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Game Results |
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| Date |
Opponent |
Results |
| 3/5/2010 | Chattanooga State at Columbia, TN | 84-58 Win | The Lady Cougars moved into the semifinals with a big win on Friday over the sixth seeded Chattanooga State Lady Tigers by a final score of 84-58. The Lady Tigers seemed poised to pull off the upset as they hit the Lady Cougars with a smothering full court press to start the game, causing several turnovers. Hannah Powers converted a three-point play as the Lady Tigers took a 7-0 lead.
After a timeout, the Lady Cougars were able to right the ship and get things rolling. Kierra Johnson and Stephanie Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer each to tie the game at 12-12 while Taylor Neil added a nive turn-around jumper to put Cleveland State on top for good.
Anderson hit her second trey of the half while Takeya Day did the same to give the Lady Cougars a 10 point lead, but the Lady Tigers scored the last five points of the half to cut the Cleveland State lead to only five at the break, 37-32.
The Lady Cougars turned up the heat in the second half as Day opened the half with a pair of long distance shots to spur a 25-9 run. Christian Page hit a 3, Day hit another and Anderson nailed a pair of 3's of her own as the Lady Cougars turned a close game into a blowout.
Day paced the Lady Cougars with 22 points, Neil followed with 18 and Anderson finished with 12. Kim Manning paced the Lady Tigers (12-11) with 19 points while Sha'Cola Clay added 13 and Hannah Powers 12.
Overall Record 20-7 | | | 2/27/2010 | Volunteer State | 63-79 Loss | The Lady Cougars started slowly against the much taller Lady Pioneers as they fell behind by eight points early in the game. Mariah Lawrence hit a long 3-pointer and Kierra Johnson hit a pair of long range shots of her own to go with a couple of scooping layups as the home team cut into the Volunteer State lead.
Trailing 31-18, a slight altercation between Tiffany Johnson and Lady Pioneer point guard Nadia Givens seemed to light a fire under the Lady Cougars and they proceeded to end the first half with a 12-0 run. Takeya Day highlighted the run with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the Lady Pioneer lead to a single point, 31-30 at the halftime break.
The game turned extremely physical in the second half as the Lady Cougars took their only lead of the game on a bucket from Johnson, but the Lady Pioneers rebounded with a 12-4 run of their own and never looked back. The Lady Cougars stayed within striking distance until the five minute mark, but the Lady Pioneers were just too much on this day as they cruised to the 15 point win.
Kierra Johnson paced the Lady Cougars with 23 points and 10 boards, Day added 13 points, Lawrence finished with 12 and Taylor Neil added 10. Katie Richardson had a monster game in the paint for the Lady Pioneers (21-4, 16-2) with 24 points while Asia Mathies and Dominique Cook added 12 points each.
Overall Record 19-7
Conference Record 12-6 | | | 2/26/2010 | Motlow State | 77-44 Win | On Friday night the Lady Cougars locked up the third seed in next week's conference tournament with a big win over the Lady Bucks. Cleveland State hit their guests with a 12-2 run and never looked back as Stephanie Anderson connected on her first three shots of the game, all from 3-point land, to help the home team get started.
The Lady Bucks made a run of their own near the end of the first half to cut the lead to only four points, but the Lady Cougars raced right back out to a double digit lead by halftime 30-17.
The Lady Cougars kicked it into high gear in the second half as they sprinted to win number 19 in fine fashion. Lawrence took her turn from behind the 3-point line and proceeded to knock down four long range shots in the half as the Lady Cougars put it on cruise control the rest of the way to win going away.
The Lady Cougars (19-7, 12-6) sizzled the nets to a 56 percent clip while out rebounding the Lady Bucks (4-19, 3-14) 44-34. Lawrence led the way with 18 points, Anderson finished with 12 points while Kierra Johnson and Day added 11 points each. LaDonna Bailey paced the Lady Bucks with 12 points while Crystal Moore added 10.
Overall Record 19-6
Conference Record 12-6 | | | 2/20/2010 | Southwest Tennessee | 96-82 Win | Kierra Johnson scored the first nine points for the Lady Cougars and it was off to the races as the home team never looked back on Saturday afternoon. Mariah lawrence nailed her first three shots from 3-point land early in the game as the lady Cougars were in command the rest of the way. Southwest made a small run as they cut the lead to only seven points, 46-39 by halftime.
Kierra Johnson and Taylor Neil claimed the paint as their own in the second half as the hot shooting pair of Lady Cougars took turns chopping up the much taller Lady Saluqi defense. Johnson finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds while Neil added 23 points and 11 boards as the home teams lead grew steadily until it reached 20 points late in the contest. Keturah Martin paced the Lady Saluqis (14-10, 9-8) with 17 points while Miriame Sylla added 16.
"It was a big conference win," stated Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "We played with the energy that we needed to and just like we did on Friday night we ran and ran and wore them down a little in the second half. It was a total team effort."
Overall Record 18-6
Conference Record 11-5 | | | 2/19/2010 | Dyersburg State | 83-68 Win | On Friday night a basketball game was scheduled, but a track meet/wrestling match broke out as the Lady Cougars and the Lady Eagles ran and banged on each other from start to finish.
Cleveland State got off to a slow start, but warmed quickly as they went on a 20-8 run midway through the first half to take the lead. Takeya Day was like a kid in a candy store with the run and gun, wild style of play as she celebrated her 19th birthday with 10 steals in the game and hit 9 of 12 free throws in the first half as the Lady Cougar held off a late Dyersburg run to hold a 42-37 lead at the break.
The first half was more of a track meet while the second half turned very physical as hard fouls and hard non-fouls became common place. Dyersburg hit 18 of 29 free throws in the game while the Lady Cougars hit 29 of 37 in the contest including 12 of 15 in the second half.
