Box Score


DANVILLE, Va. — As Mette Scheiman grabbed the rebound and dribbled toward the Cougar logo at midcourt as the buzzer sounded, the sophomore nodded as she boasted a huge smile. Yet, it paled in comparison to the huge accomplishment that Averett had just pulled off in front of its home crowd.

The Cougars upset eighth-ranked Christopher Newport University 58-50 on Saturday at the Grant Center. Averett (13-10, 8-8 USA South) did it by playing smart, limiting turnovers and playing arguably its best defensive game of the season. Still, the win didn't come as easily as the final score indicates.

Averett, which enjoyed a 33-22 lead at the half, grew its lead to as much as 14 points. But midway through the half, the Captains (19-3, 13-2 USA South) made their run. Led by Chelsie Schweers, who scored 13 of her 24 points in a seven-minute span, CNU made a 15-6 run that trimmed Averett's lead down to 46-42 with 6:44 to play.

It seemed as though the Captains had the Cougars on the ropes as they cut the deficit to three, and then down to two when Schweers' 3-pointer made the score 50-48 with 2:31 remaining.

The turning point came with  2:05 to play. Christopher Newport was charged with an intentional foul after Barbara Davis hacked Averett's Liz Martin on a fast-break layup. Martin, who fell to the ground in pain and eventually got up with a golf ball-sized knot on her head, hit one of two free throws. Averett, which kept possession because of the intentional foul, increased its lead to 54-48 on a Scheiman 3-pointer with 1:46 to play.

Davis scored a layup at the other end, and the Captains fouled the Cougars, who couldn't convert a free throw on the one-and-one. Christopher Newport missed a pair of jumpers on its next possession, and Martin and Scheiman both hit a pair of free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the victory and Averett's first-ever win over a ranked team.

Ashley Washington had 16 points and seven rebounds, Martin had 12 points and Scheiman finished with 13 points to lead the Cougars offensively. But it was a pair of other Cougars that also played a huge role. Deandra Brown had eight points, but it was her seven steals and her defense on Schweers that made an impact. Kyana Smith had a career-high 14 rebounds, including 10 defensive boards.

Averett, which has had trouble with turnovers this season, played smart in the first half. The Cougars went into halftime with just three turnovers while forcing 15 by the Captains. CNU finished with 24 turnovers, and Averett turned them into 31 points.

While the Cougars enjoyed the big victory moments after the clock hit zero, the celebration was short-lived as coach Larry Epperly reminded his team that it has to turn around and play conference foe Shenandoah University at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The Cougars close their home schedule against the Hornets and will honor their seniors Brown and Washington before the game.