UNCG picks up SoCon win over Elon, 53-45

GREENSBORO, NC – Junior forward Kaleah Latham scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in leading UNC Greensboro to a 53-45 victory over Elon in a Southern Conference women’s basketball game Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gym.

Latham, the Athens, TN product, was 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in leading UNCG (14-11, 10-6 SoCon) to its eighth win in the last 10 games and in the process, tying last season’s win total of 14 with two regular seasons game left to be played.

Sophomore guard Kemena Brooks, who was named conference player of the week of Monday, tossed in 10 points for her seventh double digit effort in the last eight games. Irene Otamiri, Meghan Chamberlain, Kristen Boone and Jasmine Byrd each tossed in seven points for the Spartans, who swept the season series with Elon for the first time in the three years that the Phoenix have been a member of the SoCon.

Kitara McMoore, the league’s leading scorer and rebounder, posted game-highs with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Tierra Bumbrey added nine points for Elon (11-14, 6-10 SoCon), who has now lost three of its last four games.

A 12-6 run over the final 10:46 of the first half gave UNCG a 28-16 lead at halftime. Elon never led in the game and once again had a tough time scoring against the Spartans defense. In the first meeting of the year, UNCG gave up its fewest points in the programs Division I era in a 59-35 win at Elon on January 21. That included only 12 points scored by the Phoenix in the second half.

UNCG took its largest lead of the afternoon, 44-31, on a 3-pointer by Byrd at the 8:38 mark of the second half. The Phoenix got within five points twice, the final time after a McMoore jumper with 1:19 left made it 50-45, but Boone converted one free throw and Latham iced it with a pair from the charity stripe with 38 seconds to go.

The Spartans improve to 8-4 at home this year, while Elon falls to 3-9 on the road.

UNCG will take on Wofford on Tuesday in Spartanburg, SC at 7 pm. Meanwhile, Elon visits Furman on Tuesday at 7 pm.

AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO 53, ELON 45

ELON (11-14,6-10 SoCon)
McMOORE, Kitara 7-13 2-2 16; BUMBREY, Tierra 4-13 0-0 9; WHIDDEN, Katie 3-5 0-1 6; DONKIN, Myra 2-6 0-0 5; KING, Nikko 2-3 0-0 4; SHIPLEY, Robyn 1-7 0-0 3; ALLISON, Nicole 1-2 0-2 2; MOORE, Shashonna 0-1 0-0 0; SCHAFRANEK, Alexa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 2-5 45.

UNC GREENSBORO (14-11,10-6 SoCon)
LATHAM, KaLeah 4-6 5-6 13; BROOKS, Kemena 4-8 0-0 10; BYRD, Jasmine 3-10 0-0 7; OTAMIRI, Irene 3-4 0-0 7; BOONE, Kristen 2-5 3-6 7; CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 3-6 1-2 7; DIXON, Jasmine 1-3 0-0 2; BLAIR, Caroline 0-0 0-0 0; CURRENT, Ashley 0-2 0-0 0; GRIMSLEY, Gini 0-3 0-0 0; LING, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 9-14 53.

Halftime: UNC Greensboro 28-16. 3-point goals-Elon 3-12 (BUMBREY, Tierra 1-3; SHIPLEY, Robyn 1-5; DONKIN, Myra 1-4), UNC Greensboro 4-13 (BROOKS, Kemena 2-4; BYRD, Jasmine 1-5; OTAMIRI, Irene 1-1; GRIMSLEY, Gini 0-1; BOONE, Kristen 0-1; LATHAM, KaLeah 0-1). Fouled out--Elon-None, UNC Greensboro-None. Rebounds-Elon 32 (McMOORE, Kitara 9), UNC Greensboro 31 (LATHAM, KaLeah 6; BOONE, Kristen 6). Assists-Elon 12 (DONKIN, Myra 4), UNC Greensboro 13 (BYRD, Jasmine 4). Total fouls-Elon 12, UNC Greensboro 4. A-342.

- UNCG -