Taylor Neil poured in 10 of her 20 points in the second half as the Lady Cougars opened as much as a 20 point lead, but the Lady Eagles just kept coming back each time. The game got as close as seven points late in the contest, but each time the Lady Cougars were able to withstand the run with one of their own and post the big 15 point conference win. Cleveland State shot an even 50 percent for the game while holding Dyersburg State to 40 percent for the game and only 34 percent in the second half. The Lady Cougars also outrebounded the Lady Eagles 36-27.
After Neil's 20 points, Day and Kierra Johnson chipped in with 15 points each and Tiffany Johnson finished with 13 to lead the Lady Cougars (18-6, 11-5). C.C. Tibbs paced the Lady Eagles (12-9, 7-9) with 14 points while Becky Caldwell added 11.
Overall Record 17-6
Conference Record 10-5 | | | 2/13/2010 | Roane State | 78-63 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State Lady Cougars picked up a little revenge and a big conference win all in one fell swoop on Saturday afternoon at L. Quentin Gymnasium as they took care of the Roane State Raiderettes by a final score of 78-63. With the win, the Lady Cougars move into third place in the all-important conference race. The Cougars gave the Raiders all they could handle and then some, but fell in the final seconds to the solid Roane State team, 80-75.
The Raiderettes shot the lights out (59 percent) in the first meeting of the teams earlier in the season to win big in Harriman, but the Lady Cougars were determined to turn up the defensive pressure this time around, and they did just that, holding the dangerous shooters of Roane State to only 33 percent for the game.
"Roane State is a great shooting team and we did a good job of putting the pressure on them at the guard position and limiting their uncontested 3's, that was a key," stated Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "We had a couple of breakdowns in the second half, but the girls did a good job and Taylor Neil took over near the end and we got the win."
The shooting from both the Lady Cougars and the Raiderettes for the first five minutes of the girls contest was as cold as the snowy weather on the outside of the gym with made baskets few and far between.
Tiffany Johnson finally hit a long 3-pointer for the home team to break the ice and from that point forward, the Lady Cougars warmed up rapidly, proceeded to go on a 23-9 run and would never trail again. Katelyn Eldridge, Mariah Lawrence and Takeya Day all launched a 3-pointer in the first half as the Lady Cougars hit six treys in the half and shot 37 percent while holding the Raiderettes to only 29 percent. Robyn Foster hit a pair of 3's for Roane State near the end of the half to cut into the Cleveland State lead as the home team led by eight, 33-25 at the break.
Heather George hit a 3-pointer to start the second half for Roane State, cutting the lead to only five points. Stephanie Anderson answered with a trey of her own for the Lady Cougars as the home team went on a 9-0 run to push the lead back to double digits at 45-30.
The lead stayed right there for much of the rest of the game as the Lady Cougars defensive pressure frustrated their guests for long periods of time. Taylor Neil claimed the paint as her own in the final 10 minutes of the contest as she poured in 18 of her game high 25 points to lead the charge. The Raiderettes made a couple of runs, cutting the lead to five points on two occasions, but the Lady Cougars were able to counterpunch and hit seven of eight free tosses down the stretch to secure the win.
Neil added 10 rebounds to go with her 25 points to lead the way for the Lady Cougars (16-6, 9-5) Lawrence finished with 16 points Kierra Johnson had her usual day at the office with 11 points and 16 boards and Anderson added 10. Molly Eacret paced the Raiderettes (16-6, 9-6) with 20 points, Taylor Hall had 12 and Foster finished with 10.
Overall Record 16-6
Conference Record 9-5 | | | 2/11/2010 | @ Walters State | 42-69 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
MORRISTOWN - The Walters State Senators and Lady Senators laid down the law on Thursday night as they claimed a pair of key conference games from Cleveland State. The Lady Cougars had perhaps one of their worst shooting games of the season and fell to the 22nd ranked and conference leading Lady Senators by a lopsided final score of 69-42 while the Cougars didn't have much luck either as they fell to the much taller Senators 70-64.
The Lady Cougars fell behind early, 8-2, but a 3-pointer from Mariah Lawrence and a layup by Kierra Johnson cut the lead to 8-7. But, as it would turn out, that would be as close as the Cleveland State ladies would get as the much taller Lady Senators slowly expanded their lead to double digits the rest of the half and would lead, 32-20 by halftime.
The Lady Cougars just could not find the mark for most of the game, shooting only 29 percent in the first half and 24 percent for the game.
Taylor Neil grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in the basket as the Lady Cougars scored the first four points of the second half, but from that point on, it was all Lady Senators as the home team went on a 21-5 run to take a commanding lead.
Lawrence and Kierra Johnson led the Lady Cougars (15-6, 8-5) with 10 points each while Johnson added 14 rebounds. Melanie Hemphill paced the Lady Senators (18-2, 13-1) with 13 points while Ambrea Owens added 12 and Shy Marsh and LaKrystle Goss had 11 each.
Overall Record 15-6
Conference Record 8-5 | | | 2/6/2010 | @ Chattanooga State | 77-57 Win | CHATTANOOGA - The Cleveland State Lady Cougars hit the road on Saturday afternoon and came home with a very impressive conference win over their arch rival, the Chattanooga State Lady Tigers by a 20 point margin, 77-57 to avenge an earlier loss. The Cougars were not as fortunate as they dropped a 78-65 decision to the much taller and 30th ranked Tigers.
It took the Lady Cougars the first eight minutes of the game to shake off the rust of not playing in a couple of weeks, but once they started the Cleveland State ladies took off in a hurry. The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 14-4 advantage, but the Lady Cougars responded with a 21-2 run midway through the first half to take a 25-16 lead.
Kierra Johnson picked off 13 rebounds in the first half including an offensive board after a missed free throw for a bucket to put the Lady Cougars on top for the first time in the contest at 18-16. Takeya Day hit a long 3-pointer and Taylor Neil added a pair of short jumpers in the lane as the visitors took a 32-26 lead at halftime.
