UNCG extends win streak with 66-54 comeback win over Furman

GREENVILLE, SC – The UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team used 14 second half points from Gini Grimsley en route to a 64-56 comeback win over Furman in Southern Conference action from Timmons Arena on Wednesday night.

UNCG (3-10, 1-1 SoCon) had two players in double figures and was led by Kemena Brooks who had 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. Grimsley had 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including going 4-of-7 from behind the three point line. Brittany Frazier had a game-high 11 rebounds in the win while Ashley Ling had a career-high six assists.

“This was a great team win,” said head coach Lynne Agee. “Being down at the half we could have easily given up but instead we stuck together and picked up a win over a good Furman team. I was also extremely pleased with the way that our bench stepped up tonight. Overall, this was a great team victory.”

UNCG 46.2 percent on 24-of-52 shooting from the floor and shot a season-high 60.7 percent, 17-of-28 from the floor in the second half. The Spartans held a 40-33 rebounding edge and had 18 assists while tallying six blocks on the night.

Furman (4-9, 0-3 SoCon) was led by Kali Holtfreter who recorded 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor while teammate Chrissy Phelps had 10 points on, eight of her 10 coming at the free throw line.

To start the second half the teams played pretty evenly but UNCG used an 8-0 run to cut the Lady Paladin lead to 38-35 at the 11:51 mark. The Spartans picked it up on the defensive end and were able to get some shots to fall behind back-to-back buckets from Gini Grimsley and took a 39-38 lead at the 9:39 mark and extended their lead to 41-40 behind a bucket from Sharniece Wadelington, a Greenville, SC native.

Furman wasn’t going to let the Spartans run away and was able to cut UNCG’s lead to one-point twice in the final five minutes of the half but UNCG used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 56-46, their largest lead of the game at that point, with just under four minutes remaining.

The Lady Paladins used a three-pointer from Lee Stephens and free throws from Chrissy Phelps to cut the lead to 59-51 at the 2:36 mark but UNCG closed the half with five consecutive baskets to pick up their second consecutive victory.

UNCG came out slow in the first stanza and allowed Furman to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. The Spartans were able to get back in the game with two baskets from Kemena Brooks but Furman went on an 8-0 run over a 3:34 minute span to take a 18-7 lead at the 7:46 mark.

UNCG wouldn’t go quietly and used back-to-back blocks from Jasmine Dixon and Brittany Frazier to spark a 9-2 run over a 2:17 minute span to cut the lead down to 20-18 at the 3:08 mark. Furman closed the half with four consecutive baskets to take a 24-18 lead into the break.

UNCG returns to the hardwood on Saturday when they take on Georgia Southern at 12 Noon. The game is the first game of a doubleheader with the men’s team who will take on the Georgia Southern men in a televised contest at 3 pm.

AGATE
UNCG 66, FURMAN 54

UNCG (3-10, 1-1 SoCon)
BROOKS,Kemena 7-14 2-2 18; GRIMSLEY,Gini 5-10 0-0 14; CHAMBERLAIN,Meghan 3-4 2-2 8; GIRSTAUTAITE,Agne 3-3 0-0 6; LING,Ashley 2-3 2-2 6; DIXON,Jasmine 0-24-6 4; FRAZIER,Brittany 2-7 0-2 4; FLOYD,Monique 1-1 1-2 3; WADELINGTON,S1-3 1-2 3; MULLINS,Ashley 0-1 0-0 0; HYSON,Lakiah 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-5212-18 66.

FURMAN (4-9, 0-3 SoCon)
HOLTFRETER, Kali 7-15 1-1 18; PHELPS, Chrissy 1-10 8-10 10; TROUTMAN, Susan 4-8 0-0 8; GILMORE, Adrienne 2-4 0-0 4; JOHNSON, Katie 2-5 0-0 4;LIEBSCHWAGER, Meliss 1-3 0-0 3; STEPHENS, Lee 1-6 0-0 3; BERRY, Kendra 1-10-0 2; OPIE, Courtney 0-4 2-2 2; AGIN, Katie 0-2 0-0 0; BAKER, Sarah 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 11-13 54.

Halftime:  Furman, 24-18; 3-point goals--UNCG 6-16 (GRIMSLEY,Gini 4-7; BROOKS,Kemena 2-7;WADELINGTON,S 0-1; MULLINS,Ashley 0-1), Furman 5-19 (HOLTFRETER, Kali 3-7;STEPHENS, Lee 1-6; LIEBSCHWAGER, Meliss 1-1; GILMORE, Adrienne 0-2; BAKER,Sarah 0-1; PHELPS, Chrissy 0-2). Fouled out--UNCG-None, Furman-None. Rebounds--UNCG 40 (FRAZIER,Brittany 11), Furman 33 (TROUTMAN, Susan 5).Assists--UNCG 18 (LING,Ashley 6), Furman 11 (PHELPS, Chrissy 7). Total fouls--UNCG 14, Furman 16. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, Furman-None. A-216

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