaments ... On Saturday, Wingate dropped a 70-55 decision to eventual champion Newberry in the semi-finals of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament. Wingate junior guard Tanetra Barrett had 22 points to lead the Bulldogs against the Indians ... Barrett tied a career-high with 29 points as the Bulldogs topped Presbyterian 77-56 in the first round of the 2006 Food Lion SAC women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday evening in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus. Bulldog junior forward and second team All-SAC standout Emily Paffrath (Bakersville, N.C.) contributed 16 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in Wingate’s victory ... Also, SAC freshman of the year Anna Atkinson totaled 11 points, four assists, three steals and four rebounds against the Blue Hose ... Barrett was one of five student-athletes named to the Food Lion SAC all-tournament team. In two contests, Barrett averaged 25.5 points per game. The 2005-06 SAC Player of the Year, Barrett is the top scorer in the league.