The Lady Tigers regrouped at the break and proceeded to toss in the six straight points to start the second half and tie the game at 32 all. But, from that point on the Lady Cougars picked right up where they had left off in the first half and slowly rebuilt their lead. Mariah Lawrence seemed to come up with the big shot at just the right time by nailing three bombs from 3-point land as the Cleveland State lead grew to double digits.
The Lady Cougars hit 14 of 16 free throws in the second half as Takeya Day came up with four steals and six key free tosses down the stretch. Cleveland State also shot 58 percent from the floor in the second half and 48 percent for the game. The Lady Cougars out rebounded the Lady Tigers 37-25.
"After the first few minutes of the game, we really settled in and executed our game plan," explained Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "We out rebounded them by a big margin, that was a key. Our defensive pressure gave them problems, our free throws were big, Mariah hit three 3's in the second half at just the right time and Kierra had a phenominal game on the boards. It was a big conference win, especially on the road."
Neil paced the Lady Cougars (15-5, 8-4) with 20 points, Day finished with 17 points and Lawrence added 13. Jaqualia Wynn led the Lady Tigers (9-7,7-5) with 16 points while Beneidra Colbert and Sha'Cola Clay added 10 points each.
Overall Record 15-5
Conference Record 8-4 | | | 1/23/2010 | @ Columbia State | 73-51 Win | COLUMBIA - The Cleveland State Lady Cougars made it two in a row on Saturday afternoon as they blew by the competition with a strong second half performance to post a 73-51 win over the Columbia State Lady Chargers. The Cougars were not as fortunate as they dropped a pair of tough conference games, falling to the much taller Chargers by a final of 63-45.
On Friday night in Jackson, the Lady Cougars dominated from start to finish to top the Lady Generals by a lopsided final score of 69-45 while the Cougars lost another heartbreaker in the final seconds to the Generals by a final of 45-43.
The Lady Cougars had a tougher than expected time of it with the short handed Lady Chargers on Saturday as they shot only 33 percent from the floor in the first half. Columbia State started quickly with an 11-4 run, but the Lady Cougars finally warmed a bit as they caught and passed their hosts midway through the half as Christian Page hit a long 3-pointer to put the Lady Cougars on top for good, 14-13. Katlyn Eldridge and Tiffany Johnson hit a trey each as they Lady Cougars widened their lead by halftime to 33-26 at the break.
The Lady Chargers stayed within striking distance for the first part of the second half, but a 16-2 run down the stretch finally put the game out of reach and in the win column for Cleveland State.
Taylor Neil led the way for the Lady Cougars with 15 points, Page added 12 points and Kierra Johnson finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Constance King paced the Lady Chargers with 13 points while MiAusha Thompson and Janna Moore added 10 points each.
Overall Record 14-5
Conference Record 7-4 | | | 1/22/2010 | @ Jackson State | 69-45 Win | The Lady Cougars got back to their winning ways on Friday night as they snapped a modest two game losing streak with a big conference win over the Lady Generals. The Cleveland State ladies started slowly and struggled for much of the first half as they would lead by only two points at halftime, 26-24.
After shooting only 33 percent in the first half and hitting only two of their 12 shots from 3-point land, Cleveland State got back on track to start the second half as they went on a 14-0 run to open the half and build a comfortable lead.
As it would turn out, that would be the difference in the game as the Lady Cougars steadily built on their lead the rest of the way to post a big conference win.
Neil paced the Lady Cougars (14-5, 7-4) with 16 points, Kierra Johnson added 11 points and 13 rebounds while Takeya Day, Katlyn Eldridge and Page added eight points each. Victoria Benson led the Lady Generals with 16 points.
Overall Record 13-5
Conference Record 6-4 | | | 1/16/2010 | @ Roane State | 73-91 Loss | To say the Raiderettes shot the ball well would be a huge understatement as the Roane State ladies came out of the lockerroom with the hot shooting hand and didn't cool off until the game was over. The Raiderettes shot the lights out to the tune of 58 percent in the first half and an amazing 54 percent for the game while the Lady Cougars shot only 31 percent.
The Lady Cougars kept things relatively close in the first 10 minutes of the game, but a dry spell by the visitors and a 16-2 run by the Raiderettes turned a close game into a big lead by halftime as the Raiderettes began to hit shots from every point on the floor on their way to a 50-28 halftime lead.
The Lady Cougars slowly, but surely sliced into the Roane State lead midway through the second half and cut the lead to 10 points as Takeya Day picked up two of her five steals and Kierra Johnson nailed a pair of 3's, but on this evening, the hill was just too high to climb with the Raiderettes righting the ship and hitting their free tosses down the stretch to secure the win.
"They are a very good basketball team and we knew that we would have to play very well to have a chance to win up here tonight," explained Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "We played hard and made a nice run in the second half, but we just had too much to make up."
Day led the Lady Cougars (12-5, 5-4) with 17 points, Kierra Johnson added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Taylor Neil and Mariah Lawrence finished with 11 points each. Molly Eacret led all scorers for Roane State (12-2, 5-2) with 23 points including six of eight shots from three point land, Taylor Hall added 16 points and Heather George finished with 15. The Raiderettes hit 13 of 24 shots from downtown for a cool 54 percent while the Lady Cougars hit 11 of 40.
Overall Record 12-5
Conference Record 5-4 | | | 1/13/2010 | Walters State | 69-72 Loss | The perennial powerhouse and year in year out team to beat in Region 7, the Lady Senators entered the game with an impressive 11-1 record and an even more impressive statistic of winning 53 of their last 54 regular season games.
It was business as usual for the visitors as the Lady Senators jumped out to a quick lead and led by a comfortable margin for most of the opening 20 minutes. Mariah Lawrence knocked down the only 3-pointer of the half and a pair of free tosses just before halftime as the Lady Cougars would trail by 11, 39-28 at the break.
