Western Carolina drops UNCG, 63-55

GREENSBORO, NC – The UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team received career performances from Monique Floyd, Kemena Brooks and Ashley Mullins but it wasn’t enough as Western Carolina defeated UNCG, 63-55 in Southern Conference women’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

UNCG (5-18, 3-9 SoCon) had a season-high four players in double figures led by freshman Monique Floyd who tallied her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Brittany Frazier, Gini Grimsley and Ashley Mullins were also in double figures for UNCG. Mullins tallied a career-high 10 points while Kemena Brooks recorded a career-high eight rebounds on the afternoon.

“We missed too many easy buckets around the basket and our poor free throw shooting really cost us today,” said coach Lynne Agee. “We have been working on sustaining our intensity and pressure for 40 minutes and while we did that in spots today, we didn’t do it the entire game which hurt us down the stretch.”

The Spartans shot 34.3 percent on 27-of-70 shooting and pulled down a season-high 45 rebounds. Western Carolina shot 40.6 percent for the game on 26-of-64 shooting from the floor and had 50 rebounds in the win.

Western Carolina (18-6, 10-2 SoCon) was led by Ashley Pellom and Emily Clarke who both had 13 points. Kristen Feemster led the way on the glass with a team-high eight rebounds.

For the second time in three games the Spartans made things interesting late. With 3:42 left on the clock, UNCG stole the inbounds pass and Gini Grimsley was able to hit a bucket underneath while getting fouled. The Fairmont, NC native completed the three-point play which took the WCU lead to 53-50 with 3:21 remaining.

Western Carolina went on a 5-1 run to pull ahead 58-51 but UNCG cut the lead to five points with just over a minute left with a bucket from Floyd but the Lady Catamounts sealed the win from the line, ending UNCG’s two-game home win streak.

The Lady Catamounts opened the second half with a 4-0 run to extend their lead to 30-25 with only 25 seconds gone on the second half game clock but after a UNCG timeout the Spartans forced several turnovers before a bucket from Brooks cut the WCU lead to 32-31 at the 15:46 mark of the second stanza.

A free throw from Jasmine Dixon tied the game and from that point on the teams traded buckets with neither team taking more than a two point advantage for the next three minutes but Western Carolina forced several UNCG turnovers and went ahead 43-38.

With the Lady Catamounts leading 51-43, the largest lead of the game for either team, UNCG was able to pick up a bucket and but couldn’t’ convert at the free throw line and Western kept the lead, 53-45 with 4:33 remaining.

The Spartans started the game ice cold from the floor going 0-for-5 through the games first four minutes allowing Western Carolina to jump ahead to a 4-0 lead before a bucket from Monique Floyd ended the drought. UNCG was able to collect a crucial rebound and then tied the game with a bucket from Kemena Brooks.

Brittany Frazier provided a spark off the bench and was 2-of-2 to keep the game tied at 8-8 at the 12:25 mark. Western Carolina took a two-point lead on a bucket from Kristen Feemster but the Spartans picked up a little momentum with a steal under the basket from Ashley Ling but it was a steal on the other end by Western Carolina that gave them a 14-10 lead.

A three-pointer from Kendra Carroll capped a WCU 7-2 run but a thee-pointer from Grimsley cut the lead to 17-15 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half. Grimsley provided a spark off the bench and tied the game with long jumper and a layup from Floyd gave UNCG their first lead of the game since the 13:12 mark of the half.

With the game tied at 19-19 UNCG’s Ashley Mullins tallied back-to-back three pointers to spark an 6-0 run and pulled UNCG ahead 25-19 but Western Carolina’s Emily Clark hit a three-pointer with 00.01 seconds left to send the Lady Catamounts into the lockerrom with a 26-25 lead.

Clark led all-scorers with nine points and was 4-of-5 from the field. Grimsley was the next leading scorer with seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor while Monique Floyd pulled down five rebounds. UNCG was also able to hold Western Carolina’s Monique Dawson to no points in the first half.

UNCG welcomes SoCon rival Chattanooga to Fleming Gym on Monday night. First tip is set for 7 pm.

AGATE
WESTERN CAROLINA 63, UNCG 55

WESTERN CAROLINA (18-6, 10-2 SoCon)
CLARKE, Emily 6-8 0-1 13; PELLOM, Ashley 4-8 5-6 13; FEEMSTER, Kristen 4-9 1-2 9; CARROLL, Kendra 3-6 1-2 8; KEITH, Chevon 2-6 2-3 6; JOHNSON, Jessika 3-4 0-0 6; SWAYNE, Heather 1-5 0-0 2; DAWSON, Monique 1-7 0-0 2; POWELL, Lauren 1-7 0-4 2; EATON, Kendra 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 26-64 9-18 63.

UNCG (5-18, 3-9 SoCon)
FRAZIER,Brittany 6-8 0-0 12; FLOYD,Monique 6-10 0-0 12; MULLINS,Ashley 4-7 0-0 10; GRIMSLEY,Gini 4-13 1-1 10; BROOKS,Kemena 3-14 1-2 7; HYSON,Lakiah 1-7 0-2 2; LING,Ashley 0-5 1-3 1; DIXON,Jasmine 0-3 1-5 1; CHAMBERLAIN,Meghan 0-2 0-0 0; GIRSTAUTAITE,Agne 0-1 0-2 0; SMITH,Kendra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-70 4-15 55.

Halftime: WCU 26-25; 3-point goals--Western Carolina 2-9 (CLARKE, Emily 1-1; CARROLL, Kendra 1-1;KEITH, Chevon 0-1; SWAYNE, Heather 0-1; POWELL, Lauren 0-5), UNCG 3-19 (MULLINS,Ashley 2-3; GRIMSLEY,Gini 1-8; BROOKS,Kemena 0-4; HYSON,Lakiah 0-1; LING,Ashley 0-2; DIXON,Jasmine 0-1). Fouled out--Western Carolina-None, UNCG-None. Rebounds--Western Carolina 50 (FEEMSTER, Kristen 8), UNCG 45 (FLOYD,Monique 10). Assists--Western Carolina 5 (DAWSON, Monique 3), UNCG 9 (FLOYD,Monique 3). Total fouls--Western Carolina 17, UNCG 17. Technical fouls--Western Carolina-None, UNCG-None. A-571

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