Late rally not enough as College of Charleston defeats UNCG, 65-61

CHARLESTON, SC – The UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team used a 16-point rally in the final two minutes to cut the lead to 64-61 but it wasn’t enough as the College of Charleston defeated UNCG, 65-61 in women’s basketball action at John Kresse Arena on Monday night.

UNCG (5-17, 3-8 SoCon) had three players in double figures and was led by Gini Grimsley who tallied 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. The Fairmont, NC native recorded 14 of her 17 in the second half and had three second half three-pointers. Lakiah Hyson and Jasmine Dixon were also both in double figures for the second consecutive game with 14 and 13 points, respectfully. Hyson’s 13 points and seven rebounds are new career high’s and is the second time in as many days that she has broken her previous records.

“Turnovers really hurt us tonight,” coach Lynne Agee said. “We played very well in spurts and then we have those few instances when we loss our focus which leads us to make careless mistakes. We were able to regroup and again had our chances late. The effort is there we just need to focus on playing the entire game.”

College of Charleston (11-10, 7-4 SoCon) was led by Jill Furstenburg and Erika Smith  who were both in double figures with 20 and 14 points, respectfully. Furstenburg was 6-of-10 from the floor and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Brooke Kotcella was also in double figures for the second game with 12 points.

The Spartans shot 38.5 percent from the field on 25-of-65 shooting and for the second consecutive game out-rebounded their opponents, 42-31. UNCG post players tallied 22 points in the paint and the Spartans tallied 14 second chance points. The UNCG bench was also key and tallied 24 points in the loss. 

UNCG made things interesting late and used four three pointers from Gini Grimsley and Jasmine Dixon to cut the College of Charleston lead all the way down to three-points late in the half. The Spartans had a shot to cut the lead to one with the last shot of the game but it bounced off the rim and sent the Cougars to their second consecutive win.

The Spartans came out strong in the opening minutes of the second half and a quick bucket from Meghan Chamberlain cut the lead to one-point but College of Charleston went on an 8-0 run to take a 38-30 at the 15:59 mark. The Cougars held UNCG without a field goal for nearly seven minutes before a basket from Jasmine Dixon underneath ended the drought.

Hyson was able to provide a little momentum for UNCG when she picked C of C’s Tonia Gerty’s pocket and got fouled and completed the three-point play at the line cutting the lead to, 38-46 midway through the half. College of Charleston forced UNCG into several turnovers and was able to capitalize on the other end and held a 14 point lead with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

The teams traded buckets through the games opening minutes but the Spartans were able to force some defensive stops and went on a 5-0 run to take an early 7-3 advantage. UNCG was able to extend their lead out of the first media timeout to 11-3 and held the Cougars without a field goal through the games first eight minutes, their only points coming on free throws.

A three-pointer from Jill Furstenburg gave the Cougars their first field goal at the 13:00 minute mark to cut the UNCG lead to 13-7. The Cougars then rallied for a 10-2 run to tie the game at 17-17 and from that point the teams traded baskets but College of Charleston was able to pull ahead 24-19 before bucket from Lakiah Hyson cut the Cougar lead to three-points with just under four minutes left in the first half.

Both squads matched each other bucket-for-bucket in the final two minutes of the half but a bucket from Hyson and a defensive stop sent the Spartans into the lockerroom down by a score of 31-28. The Spartans shot 40.0 percent in the first half and Hyson and College of Charleston’s Jill Furstenburg led all-scorers with 10 point each. UNCG also won the battle on the boards and outrebounded the Cougars, 21-17.

The Spartans return to Fleming Gym on Saturday when they welcome Western Carolina. First tip is set for 3 pm. Saturday’s game will also be “Think Pink” day, please join UNCG and the Southern Conference as we “Think Pink” for breast cancer awareness.

AGATE
COFC 65, UNCG 61

UNCG (5-17, 3-8 SoCon)
GRIMSLEY,Gini 6-11 1-2 17; DIXON,Jasmine 5-8 3-4 14; HYSON,Lakiah 6-12 1-1 13; CHAMBERLAIN,Meghan 2-7 0-0 4; MULLINS,Ashley 2-5 0-0 4; FLOYD,Monique2-7 0-1 4; GIRSTAUTAITE,Agne 1-3 0-0 2; BROOKS,Kemena 1-6 0-0 2; LING,Ashley 0-0 1-2 1; FRAZIER,Brittany 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 6-10 61.

COFC (11-10, 7-4 SoCon)
FURSTENBURG, Jill 6-10 6-6 20; SMITH, Erika 5-10 4-4 14; KOTCELLA, Brooke 3-7 5-6 12; SCOTT, Ashley 1-2 3-4 5; GERTY, Tonia 1-5 3-4 5; MOYE, Sarah 2-20-1 4; JONES, Deidra 1-6 1-2 3; WILLIAMS, Nikki 0-5 2-2 2. Totals 19-47 24-29 65.

Halftime; COFC, 31-28; 3-point goals--UNCG 5-14 (GRIMSLEY,Gini 4-8; DIXON,Jasmine 1-2; MULLINS,Ashley 0-2; BROOKS,Kemena 0-1; HYSON,Lakiah 0-1), COFC 3-11 (FURSTENBURG, Jill 2-3; KOTCELLA, Brooke 1-3; GERTY, Tonia 0-2; WILLIAMS, Nikki 0-3). Fouled out--UNCG-None, COFC-None. Rebounds--UNCG 42 (HYSON,Lakiah 7), COFC 31 (FURSTENBURG, Jill 7). Assists--UNCG 14 (FLOYD,Monique 4), COFC 13 (GERTY, Tonia 3; SCOTT, Ashley 3). Total fouls--UNCG 22, COFC 15. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, COFC-None. A-237

- UNCG -