The tall trees in the paint, Patrice Talley, Jessica Jones and Melanie Hemphill took turns for the Lady Senators early in the second half, rebounding and hitting layups as the visitors from Morristown opened an 18 point advantage and threatened to runaway and hide.
But, the never-say-die Lady Cougars had other ideas as they just kept plugging away and slowly cut into the lead. With just less than 10 minutes to go in the contest, Taylor Neil put back and offensive rebound and Kierra Johnson canned one of her three, second half 3s and just like that the Lady Cougars had trimmed the lead to seven points.
The Lady Senators rebounded to push the lead back to double digits a few moments later, but the Cleveland State ladies had one last run in them that made for a very exciting ending.
The Johnson girls went to work as both Tiffany and Kierra nailed a shot from downtown and the Lady Cougars found themselves down by only three points with the basketball and less than a minute to go. The Lady Cougars saw a game-tying three, come up just short, but a putback by Neil cut the lead to a single point with just seconds to play.
The upset bid would end right there though, as the Lady Senators were able to knock down just enough free throws to hold on for the win.
Kierra Johnson led all scorers for the Lady Cougars (12-4, 5-3) with 24 points while Neil and Tiffany Johnson added 14 and 10 points respectively. Hemphill led the way for the Lady Senators (12-1, 8-0) with 21 points, Talley added 15 points and 15 rebounds, LaKrystle Goss finished with 13 points and Shy Marsh added 12.
Overall Record 12-4
Conference Record 5-3 | | | 1/6/2010 | Summerhill Prep | 98-20 Win | The ladies contest was tied right up until the opening tip of the game. But, after that it was all Lady Cougars as the home team swarmed the Lady Blue Devils into submission, scoring early, often and everywhere in between. The game was literally over long before halftime as the Lady Cougars held a 52-9 advantage and cruised to the lopsided win.
Everyone in a Cleveland State (12-3) uniform played and scored. Taylor Neil led the way with 22 points, Takeya Day added 15 points and 10 steals, Christian Page finished with 12 points, Katlyn Eldridge had 11 and Kierra Johnson added 10. Ariel Anderson paced the Lady Blue Devils with nine points.
Weather permitting, the Cougars will host the Covenant College JV team on Saturday at 4:00 while both teams will jump back into conference play on Wednesday as Walters State comes to town.
Overall Record 12-3
Conference Record 5-2 | | | 12/12/2009 | Chattanooga State | 74-78 Loss | The roar of the Tiger could be heard loud and far on Saturday afternoon as Chattanooga State took both ends of the rivalry matchup with Cleveland State in L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium. The Lady Cougars dropped a close contest to the Lady Tigers by a final score of 78-74, while the 27th ranked Tigers made it a clean sweep with a 79-68 win over the Cougars.
The Lady Cougars were in control of the girls game for much of the first half pushing their lead to double digits at times before a Lady Tiger surge would cut the margin to only four points by halftime, 36-32.
Most coaches will tell you that the first, five minutes of the second half are crucial to the outcome of the game and it was on this day as the Lady Tigers came out of the lockerroom and hit the home team with a 14-0 run to start the second stanza to turn a four point deficit into an 11 point lead. And in the process, completely swinging the momentum of the game in the Lady Tigers direction.
"That run to start the second half was the key to the game," stated Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "For some reason we came out flat and never quite recovered. We made it interesting at the end, but it should have never came down to that."
The Lady Cougars mounted several drives, but each time Chattanooga State was equal to the challenge. Trailing by 13 points with 1:05 showing on the clock, the Lady Cougars made one last charge and came within an eyelash of pulling off the miracle comeback.
Kierra Johnson got hot at just the right time for the Cleveland State ladies and proceeded to knock down three straight bombs from three-point land to cause a buzz in the large crowd on hand. Several seconds later, Takeya Day hit a pair of pressure packed free throws and just like that the Lady Cougars were down by only three points with 11 seconds to play.
The comeback would end there though, as the Lady Cougars stole the ball, but missed a potentially game-tying three-pointer and fell by four points.
Kierra Johnson paced the Lady Cougars (11-3, 5-2) with 19 points and 12 rebounds, Day finished with 11 points, and Taylor Neil added nine points and 12 boards. Beneidra Colbert led the Lady Tigers (7-4, 5-2) with 21 points, Hannah Powers added 16 points, Jaqualia Wynn finished with 12 and Sha'Cola Clay had 10.
Overall Record 11-3
Conference Record 5-2 | | | 12/9/2009 | @ Bryan College JV | 82-21 Win | The Cougars and Lady Cougars got back to their winning ways in a big way as they crossed the Tennessee river and entered Lion country for a pair of games with the Bryan College junior varsity teams. As was the case in the first matchup with Bryan in the first game of the season, the Lions were overwhelmed as the Cougars caged their hosts for a 101-57 win while the Lady Cougars followed suit on Wednesday night with a big win, 82-21.
Kierra Johnson scored the first 10 points in the girls game and 20 of Cleveland State's 40 in the first half as the Lady Cougars scored at will all night long. Christian Page hit a long 3-pointer and Andraya Tears came off the bench to add four points in the paint as the visitors took a 40-7 halftime lead.
Everyone in a Lady Cougar uniform got in on the fun in the second half. Sarah Riley hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Lady Lions, but made baskets for the home team were few and far between as the Cleveland State ladies put it on cruise control the rest of the way. Katlyn Eldridge, Jasmine Wilson, Stephanie Anderson and Taylor Neil all got into the scoring column for the Lady Cougars as they finished strong.
Kierra Johnson led all scorers for the Lady Cougars (11-2) with 27 points and 12 rebounds and five steals, Neil followed with 13 points, 10 boards and seven steals while Tiffany Johnson added eight points.
