Spartans wrap up tour 3-0 with 66-34 win over Castellani

PONTEDERA, Italy – The UNCG women’s basketball team finished its Italian tour a perfect 3-0 with a 66-34 victory over Italian League champions Castellani on Sunday.

The Spartans were led by senior Jasmine Byrd, who tallied 11 points off the bench. Junior forward Brittany Frazier recorded eight points and had a team-high nine rebounds.

“We are so lucky to have had this opportunity,“ head coach Lynne Agee said. “It’s not often that you get to take your seniors to another country to close out their careers and we were so glad to be able to provide that experience. This trip also allowed us to take an early look at next year’s squad and enabled us to experience another culture, which is fantastic.”

Neither teams was able to get much separation in the early stages of the game. However, late in the first quarter, UNCG’s Ashley Mullins provided a spark off the bench and led the Spartans to a 5-0 spurt to close the quarter and give the Spartans an 18-11 lead.

UNCG kept the momentum from the first quarter going and came out shooting in the second frame. The local professionals scored the first bucket of the quarter, but it was all UNCG the rest of the way. The Spartans outscored Castellani 22-9 in the second frame to take control. The Spartans were able to spread out the scoring and were sparked by two triples from Irene Otamiri late in the quarter, taking a 44-19 lead into halftime.

The third quarter proved to be a bit slow for both teams as they combined for one point through the first three minutes of play. It was the local professionals who got back into rhythm first as they combined for three consecutive buckets to cut into the lead. However, the Spartans weathered the storm and were able to close out the quarter on an 8-4 run and never looked back on the way to their third consecutive victory. 

- UNCG -