GREENSBORO, NC – Irene Otamiri scored a game-high 23 points to lead UNC Greensboro to a 61-52 win over North Carolina Central in a women’s basketball exhibition game Friday night at Fleming Gym.
Otamiri, the junior from Lund, Sweden, was a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor, including two 3-pointers. In fact, she didn’t miss a shot the entire night until rimming out a free throw with 21 seconds left in the game as she went 5-for-6 from the line. She also had game-high six steals.
Junior Jasmine Byrd chipped in with 15 points, including a 6-for-6 performance from the charity stripe. Brittany Frazier, playing in her first game as a Spartan, and sophomore Jasmine Dixon each added six points apiece.
Cassie King posted a double-double for NCAA Division II member North Carolina Central with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Latoya Jones had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The difference in the game was UNCG’s ability to knock down 80.0 (20-for-25) percent of its free throws and forcing the Eagles into 30 turnovers on the evening. The Spartans turned those miscues into 23 points.
NCCU led early, 16-6, thanks to some sharp shooting. The Eagles buried seven of their first nine shots to take a 10-point lead with 13:46 left in the first half. Jones scored seven and King added six points to pace the visitors in the early going.
Otamiri and Frazier, a junior out of Powell, TN, led UNCG back by combining for 15 of the Spartans' first 16 points of the game. Dixon, who hails from Reston, VA, tied the game, 20-20, on a pair of free throws at the 8:23 mark.
From that point, UNCG stretched the lead at halftime to four points, 33-29, on two free throws by Byrd with 13 ticks left.
Byrd, the native of Dumfries, VA, came out with a 3-pointer to open the second half to give the Spartans a seemingly comfortable 36-29 lead. Dixon put UNCG up 48-37 on a conventional 3-point play at 10:38 and Byrd maintained that advantage with a two more free throws to give the Spartans a 56-45 lead with 5:37 to go.
The Eagles chipped away at their deficit and found themselves down just four, 56-52, on a layup with 2:19 left by Natasha Bailey, but that ended up being their last bucket of the night. Back-to-back field goals by Otamiri and Byrd sealed the win for the Spartans.
UNCG held a narrow 30-28 advantage in the rebound column and came up with 15 steals.
AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO 61, NC CENTRAL 52
NC CENTRAL
KING,Cassie 7-15 3-7 17; JONES,Latoya 5-8 0-0 11; BAILEY,Natasha
2-9 2-2 6; HOLMES,Porschia 2-3 0-1 5; COLLINS,Shante' 2-4 1-1 5;
RICHARDSON,Lisa 0-1 4-4 4; ROUNDTREE,Tonia 1-1 0-1 2; GAMBLE,Karla
1-2 0-0 2; STEWART,Nakisha 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-44 10-16 52.
UNC GREENSBORO
Otamiri, Irene 8-8 5-6 23; Byrd, Jasmine 4-10 6-6 15; Frazier,
Brittany 1-7 4-4 6; Dixon, Jasmine 1-2 4-6 6; Latham, KaLeah 2-7
1-2 5; Grimsley, Gini 1-1 0-0 2; Jackson, Shanika 1-3 0-0 2;
Chamberlain, Meghan 1-3 0-0 2; Blair, Caroline 0-1 0-1 0; Current,
Ashley 0-0 0-0 0; Ling, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0; Brooks, Kemena 0-5 0-0 0.
Totals 19-47 20-25 61.
Halftime: UNCG 33-29. 3-point goals-NC Central 2-7 (HOLMES,Porschia 1-2; JONES,Latoya 1-2; BAILEY,Natasha 0-3), UNC Greensboro 3-12 (OTAMIRI, Irene 2-2; BYRD, Jasmine 1-6; JACKSON, Shanika 0-2; BROOKS, Kemena 0-2). Fouled out—NC Central-BAILEY,Natasha, UNC Greensboro-None. Rebounds-NC Central 28 (KING,Cassie 10), UNC Greensboro 30 (CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 6). Assists-NC Central 11 (BAILEY,Natasha 4), UNC Greensboro 11 (CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 3). Total fouls-NC Central 23, UNC Greensboro 24. A-421.
- UNCG -