Overall Record 11-2 | | | 12/5/2009 | @ Volunteer State | 69-85 Loss | A long weekend of basketball ended on a sour note for the Cleveland State basketball squads as both the Cougars and Lady Cougars fell to a pair of very strong Volunteer State teams. The Lady Cougars fell for the first time this season in conference play as the Lady Pioneers broke open a close game and pulled away late to take an 80-59 win over the Lady Cougars. The Cougars faced an uphill challenge the whole afternoon as the dropped an 85-69 decision to the much taller Pioneers.
The girls game featured a pair of undefeated conference foes in a fight to the finish and the teams did not disappoint in the first half. The Lady Cougars held a slim lead for much of the opening stanza, but a late run by the Lady Pioneers would give the home team a 32-27 halftime lead. Christian Page hit three 3's in the first 20 minutes to help Cleveland State keep pace.
Made baskets were hard to come by in the second half for the visitors as they would shoot a dismal 24 percent from the floor. At the same time, the three-headed monster of Lady Pioneers, Vee Young, Heather Miller and Katie Richardson in the paint as the Lady Pioneers took control of the lane on both ends of the court for the home team as the lead grew steadily.Mariah Lawrence had 14 points in the second half including four long range bombs from downtown, but wasn't nearly enough as the Lady Cougars dropped their first conference game of the year.
"The second day of a two day road trip is tough and we knew we had a tall order today," said Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "On top of that, Volunteer State is a very good team and we just had no answer for their three big girls in the paint and that was the difference in the game."
Lawrence paced the Lady Cougars (10-2, 5-1) with 14 points, Anderson finished with 11 and Tiffany Johnson added 10. Vee Young led all scorers for Volunteer State (10-2, 5-0) with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
Overall Record 10-2
Conference Record 5-1 | | | 12/4/2009 | @ Motlow State | 75-67 Win | In Lynchburg on Friday night, the girls game was a game of runs as each team took it's turn at surging into the lead. Both teams combined to hit 11, three-pointers in the first half as the lead changed hands six times in the early going. Stephanie Anderson nailed a tri-fecta of 3's while Takeya Day, Christian Page and Tiffany Johnson hit one each as the Lady Cougars finished the first half with with a 19-12 run to take a 41-32 halftime lead.
Jennifer Maynard hit a pair of 3's to spur a 10-0 run by the Lady Bucks to start the second half as the home team quickly erased the halftime deficit and take a one point lead, 42-41.
The Lady Cougars were able to weather the storm as Kierra Johnson proceeded to take control of the paint on both ends of the court with 10 straight points and numerous rebounds to help the visitors go on a 12-2 run and take the lead at 53-44.
The Lady Bucks just kept coming though as they tied the game again with just less than eight minutes to play and took the lead on a 3-pointer from Katora Fleming, 61-59.
The Lady Cougars responded with nine straight points, eight from Kierra Johnson, as they put the game out of reach. Cleveland State finally hit enough free tosses down the stretch to secure the win and a stay perfect in conference play. Cleveland State had a tough go at the charity stripe all night long, knocking down only 11 of 27 shots in the game including 8 of 24 in the second half and one particularly painful stretch early in the second half (1-10).
"Any conference win is a good win, but a conference on the road is great, because it is so hard to win in this conference especially on the road," stated Lumpkin. "Their (Motlow State) record does not indicate how good they are. They are a very good team. We battled through some things, we had some girls that were sick and not 100 percent and we did a good job of getting to the free throw line. We didn't hit many of them, but getting there is the key. If we just hit our usual percentage we win by 20. But, overall it was a great effort."
Kierra Johnson turned in her second monster game in a row to lead the way for Cleveland State with 24 points, 21 rebounds and five steals. Taylor Neil added 11 points and eight boards while Tiffany Johnson and Anderson finished with nine points each. Crystal Moore paced the Lady Bucks (2-6, 1-3) with 21 points, Maynard finished with 15 points and Jane Barnes added 11. The Lady Cougars also battled the flu bug as Day and Page were sick throughout the game.
Overall Record 10-1
Conference Record 5-0 | | | 12/1/2009 | @ Snead State | 56-74 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
LADY COUGARS FALL FOR FIRST TIME
BOAZ, AL. - The Snead State Lady Parsons gave home court advantage a new meaning on Tuesday night as they toppled the Cleveland State Lady Cougars for the first time this season by a surprisingly lopsided final score of 74-56.
The Lady Cougars were looking for win number 10 of the year after making quick work of the Lady Parsons on November 10, with a 23 point win in the friendly confines of L.Quentin Lane Gymnasium. But, it was not to be on this night as Snead State had other ideas, including revenge on their menu.
The deck seemed to be stacked from the beginning as strange things went against the Lady Cougars almost from the opening tip, including an amazing foul total, as the home team shot 45 times from the charity stripe while the Lady Cougars had only 24 attempts. That was the biggest indicator that it would be a long night for the Cleveland State team. But, when Takeya Day picked up her fifth foul and a phantom technical in only six minutes of play, coach Dan Lumpkin knew that it would be an uphill battle the whole night.
"There is not a whole lot that I can say that would be quotable in a story," stated Lumpkin. "It was just a bad experience from start to finish. It was one of the most bizarre games that I have ever been associated with and I've been at this for a long time. There were so many strange things happening that I can't begin to explain them. Takeya fouled out in six minutes, Jasmine Wilson picked up four fouls in less than four minutes of court time and they hit as many free throws as we attempted."
The Lady Cougars took an early 12-2 lead, but the tide would change from that point on as the Lady Parsons physical inside game came to the front with the home team quickly tying the contest at 16-16 midway through the first half. The Lady Cougars managed to keep it close as they would trail by only three points at the break, 30-27.
A 12-4 run by Snead State to start the second half would prove to be the hill that the Lady Cougars were never quite able to climb as the Lady Parson parade to the free throw line continued at an alarming rate. Cleveland State cut the lead to 10 points a couple of times late in the game, but it was not to be on this night as the Lady Cougars suffered their first defeat of the season.
