Dec. 18, 2000

Box Score

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Seven players reached double figures in scoring and the two teams combined for 57 fouls, but once the dust settled, the Charlotte 49ers women's basketball team picked up a 77-67 win over cross-county rival Davidson Monday night at Belk Arena. The victory was the 49ers' third-straight win of the season.

Charlotte (4-5) had three players in double digits and were led by Tonya Phifer's 24 points. Alicia Abernathy added 17, including 10 from the free throw line. She did, however, miss a pair from the charity stripe to snap her streak of consecutive free throws made, which had reached 33 in a row. Brandi Hicks matched her career high with 11 points. Kim Taylor led Davidson (4-5) with 14 points.

The two teams played a close first half with Charlotte maintaining a lead for all but the first 1:05 in the half. The 49ers took its largest lead of the half, 36-26, with 4:23 left after Phifer capped an 8-0 run on a pair of free throws. The two teams headed to the locker rooms with a 40-32 advantage for the 49ers.

Davidson came out of the break firing. The Wildcats' Ashley Hallsted tied the game for the first time since early in the first half on a three-point field goal with 16:58 left in the game. Kelly Copland tied the score again at 49 with 13:43 left on a three-point play. The Niners proceeded to take momentum back in their favor and went on a 12-2 run over the next 3:30 and pushed the lead back to 10 points, 61-51. Davidson sliced the lead in half with under eight minutes to play, but was unable to sustain their rally. Abernathy drilled a three with 3:27 left in the game to seal the victory for Charlotte.

The 49ers will take the rest of the week off for Christmas before returning to action versus South Carolina Dec. 28, when they try to push their record to 5-5.