UNCG falls to Georgia Southern, 68-57

STATESBORO, GA – Despite a career day from sophomore guard Lakiah Hyson, the UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team fell to Georgia Southern, 68-57 in Southern Conference women’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

UNCG (5-16, 3-7 SoCon) was led by Jasmine Dixon and Lakiah Hyson who were both in double figures with 13 and 11 points respectfully. Hyson’s 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and her six rebounds set new career high’s for the Accokeek, MD native. Dixon was also 7-of-8 from the free throw line and led the team with eight rebounds.

“I was pleased with the effort today,” said head coach Lynne Agee. “We made some mistakes and we just couldn’t find their shooters and Carolyn Whitney and Tiffany Brown were able to capitalize. We did get back in the game and had a chance to cut into their lead late in the second half. We are on the upswing and are getting better with each game.”

Georgia Southern (12-9, 8-2 SoCon) was led by Tiffany Brown who had 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Carolyn Whitney was also in double figures for the Lady Eagles with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. J’Lisia Ogburn had five rebounds for the Lady Eagles.

UNCG shot 47.6 percent from the floor on 20-of-42 shooting from the field, their best field goal percentage of the season and also held a 38-25 rebounding margin over the Lady Eagles. Georgia Southern shot 41.8 percent from the floor on 23-of-55 shooting.

The Spartans opened the second half with a 6-2 run fueled by baskets at the free throw line and cut the lead to 38-32 before Georgia Southern was able to find their shooting touch behind buckets from Brown, extending their lead to 47-37 at the 11:30 mark.

Georgia Southern quietly extended their lead to 53-42 but UNCG wouldn’t go away and used baskets from Ashley Ling and Ashley Mullins to keep the GSU lead at nine points with just over five minutes remaining. UNCG got as close as 52-59 in the final three minutes but couldn’t stop the Lady Eagles down the stretch as Georgia Southern converting on six crucial free throws to move to 9-0 in the Hanner Fieldhouse this season.

The teams played the games opening minutes evenly but the Lady Eagles were able to jump out to a lead behind two three-pointers from Carolyn Whitney but UNCG went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 9-9 with just five minutes off the game clock.

The teams traded buckets for the better part of the half and neither team could take a lead of more than two points before the 8:08 mark when the Lady Eagles went on a 7-0 run to pull ahead 26-20 with just under four minutes remaining. Georgia Southern closed the half with two big three-pointers from Brown and Whitney to take a 36-28 lead into the break.

The Spartans shot a season-high 50.0 percent from the floor in the first half on 11-of-22 shooting from the floor. Whitney led all scorers with 14 points at the half while UNCG’s Hyson had a team-high eight points.

UNCG will remain on the road and head to Charleston, SC for a match-up with the College of Charleston on Monday afternoon. First tip is scheduled for 4:30 pm at John Kresse Arena.

AGATE
UNCG 57, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 68

UNCG 5-16 (3-7 SoCon)
DIXON,Jasmine 3-7 7-8 13; HYSON,Lakiah 4-7 3-5 11; GRIMSLEY,Gini 3-9 0-0 8;LING,Ashley 3-4 1-2 7;BROOKS,Kemena 2-5 0-0 5; FLOYD,Monique 2-4 1-2 5;SMITH,Kendra 1-2 1-2 3; MULLINS,Ashley 1-2 0-0 2; CHAMBERLAIN,Meghan 1-2 0-02; GIRSTAUTAITE,Agne 0-0 1-2 1; BANNER,TaShama 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-42 14-21 57.

GSU 12-9 (8-2 SoCon)
BROWN, Tiffany 8-14 4-6 24; WHITNEY, Carolyn 5-6 2-2 16; GEIGER, Jessica3-11 2-2 9; MELSON, Ashley 2-6 1-4 5; OGBURN, J'Lisia 2-5 0-1 4; WATERMAN,Christa 1-3 1-3 3; ATWOOD, Shawnda 1-3 1-2 3; RIVENS, Ashley 0-3 2-4 2;NAVARRO, Jamie 1-2 0-1 2; JESSIE, Chequilla 0-1 0-1 0; DALEY, Nya 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 13-26 68.

Halftime; Georgia Southern, 36-28; 3-point goals--UNCG 3-10 (GRIMSLEY,Gini 2-5; BROOKS,Kemena 1-3;MULLINS,Ashley 0-1; HYSON,Lakiah 0-1), GSU 9-19 (WHITNEY, Carolyn 4-5;BROWN, Tiffany 4-7; GEIGER, Jessica 1-2; ATWOOD, Shawnda 0-1; RIVENS, Ashley0-1; NAVARRO, Jamie 0-1; DALEY, Nya 0-1; MELSON, Ashley 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-GRIMSLEY,Gini, GSU-None. Rebounds--UNCG 38 (DIXON,Jasmine 8), GSU27 (OGBURN, J'Lisia 5). Assists--UNCG 2 (BROOKS,Kemena 1; BANNER,TaShama 1),GSU 15 (OGBURN, J'Lisia 2; JESSIE, Chequilla 2; RIVENS, Ashley 2; MELSON,Ashley 2; GEIGER, Jessica 2; WHITNEY, Carolyn 2). Total fouls--UNCG 25, GSU 17. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, GSU-None. A-952

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