"I told the girls to control what they could control and try not to worry about everything else, which was very hard to do in this game," explained Lumpkin. "You can't worry about fouls or about the Snead State guys team sitting behind your bench calling you names, you just have to learn to deal with that stuff sometimes on the road. Give Snead State credit, they are a very athletic team and they shot the ball well and we didn't. Our shot selection was not great at times, but we played hard and the effort was there. We'll learn from this one and move on."
Taylor Neil led the Lady Cougars (9-1) with 16 points and six rebounds, Kierra Johnson finished with eight points and 21 boards while Tiffany Johnson knocked down nine points before fouling out. Shalitha Swain led Snead State with 15 points while Autumn Largen and Ja'Dasia Williams added 15 and 10 points respectively. The Lady Cougars shot 27 percent for the game while Snead State shot 42 percent. The Lady Parsons hit 24 of 45 free throws while Cleveland State hit 14 of 24.
Both Cleveland State basketball squads will now prepare for a very tough conference road trip on Friday night at Motlow State and Saturday afternoon at Volunteer State.
Overall Record 9-1 | | | 11/24/2009 | @ ChattahoocheeTechnical College | 87-51 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
CARTERSVILLE, GA. - The Cleveland State Lady Cougars took care of business quickly on Tuesday night as they turned in a dominating performance on their way to a lopsided 87-51 win over the Lady Herons of Chattahoochee Technical College. The Cougars were not as fortunate as they let a second half lead get away from them and dropped the men's contest to the Herons by a final count of 79-66.
The Lady Cougars ran their record to 9-0 on the season as they dominated the game from start to finish. Once again, the Cleveland State swarming full-court press was the difference as the visitors raced to a 47-23 halftime lead and cruised to the big win.
Takeya Day paced the Lady Cougars with 18 points, Kierra Johnson poured in 17 points, Taylor Neil followed with 14 points while Mariah Lawrence added nine.
The Cougars kept the men's game close throughout the first half against the very athletic and much taller Herons, trailing by only three points at the break 34-31.
Cleveland State got hot early in the second half and took a five point lead with just over 12 minutes to play, but the wheels would come off the wagon in a hurry after that as the Herons suddenly got hot and the Cougars cooled off, resulting in a big run from Chattahoochee Tech as the home team would win going away.
Devin Boyd led the Cougars with 19 points, J'Quan Martin added 15 points, Jesse Taylor finished with 11 points including three 3's while Willie Smith had eight points.
The Lady Cougars will travel to Snead State on Tuesday while both teams will hit the road next weekend with games at Motlow State on Friday and Volunteer State on Saturday
Overall Record 9-0 | | | 11/21/2009 | Columbia State | 93-60 Win | The Lady Cougars started slowly, by their usual standards, but a 10-0 run almost eight minutes into the game would give the home team a 15-5 lead as they would turn on the jets and never look back. Takeya Day had 10 points and six steals in the first half as she wreaked her usual game of havoc on the Lady Chargers while Katlyn Eldridge came off the bench to nail a pair of long range bombs to help the home team to a 45-22 halftime advantage.
Second half action was just a formality as the Lady Cougars poured it on with the much taller and slower Lady Chargers helpless to stop the undefeated Cleveland State ladies. Day paced the Lady Cougars (8-0, 4-0) with 17 points and 10 steals in the game, LaSuela Person added 15 points to the cause, Eldridge and Taylor Neil finished with 11 points each Christian Page checked in with 10 points while Kierra Johnson finished a great effort with eight points and 12 rebounds. MiAushia Thompson led the Lady Chargers (0-6, 0-4) with 19 points while Keyera Fisher added 18.
"We started off a little slow on Saturday, but we really picked it up and played our game after that," explained Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "We lost focus a little bit there in the second half and we need to work on that, but when the game gets out of hand like it did, it's hard to stay focused. Overall, I am very pleased with the win on Friday night and on Saturday. It was two big conference wins and those are hard to come by sometimes."
Overall Record 8-0
Conference Record 4-0 | | | 11/20/2009 | Jackson State | 88-60 Win | On Friday night the Lady Cougars rode their tremendous defensive pressure all the way to win number seven on the campaign as the Cleveland State defense set the tone for the entire game right from the opening tip. The inside-outside combination of Taylor Neil and Mariah Lawrence led the charge on the offensive end as the home team sprinted to a 47-25 halftime lead with Lawrence hitting a tri-fecta of 3s while Neil poured in 16 first half points.
The Lady Cougars didn't let up in the second half as they maintained the large lead while coach Dan Lumpkin substituted freely with everyone in a white and blue uniform denting the scoring column. Christian Page and Katlyn Eldridge knocked down a 3-pointer each while Stephanie Anderson, Andraya Tears, Tiffany and Kierra Johnson all took turns lighting up the scoreboard.
The Lady Cougars shot 47 percent for the game while holding Jackson State (1-5,1-2) to only 32 percent. Neil paced the Lady Cougars with 18 points, Kierra Johnson added 11 points and 11 rebounds to the cause, Lawrence finished with 15 points and LaSuela Person turned in a big game with 12 points all in the second half. Brandi Pack led the Lady Generals with 12 points while Molly Carroll and Joslyn Haynes added 11 each.
Overall Record 7-0
Conference Record 3-0 | | | 11/17/2009 | Emmanuel College JV | 82-49 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State Cougars and Lady Cougars made it a clean sweep of the season series with Emmanuel College on Tuesday night at L.Quentin Lane Gymnasium with a pair of runaway wins. After winning convincingly 10 days ago at Emmanuel, the Lady Cougars took no prisoners on Tuesday night as the dominated play from beginning to end with an 82-49 win while the Cougars also raced to an 86-50 lopsided win.
