March 8, 2009

 CBS College Sports Recap of Semifinals

Championship Central - Charlotte, N.C.

No. 3 Charlotte 73, No. 2 Temple 50
Game 10 Box Score | Photos | Charlotte Post-game Press Conference | Temple Post-game Press Conference

Senior Danielle Burgin tallied her 15th double-double of the season to lead third-seeded Charlotte to a 73-50 victory over second-seeded Temple, sending the 49ers to their first-ever Atlantic 10 title game.

Burgin hit 5-of-9 from the floor and brought down 12 boards. Senior teammate Traci Ray was instrumental from beyond the arc, hitting 4-of-5 for a team-high 16 points to go with five rebounds.

Charlotte (22-8) also received major contributions from freshman Brittany Carter and junior Aysha Jones, who each added 10 points in the victory, while sophomore Shannon McCallum handed out five assists and collected six boards.

Sophomore Lindsay Kimmel was the high-scorer for the Owls (21-9) in the loss, knocking down 3-of-4 from both the floor and the line, totaling 10 points.

Charlotte entered the Championship having never won an Atlantic 10 postseason game and will now square off with Richmond (23-8) to determine the Conference championship. Tipoff is slated for 5:00 with television coverage provided by ESPN2.

No. 4 Richmond 54, No. 8 Dayton 48
Game Nine Box Score | Photos | Richmond Post-game Press Conference | Dayton Post-game Press Conference

Fourth-seeded Richmond, led by sophomore Brittany Shells' game-high 26 points, erased a 19-point second half deficit and battled back to win a thriller over eighth-seeded Dayton, 54-48.

Shells carried the Spiders (23-8) offensively, hitting 9-of-18 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 from long range. She also brought down eight boards to go with six steals in the win.

Richmond overcame a 41-22 Dayton lead with just over 16 minutes to play, storming back to take the lead with 1:36 remaining. The Spiders outscored the Flyers 34-14 in the second half.

Dayton (20-13) was led by sophomore Kristin Daugherty, who tallied 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting and five rebounds.

The Spider victory marks the first appearance by Richmond in the title game since joining the Atlantic 10. Only three teams in Conference history have been victorious in their first trip to a championship game.