CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Senior Jennifer Hailey talled 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, reaching the 1,000-point milestone in the process, to lead the Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team to a 79-60 victory over FGCU, an NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, Saturday evening inside Halton Arena.
Hailey became the 20th member of the exclusive club in Niner history by hitting 8-of-12 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws to finish the night with an even 1,000 points. She also hauled in a game-best 11 rebounds for her third-straight double-double to start the season and the 23rd of her career.
Charlotte (3-0) has now opened the season with three-straight victories for the second-straight year, marking only the second time in school history that feat has been accomplished. The only other previous time was during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 campaigns under head coach Ed Baldwin.
All in all, the 49ers placed four players, all starters, in double-figure scoring. Amanda Dowe had a perfect night shooting, hitting 4-of-4 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws, while Ny Hammonds and Jai Forney also each collected 11 points to round out another balanced scoring attack which saw Charlotte convert a season-best 57.4 percent from the floor on a 27-of-47 performance.
Sarah Hansen guided the Eagles with 19 points, including knocking down all nine of her free throws, while Joyce Iamstrong contributed 11 points. Hansen led the mostly-guard lineup with six boards, although the 49ers were able to clean up on the glass, winning the battle 43-to-21.
Sigmon’s corner 3-pointer at 18:50 ignited the Charlotte offense, although a Brittany Kennedy layup at 17:22 pulled FGCU (2-1) within one, 6-5, at the 17:22 mark. An 8-0 run, covering nearly the next three minutes, allowed the 49ers some breathing room. Forney and Sigmon each hit triples during the spurt and Hailey capped it with a layup at 14:53 to give her team a 14-5 advantage.
The difference remained single digits until Hammonds buried a shot from behind the arc to provide Charlotte with its first double-figure edge, 23-11, at 11:50. The lead remained in double digits the rest of the half, as the 49ers used an overall 12-2 surge, featuring another Hammonds jumper at 6:43, to build a 30-13 cushion.
Ayanna Holmes got her turn from behind the 3-point line, knocking down a triple at 5:03, to give Charlotte its first 20-point lead, 35-15. FGCU, however, trimmed the deficit to 13, on a 3-pointer of its own by Lerrin Cook, and Betsy Adams turned a late Niner turnover into another triple, right before the halftime buzzer, to send the teams into the locker rooms with Charlotte ahead, 40-28. It marked the third-straight game in which the 49ers have tallied at least 40 points in the opening period.
Following an old-fashioned three-point play by Hansen to begin the second stanza, cutting the gap to nine, 40-31, Charlotte answered with a 10-0 run to stretch the margin back to 19, 50-31, with 17:11 left. The rest of the second half was a back-and-forth affair, with the difference staying between 17 and 12, for the most part.
Every time the Eagles seemed to pull it close, the Niners would respond. Hansen sank a pair of free throws at the 3:42 mark, coming out of the final media timeout, but an 8-0 stretch during the next two minutes helped ice the contest. The last points of that run were two Hailey charity tosses at 1:40 to get her to the magical four-digit scoring plateau.
Charlotte will now take a week off before it plays again. The Niners will play host to Kansas State of the Big 12 at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24. It will be Military Appreciation Night for the 49ers, who will be facing their second Big 12 opponent in three games.
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