UNCG suffers 74-29 setback to No. 25 NC State on opening day

RALEIGH, NC – The UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team opened the 2007-08 season with a 74-29 setback against No. 25 North Carolina State on Sunday afternoon in Reynolds Coliseum.

UNCG (0-1) was led by senior forward Brittany Frazier who had five points while teammates Meghan Chamberlain and Agne Girstautaite each added four points in the loss.

“While the result wasn’t what we were looking for this was a good game for us to play, said head coach Lynne Agee.” They are a young team like us and we got a chance to see what a team that works really hard each and every play looks like looks like. We spent too much time dwelling on our mistakes today and ended up making more mistakes as a result. We have a short turnaround with a game on Tuesday and we will have to find a way to regroup before then.”

Khadijah Whittington led NC State (1-0) with 23 points and 16 rebounds on 10-of-20 shooting. Nikitta Gartrell and Megan Zullo were also in double-figures with 12 points each. 

The Spartans took a 4-3 lead early after Brittany Frazier scored the Spartans first field goal of the season at the 18:48 mark  but North Carolina State would respond with a 12-2 run to take a 16-5 lead midway through the half.

UNCG tried to gain some momentum near the end of the half and recorded stops on several NC State possessions. Meghan Chamberlain hit a quick jumper and Monique Floyd hit her first collegiate bucket while a free throw from Lakiah Hyson put UNCG into double digits. The Spartans couldn’t stop Whittington, who accounted for nearly half of the NC State points heading into the break.

Whittington led all scorers with 13 points at the break. Chamberlain led UNCG with four points while Ashley Mullins, who connected on the lone three pointer of the half, was the next leading scorer with three points. 

North Carolina State extended their lead to 50-15 at the 16:41 mark sparked by three consecutive buckets from Zullo. Gini Grimsley ended UNCG’s drought with a jumper through the left side but UNCG couldn’t top Zullo’s hot hand from behind the arc as the Wolfpack went on a 14-1 run midway through the half.

The Spartans were able to get quality points out of Lakiah Hyson and Brittany Frazier to cut the lead to 69-23 at the 7:56 mark. UNCG was able to make some key stops down the stretch and found some points off the bench in Sharniece Wadelington and Kendra Smith.

The Spartans outscored NC State 4-0 over a three minute span late in the half but couldn’t stop NC State from scoring as the home team cruised to the victory.  

UNCG 29 points were the fewest points scored in school history; the previous low was 32 scored against High Point during the 1971 season.

The Spartans open the 2007-08 home schedule on Tuesday when they welcome Liberty to Fleming Gym. Tip off is set for 7 pm. NC State faces another Southern Conference team on Tuesday when they host Appalachian State at 7 pm.

SIDELINES: UNCG has opened on the road for the 12th time in the last 13 years... the Spartans are  12-15 in season openers under Lynne Agee...UNCG opened the 2005-06 season at NC State, a 76-46 NC State victory... the last ACC opponent the Spartans faced was Virginia Tech in the Greensboro Coliseum last February.... UNCG played 14 players including Monique Floyd, who earned her first collegiate start. Kendra Smith, Sharniece Wadelington, Johanna Womack, and TaShama Banner made their Spartan debut....Ashley Mullins, who saw her first game action since injuring her thumb late last Nov, hit on her first shot of the game.

AGATE
NC STATE 74, UNC GREENSBORO 29

UNC GREENSBORO (0-1)
Brittany Frazier 2-7 1-3 5; Meghan Chamberlain 2-3 0-0 4; Agne Girstautaite 0-4 4-6 4; Lakiah Hyson 1-5 1-2 3; Monique Floyd 1-5 1-3 3; Ashley Mullins 1-2 0-0 3; S Wadelington 1-3 0-0 2; Gini Grimsley 1-6 0-0 2; Kendra Smith 1-2 0-0 2; Kemena Brooks 0-0 1-2 1; Ashley Ling 0-2 0-0 0; Johanna Womack 0-1 0-0 0; Tashama Banner 0-0 0-0 0; Jasmine Dixon 0-4 0-1 0. Totals 10-44 8-17 29.

NC STATE (1-0)
Khadijah Whittington 10-20 3-5 23; Nikitta Gartrell 5-9 2-2 12; Megan Zullo 4-9 0-0 12; Chanita Jordan 3-8 2-4 8; Sharnise Beal 3-5 0-0 7; Gloria Brown 3-7 0-0 6; Amber White 1-6 1-1 4; Shayla Fields 1-6 0-0 2; Hanna Halteman 0-2 0-0 0; Lucy Ellison 0-0 0-0 0; Brittany Strachan 0-1 0-0 0; Tia Bell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-73 8-12 74.

Halftime NC State, 40-13 3-point goals--UNC Greensboro 1-8 (Ashley Mullins 1-2; Gini Grimsley 0-4; Ashley Ling 0-1; Jasmine Dixon 0-1), NC State 6-20 (Megan Zullo 4-9; Sharnise Beal 1-2; Amber White 1-5; Shayla Fields 0-2; Brittany Strachan 0-1; Nikitta Gartrell 0-1). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-None, NC State-None.Rebounds--UNC Greensboro 32 (Brittany Frazier 5; Ashley Ling 5), NC State 53 (Khadijah Whittington 16). Assists--UNC Greensboro 4 (Brittany Frazier 2),NC State 15 (Nikitta Gartrell 6). Total fouls--UNC Greensboro 12, NC State 19. Technical fouls--UNC Greensboro-None, NC State-None. A-1363

- UNCG -