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The Charlotte 49ers are playing the best stretch of women’s basketball in school history.
Charlotte posted its school record 12th straight win Thursday with a 63-54 victory against Virginia Commonwealth in an Atlantic 10 game at Halton Arena, breaking the mark set by the 1980 squad. It was a fitting home finale for the 49ers, who bid farewell to seniors Amanda Dowe, Jai Forney and Jennifer Hailey.
“Certainly we’re proud of our 12-game win streak, but I’ll say at the same time it hasn’t been easy,” 49ers coach Cara Consuegra said. “We haven’t blown people out, we haven’t been completely dominant in two halves, but we have great kids who work hard and love each other and play to win.”
Charlotte (23-4, 12-1) opened a 41-22 gap to open the second half, but Virginia Commonwealth mounted a 13-4 drive powered by Robyn Parks’ eight points to close to within eight with 14:20 left. The 49ers regrouped, though, with 10 straight points highlighted by back-to-back Dowe baskets to reverse the tide.
“We had a flow going, and then we lost it,” said sophomore guard Hillary Sigmon, a Hickory High graduate who scored 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting with a trio of 3-pointers.
Ny Hammonds also scored 14 for Charlotte, which also got 13 from Forney. Parks led Virginia Commonwealth (10-18, 3-10) with 25 points on 7-of-14 from the floor and Jessica Pellechio chipped in 18.
Charlotte, which made good on 12-of-27 shots in the first half (44.4 percent) did its best work before intermission, ripping off a 19-3 run to close with a 35-17 lead at the break. The 49ers got a big lift from Sigmon, who dropped eight points over the last two minutes and Forney’s 3-pointer from 35 feet at the buzzer to cap the rally.