The Lady Cougars hit the Lady Lions with all they had to start the game and it would prove to be more than enough as Cleveland State swarmed the Lady Lions with a pressing defense for much of the first half. Mariah Lawrence hit a pair of long 3-pointers as she poured in 14 first half points while Christian Page knocked down three long range bombs to help the Lady Cougars to a 46-25 halftime lead.
"We played really well in the first half especially," explained Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "Our intensity level on defense was there from the beginning and we really never let up. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but our defense gave us a lot of easy baskets and that is what we are looking for. It was a good win and now we have to get ready for two tough conference games this weekend."
Second half action was just a formality as everyone in a Lady Cougar uniform played and scored. Stephanie Anderson, Andraya Tears, LaSuela Person and Katlyn Eldridge all got into the scoring column in the second half as the home team put it on cruise control the rest of the way, pushing their season mark to a perfect 6-0.
Page led the Lady Cougars with 19 points, Lawrence added 15 points, Taylor Neil finished a strong game with 14 points and Kierra Johnson chipped in with six points and 11 big rebounds. Monique Larrieu paced the Lady Lions with 11 points while Kayla Atkins added 10.
Overall Record 6-0
Conference Record 2-0 | | | 11/14/2009 | @ Southwest Tennessee | 72-70 Win | In a game where neither team would even approach a double digit lead the Lady Cougars and Lady Saluqis locked horns in a matchup that was destined to go down to the final seconds before a winner could be determined. The lead switched hands several times throughout the first half with the Lady Cougars able to grab a slim 31-29 lead at the break.
Christian Page gave Cleveland State the lift they would need as she hit four, 3-pointers in the second half to give the visitors a slim lead. Leading by two points with less than a minute to play, Mariah Lawrence came up with a good defensive play while Takeya Day came up with a big steal and proceeded to dribble out the clock to secure the hard-fought win.
Page paced the Lady Cougars (5-0) with 16 points, Lawrence finished with 13, Day added 12 points and 10 big steals while Kierra Johnson had eight points and 11 rebounds. Kiana James paced the Lady Saluqis with 24 points while Krystal Riley finished with 16 and Georgette McCullar had 14. Most of the statistics were even as was the game except for free throws where the Lady Cougars hit 12 more than their hosts, 28-16.
"Our kids played a great game against a very good team on the road," explained Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "Takeya Day and Christian Page each had outstanding games, but really it was a real team effort because everyone contributed to the win. Southwest has a good post game and one of the best post players in the conference, so we went to some zone defense in the second half to try to slow her down and we did a good job. It was a tough, physical game and I was very pleased with our effort."
Both Cleveland State teams will return home on Tuesday for a pair of games with Emmanuel College starting at 6:00 p.m.
Overall Record 5-0
Conference Record 2-0 | | | 11/13/2009 | @ Dyersburg State | 78-69 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
DYERSBURG - The Cleveland State Lady Cougars notched their first road win of the season on Friday night, keeping their record unblemished at 4-0, with a 78-69 win over the Dyersburg State Lady Eagles. The Cougars were not as fortunate as they lost a controversy filled game in overtime by a score of 105-104.
"We won the game in regulation, that's as plain as I can say it," said Cougar coach Lee Cigliano. "This was not a judgement call, it was an administrative call. They simply got the score wrong and it ultimately took a win away from us. There was a mistake earlier in the game and they corrected it, but they wouldn't even check the second mistake. It's a real shame, because our team deserved to win the game because we scored more points than they did."
The men's game was close throughout the first half as each team took turns making a run. The Eagles were finally able to take a three point lead by halftime at 47-44.
Second half action was more of the same as the Cougars caught and passed the Eagles midway through the second half. J'Quan Martin hit a layup with just over a minute to play in the game to put the Cougars up seemingly 78-70, but the score was later changed to 77-70. A pair of long three-pointers and several key missed free tosses later and the Cougars and Eagles were headed for overtime which according to the coach, never should have happened.
Devin Boyd led all scorers for the Cougars with 32 points, Justin Garner added 21 points, Willie Smith had 18, Jesse Taylor finished with 13 and Martin added 10. Logan Chappell, Brandon Jones and Freddie Currie all had 15 points for the Eagles. The Cougars hit only 17 of 26 free throws in the game while Dyersburg hit 25-36.
"I don't know if anything can be done to change the injustice," continued Cigliano. "I am confident the tape will show the mistake in the score. My guys played well and gave a great effort and should have been rewarded for their efforts."
The girls contest seesawed back and forth for much of the first half as the Lady Eagles took an early lead, before the Lady Cougars were able to jump on top at halftime by a 41-36 margin.
A 14-4 run by the Cleveland State ladies to open the second half would provide the much needed cushion that the visitors would need as they would never trail again. Cleveland State sizzled the nets as they shot 55 percent from the floor for the game while holding the Lady Eagles to only 31 percent shooting.
Taylor Neil led the Lady Cougars with 21 points while Kierra Johnson and Mariah Lawrence added 12 points, Tiffany Johnson had 11 and LaSuela Person finished with 10. Jeniqua Jennings and Kayla Tyus led Dyersburg with 14 points while Becky Caldwell added 12.
"It was a hard fought game all the way through," stated Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "The first six minutes of the second half we came out and really played well. We made a run and opened up a 15 point lead. They made a couple of runs after that, but each time we answered. It was a big win."
Overall Record 4-0 | | | 11/10/2009 | Snead State | 85-62 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The visiting Snead State Lady Parsons must have thought that there were six or seven Lady Cougar defenders on the court at times throughout the first half on Tuesday night at L.Quentin Lane Gymnasium as the Cleveland State ladies rode their swarming defensive pressure all the way to a big non-conference win by a final score of 85-62.
Kimberly Lopes hit a layup and a short jumper in the lane to give the visitors an early lead at 6-4, but from that point forward, the Lady Cougar defensive machine kicked into high gear and didn't slow down until the final buzzer. Kierra Johnson poured in seven points while Christian Page knocked down four free tosses and a long 3-pointer as the Lady Cougars went on a 22-2 run in just less than eight minutes to take a 26-8 lead.
