Cole's double-double lifts Lady Eagles past Utah Valley State

From staff reports

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Senior Shanice Cole's double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds led Winthrop's women's basketball team to a 72-59 victory Friday over Utah Valley in the opening game of the Wingate Thanksgiving Classic.

Cole led three Winthrop players in double igures as Jessica Fansler chipped in with 14 points and Ashley Cox added a career-high 12 to help the Lady Eagles improve to 2-3. The 14 rebounds for Cole tied her career best.

"It's the first win away from our house and the girls are excited," said Winthrop coach Bud Childers, who became Winthrop's all-time leader in victories. "If we make our free throws, the game wouldn't be as close as it was. It was a good win and we'll enjoy it tonight. It was a good, solid win all the way across the board. I thought the real key to the ball game was when Utah Valley (2-5) made a run and then Kathi Ryska took a charge. It was a big defensive play in the game."

Childers now has 60 wins over his career with the Lady Eagles, passing Anne Ellerbe Copeland's mark of 59.

Winthrop used a 16-3 first half run to open up a 14-point halftime lead and held on for its first road victory of the season. The Lady Eagles held Utah Valley to just 1-for-9 shooting and forced three turnovers during the run.

Winthrop finished the game with a 43-26 advantage on the boards, while shooting 44 percent from the field.

Cox's 12 points led a bench that outscored Utah Valley 32-5. Shelly Hankins finished with eight points, while Mary Hathaway added seven.

Smith led Utah Valley with 16 points and two steals, while Kayla Burningham finished with 12 points. Nakayama chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and six assists.

Winthrop will face Montana State or Southern Utah at 9:30 p.m. today.

WINTHROP 72 UTAH VALLEY 59

UTAH VALLEY (2-5)

Smith, Julie 6-13 3-5 16; Burningham, Kayla 5-14 1-1 12; Reynolds, Blake 5-6 0-0 10; Nakayama, Asumi 3-10 1-2 9; Newbold, Erika 2-5 3-3 7; Mansfield, Kaycee

1-2 0-0 3; Johnson, Jenna 0-4 2-2 2; Prause, Kyra 0-0 0-0 0; Mason, Cydne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 10-13 59.

WINTHROP (2-3)

Cole, Shanice 4-12 7-9 15; Fansler, Jessica 6-10 0-0 14; Cox, Ashley 5-7 2-6 12; Hankins, Shelly 3-4 1-2 8; Hathaway, Mary 3-6 0-0 7; Hammick, TaQuoia 2-5 1-2 5; Lyons, Lacey 0-0 4-4 4; Scott, Sarah 1-5 0-0 3; Ryska, Kathi 0-3 3-6 3; White, Chanel 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 24-54 19-31 72.

Halftime—Winthrop 37, Utah Valley 23. 3-point goals—Utah Valley 5-22 (Nakayama 2-9; Smith 1-4; Mansfield 1-1; Burningham 1-6; Johnson 0-2), Winthrop 5-12 (Fansler 2-4; Hathaway 1-4; Hankins 1-1; Scott 1-2; Cox 0-1). Fouled out—Utah Valley-Burningham. Winthrop-None. Rebounds—Utah Valley 26 (Smith 5; Newbold 5), Winthrop 43 (Cole 14). Assists—Utah Valley 11 (Nakayama 6), Winthrop 11 (Ryska 4). Total fouls—Utah Valley 20, Winthrop 17. Technical fouls—Utah Valley-None, Winthrop-None. A—250