49ers Dominate The Paint In A 74-52 Win Over La Salle
Jan. 30, 2008
Charlotte, NC - Behind three-double figure scorers led by Erin Floyd's 18 points and a dominating effort in the paint and on the boards, the Charlotte 49ers (14-8, A-10: 5-1) defeated the La Salle Explorers (9-12, A-10: 1-5), 74-52, for their fifth straight home victory. The 49ers on the NCAA Pack The House Challenge Night set a program attendance record with 4,525 fans.
"I felt that our tempo was very good in the first half," Charlotte coach Karen Aston said. "Our starters set the tone early with a lot of energy. Then, the players that came off the bench continued playing with high energy. Sabrina Gregory played an all-around good game. Erin Floyd was very solid for us today. Danielle Burgin did a good job on the boards. I am very pleased with our rebounding tonight."
Floyd's 18 points was one point shy of her career-high which she set earlier this season against Arizona. Floyd's 18 points came on 9-for-12 shooting from the field. Gregory recorded her second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Wendy Stywalt, who started her fourth game of the season, recorded her seventh double-figure scoring game of the season with 12 points.
The 49ers dominated La Salle in the paint with a decisive 44-16 advantage on points in the paint. Charlotte also outrebounded La Salle 53-29. Gregory led the 49ers with 12 rebounds. While, Burgin recorded her eighth double-figure rebounding game of the season and the 15th of her career with 11 boards. Every 49er that played in the game grabbed at least one rebound.
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Charlotte's defense limited La Salle to 27.4% shooting on 17-for-62 from the field. La Salle's leading scorer Carlene Hightower, who has scored 60 points in her last two games against Charlotte, was limited to nine points on 2-for-10 shooting from the field.
"We really played good defense on Carlene Hightower," Aston said. "It was a collective effort as we had several players including Floyd and Stywalt guarding her. I was very pleased with our defensive effort tonight."
Charlotte began the game by scoring 15 of the game's first 18 points taking a 15-3 lead with 13:09 left in the first half. Floyd scored six points, Stywalt scored five points and Gregory added four points during the 49ers run.
Charlotte pushed their lead to 16 points, 21-5, when Shannon McCallum knocked down a jump shot at the 10:55 mark.
La Salle would go on a 9-2 run over the next five minutes cutting Charlotte's lead to 23-14 at the 6:20 mark. But that would be as close as the Explorers would get as Charlotte behind three free throws from Burgin and a free throw from Aysha Jones pushed their lead back to 13 points, 27-14, at the 5:30 mark.
McCallum would knock down another jump shot with 17 seconds left in the half giving the 49ers a 39-22 halftime lead.
After La Salle's Morgan Robertson knocked down a jump shot to start the second half, the 49ers would go on a 13-0 run pushing their lead to a game-high 28 points, 52-24, at the 16:26 mark. Traci Ray, Floyd, Stywalt and Gregory would score during the 49ers run.
The 49ers would maintain a 20-plus point lead for the remainder of the game. Jones would conclude the 49ers scoring with two free throws at the 1:11 mark. La Salle's Ashley Gale made the final score, 74-52, with two free throws with 57 seconds left in the game.
Up next for the 49ers is a road game at A-10 foe Saint Louis, Saturday, February 2 at 8 pm.