Kierra Johnson was just getting started as she continued to sizzle the nets with two more shots from down town and added a pair of steals and layups while Takeya Day came off the Cleveland State bench to mix in some instant firepower with several steals, a couple of layups and two 3-pointers just for good measure as the Lady Cougars raced to an amazing 56-22 halftime advantage.
"The intensity that we started the game with was great," stated Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "And really, we kept it throughout the entire first 20 minutes, that was a key. This Snead State team was not a bad team, but we hit them early and didn't let up and I was very pleased with that."
Lauren Baxter hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Lady Parsons to open the second half, but once again the Lady Cougars responded with a 10-2 run to stop the momentum. Tiffany Johnson turned in several dazzling plays during the run including a text book back door cut to the hoop for a reverse layup following a nice assist from Kierra Johnson. Jasmine Wilson added a tough three-point play in the paint to the cause as the Cleveland State ladies put it on cruise control the rest of the way to run their record to 3-0 on the season.
"Guard-wise we really played well and that in turn kept the ball out of their big girls hands on the other end for much of the game," said Lumpkin. "That was our biggest concern coming into the game was their inside game. Even when they did get it down the court, we did a decent job against them. Overall I was very pleased with the intensity level and the effort tonight."
Kierra Johnson led all scorers with 28 points for the Lady Cougars, Tiffany Johnson checked in with 15 points and six assists, Day had 11 points and seven steals and Page finished with 10 points. Keri O'Neal and Kimberly Lopes paced Snead State with nine points each while Candace Beverly and Lauren Baxter added eight points each. The Lady Cougars shot a sizzling 61 percent from the floor in the first half and 51 percent for the game while holding Snead State to only 39 percent shooting for the game.
Both Cleveland State teams will open conference play this weekend with a trip to Dyersburg State on Friday and Southwest Tennessee on Saturday.
Overall Record 3-0 | | | 11/7/2009 | @ Emmanuel College JV | 72-50 Win | After opening the game with an extremely cold shooting hand, missing their first seven shots and 0-5 from the free throw line, the visiting Lady Cougars warmed a bit the latter part of the second half to slowly take control of the game.
Jasmine Wilson came off the Lady Cougar bench and promptly poured in eight points in the final eight minutes of the first half to help spur a Cleveland State 15-4 run, turning a 20-15 lead into a 35-19 halftime advantage. Kierra Johnson picked up two of her nine first half points on a layup after a nice steal and feed from Takeya Day while each girl added a three-pointer to the cause.
Wilson and Andraya Tears took turns knocking down shots early in the second half as the Cleveland State lead grew steadily the rest of the way. A steal and layup followed immediately by a 3-pointer from Day gave the visitors their largest lead of the day at 27 points 67-40. Mariah Lawrence hit a short jumper and Christian Page added a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer down the stretch as the Lady Cougars cruised to a big win.
"We warmed up a bit in the second half, but we just weren't taking the right kind of shots in the first half," commented Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "We need to be more consistent and not force things and make better shot selections. We did a better job of that in the second half. We slowed down and made better decisions. It is good to get our first road win, but we still have a lot of work to do."
Wilson led all scorers with 20 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Cougars (2-0) Day finished with 14 points and five steals while Taylor Neil and Kierra Johnson chipped in with nine points each. Aubany Thomas led Emmanuel with 13 points while Ashley Lillie added 10.
The Lady Cougars will host Snead College on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. while both Cleveland State teams will travel to west Tennessee this weekend to open the Conference season with games at Dyersburg State on Friday and Southwest Tennessee on Saturday.
Overall Record 2-0 | | | 11/4/2009 | Bryan College JV | 93-28 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State Lady Cougars opened the 2009/2010 season in fine fashion on Wednesday night at L. Quentin Land Gymnasium as they hit the floor in high gear and didn't let up until the final buzzer. The Cleveland State ladies made quick work of the Bryan College Lady Lions junior varsity team by a final score of 93-28.
The game was evenly matched right up to the opening tip, but after that it was all Lady Cougars as the home team opened the game with an 18-0 run and never looked back. Takeya Day came off the Cleveland State bench midway through the first half and promptly lit up the scoreboard with 10 straight points including a pair of long 3-pointers and two steals and layups. Tiffany Johnson tossed in 11 first half points including a trey of her own while Day contributed 17 first half points. Christian Page hit a pair of 3's as the Lady Cougars took a commanding halftime lead, 55-10.
Second half action was more of the same as everyone in a Lady Cougar uniform played and scored. Taylor Neil picked up a pair of buckets early in the second half while Jasmine Wilson poured in 14 points in the final 20 minutes to help extend the lead. Former Bradley Bearette, Katelyn Eldridge dropped in a pair of long range shots while Stephanie Anderson added a long range bomb of her own as the Lady Cougars put it on cruise control the rest of the way to take win number one on the season.
"Obviously the first objective is to win the game, but after that we wanted to work on our pressure defense," stated Lady Cougar coach Dan Lumpkin. "We pressed in the first half and caused a lot of turnovers. We need to be able to press as the season goes along and do that consistently. We should be able to play good fundamental half court defense and it's hard to stay focused after the game gets out of hand, but that's no excuse for sloppy play. Overall we did a good job in the first half, but we still have a lot of work to do."
Wilson and Day led the way for the Lady Cougars (1-0) with 17 points each followed by Page with 12 and Tiffany Johnson with 11. Crystal Johnson paced Bryan College with eight points including a pair of 3's while Anna Haley and Kayla Barnes added seven points each. Cleveland State shot 46 percent from the floor for the game while holding Bryan to only 26 percent shooting.
Both Cleveland State teams will travel to Emmanuel College for a pair of games on Saturday.
Overall Record 1-0 | |
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