CULLOWHEE, NC – UNC Greensboro held on for a 69-60 victory over Western Carolina in a Wednesday afternoon Southern Conference women’s basketball game at Ramsey Center.
Junior guard Jasmine Byrd scored a team-high 12 points for UNCG (7-9, 3-4 SoCon). Junior forward Irene Otamiri added 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting for the Spartans, while sophomore center Meghan Chamberlain had nine points and eight rebounds.
Monique Dawson scored a game-high 16 points for Western Carolina (2-14, 2-5 SoCon). Lauren Powell had 14 points and Chevon Keith added eight points for the Lady Catamounts, who are now 0-6 at home.
UNCG began the second half with a six-point lead and did not give that advantage up until Western took its first lead of the game, 56-55, on a 3-pointer by Powell at the 5:31 mark of the second half. The lead would then change hands five consecutive times, before the Spartans regained the lead for good, 61-60, on a driving layup by junior forward Kaleah Latham with 2:01 showing on the clock.
After shooting over 57 percent from the floor in the first half, the Spartans only found their range on nine-of-35 shots for a 25.7 percent shooting clip in the second half. Western wasn’t much better in the final 20 minutes by converting 30.8 percent of its shots.
Sophomore guard Kristen Boone keyed a strong defensive effort by UNCG in the second half with all six of her steals coming after halftime. She also ran the offense from the point with zero turnovers in the second half and had three assists.
The Spartans had four different players score in the opening minutes to take an 11-0 lead just 1:53 into the game. Chamberlain cracked the scoreboard first with a layup, Byrd drained a 3-pointer, Boone drove the lane for a layup and Otamiri connected on a mid-range jumper to account for the first nine points of the contest.
After a trey by sophomore guard Kemena Brooks, the Spartans held an 18-7 lead at the 15:10 mark. Western responded with a 10-1 run, including five straight points by Dawson, to cut the UNCG lead to 19-17. The Lady Cats never got any closer as the Spartans upped their lead back to 35-25 after a pair of free throws by senior center Caroline Blair.
The Spartans held Western to just one field goal over a 5:20 stretch and when Boone took the ball the length of the floor for a layup, the Spartans led 43-31 with 1:08 left until halftime. The Lady Cats would answer with the final six points of the stanza to cut UNCG’s lead at the break to only 43-37.
UNCG hosts local and league-rival Elon on Saturday at 2 pm in Elon, NC. Meanwhile, Western Carolina hosts Furman on Saturday at 5 pm.
GAME NOTES: Boone now has a steal in all 40 games of her career and a staggering 27 in the last four games... Jasmine Dixon made the first 3-pointer of her collegiate career at the 12:11 mark of the first half... UNCG shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half... Jasmine Byrd and Irene Otamiri combined for 22 points after scoring only seven points on Monday... UNCC now owns a 22-21 advantage in the all-time series with Western, which dates back to 1967... UNCG is 2-1 in the SoCon on the road... UNCG improves to 7-2 when leading at halftime.
AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO 69, WESTERN CAROLINA 60
UNC GREENSBORO (7-9, 3-4 SoCon)
BYRD, Jasmine 4-15 2-2 12; OTAMIRI, Irene 5-6 0-0 10; CHAMBERLAIN,
Meghan 4-7 1-2 9; BROOKS, Kemena 1-6 4-6 7; GRIMSLEY, Gini 3-6 0-0
6; BOONE, Kristen 2-11 2-2 6; BLAIR, Caroline 1-1 4-4 6; LATHAM,
KaLeah 2-4 1-2 5; DIXON, Jasmine 1-3 1-2 4; CURRENT, Ashley 2-3 0-0
4; JACKSON, Shanika 0-1 0-0 0; LING, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-63
15-20 69.
WESTERN CAROLINA (2-14, 2-5 SoCon)
DAWSON, Monique 5-11 5-6 16; POWELL, Lauren 5-11 0-0 14; KEITH,
Chevon 2-7 4-4 8; TILLMAN, Teshymia 3-7 0-2 6; PELLOM, Ashley 2-3
0-0 5; PARKER, April 1-3 2-2 4; EATON, Kendra 1-5 1-2 3; JOHNSON,
Jessika 1-5 0-0 2; MAY, Erin 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-54 12-16 60.
Halftime: UNC Greensboro 43-37. 3-point goals-UNC Greensboro 4-18 (BYRD, Jasmine 2-9; DIXON, Jasmine 1-2; BROOKS, Kemena 1-3; GRIMSLEY, Gini 0-3; BOONE, Kristen 0-1), Western Carolina 6-15 (POWELL, Lauren 4-8; PELLOM, Ashley 1-2; DAWSON, Monique 1-3; MAY, Erin 0-1; KEITH, Chevon 0-1). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-None, Western Carolina-KEITH, Chevon. Rebounds-UNC Greensboro 35 (CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 8), Western Carolina 41 (MAY, Erin 7; JOHNSON, Jessika 7). Assists-UNC Greensboro 11 (BOONE, Kristen 3; BROOKS, Kemena 3), Western Carolina 12 (TILLMAN, Teshymia 3; PELLOM, Ashley 3). Total fouls-UNC Greensboro 13, Western Carolina 20. A-281.
- UNCG -