Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--Sophomore newcomer
Avonte Williams scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the opening 20 minutes to lead USC Aiken (1-1) to a big 70-59 win over the University of Tampa (1-1) in the NU SKIN Tip-Off Classic on Friday night at "The Courthouse". Williams led four Lady Pacers in double figures as USCA improves to 29-3 in home non-conference games since 1999-2000.
Mount Olive College (1-0) opened the tournament with an 81-57 win over Converse College (0-2).
A competitive first half witnessed three ties and eight lead changes. USC Aiken opened 5-of-5 from the field, but five turnovers in the first six minutes kept Tampa in it trailing by one at 10-9. Courtney Wilder's bucket in the paint with 7:11 until half pushed Tampa back in front 21-20, but five points by
Meredith Legg fueled a 7-0 spurt as the Lady Pacers went back on top to stay 27-21 with 4:44 on the clock.
Williams was 7-of-9 from the field including 2-of-2 from deep in the first half for 16 points in 17 minutes. Although she did not attempt a shot in the second half, she went 2-of-3 at the free throw line to go with seven rebounds and five assists.
As a team, USC Aiken canned 12-of-20 from the floor for 60.0 percent in the opening stanza including 4-of-7 from the three-point line. They finished 24-of-43 for 55.8 percent for the game.
After a three-pointer by Tay Mathis three minutes into the second half cut the margin to 37-35,
Satu Leppanen converted a backdoor lay-up off a
Mindy Allee feed and
Meredith Legg drilled her second trey of the night to push it back to a 42-35 margin with 16:00 on the clock. Leppanen scored 10 points in 26 minutes before fouling out while Legg finished 2-of-4 from downtown for 10 points.
Allee's fast break lay-up with 7:37 to play extended USCA's lead to 55-44. The junior point guard scored 15 on 3-of-6 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the stripe to go with five points and five assists.
Hailee Sullivan's charity tosses with 4:41 remaining made it a two possession game at 58-52, but USCA closed the game on a 12-4 run until Juanita McClinton's trey at the buzzer set the final margin at 70-59.
Shaneisha Walton, behind an 8-of-11 day at the line, finished with 16 points and 10 boards for Tampa. Mathis was 5-of-20 from the field for 13 points while McClinton added 11 points.
Despite squaring off against a taller, bigger Tampa team, the Lady Pacers won the battle of the boards 30-23 and outscored the Spartans in the paint 32-20.
USC Aiken will take on Mount Olive tomorrow at 3:00 PM while Tampa faces Converse in the first game at 1:00 PM.
Newspaper Box Score
Tampa vs USC Aiken
11/18/05 7:30 PM at Aiken, S.C. (The Courthouse)
USC AIKEN 70, TAMPA 59
TAMPA (1-1)
WALTON, Shaneisha 4-7 8-11 16; MATHIS, Tay 5-20 0-0 13; McCLINTON, Juanita 4-7 0-0 11; WILDER, Courtney 4-6 1-2 9; WOODARD, Erica 2-5 2-4 6; KANE, Alexa 1-3 0-0 2; SULLIVAN, Hailee 0-0 2-2 2; TAYLOR, Kym 0-0 0-0 0; TAYLOR, Lindsey 0-0 0-0 0; BURGMEIER, Jennifer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 13-19 59.
USC AIKEN (1-1)
Williams, Avonte 7-9 2-3 18; Allee, Mindy 3-6 8-8 15; Leppanen, Satu 4-6 2-2 10; Legg, Meredith 3-7 2-3 10; Starnes, Megan 2-4 3-5 7; Thomas, Jordon 3-7 0-0 6; Jones, Keirstin 2-2 0-0 4; Jackson, Allison 0-1 0-0 0; Broadwater, LaToshia 0-1 0-2 0; Chandler, Kendra 0-0 0-0 0; Bennett, Nichole 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-43 17-23 70.
Tampa......................... 30 29 - 59
USC Aiken.................. 35 35 - 70
3-point goals-Tampa 6-18 (MATHIS, Tay 3-12; McCLINTON, Juanita 3-5; WOODARD, Erica 0-1), USC Aiken 5-13 (Legg, Meredith 2-4; Williams, Avonte 2-2; Allee, Mindy 1-3; Thomas, Jordon 0-2; Starnes, Megan 0-1; Leppanen, Satu 0-1). Fouled out--Tampa-KANE, Alexa, USC Aiken-Leppanen, Satu. Rebounds-Tampa 23 (WALTON, Shaneisha 10), USC Aiken 30 (Williams, Avonte 7). Assists-Tampa 12 (MATHIS, Tay 6), USC Aiken 17 (Allee, Mindy 5; Williams, Avonte 5). Total fouls-Tampa 19, USC Aiken 16. A-305.
