HIGH POINT, NC – Kemena Brooks led a trio of players in double figures with 15 points as the UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team picked up their first win of the season with a 74-64 win over backyard rival High Point in the Millis Athletic Center on Monday night.
Also in double figures for UNCG (1-6) were Brittany Frazier, who tallied 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds and Monique Floyd, who tallied 11 points. UNCG shot 40.7 percent from the floor on 24-of-59 shooting from the field while out rebounding the Panthers, 49-42.
“This was a huge win for us,” said head coach Lynne Agee. “Being able to get a win on the road and the way that we won was impressive. We shot well and rebounded well and when forced to step up and close the game, we responded which was extremely encouraging. It was a total team effort tonight.”
High Point (4-4) was led by LaTeisha Dean with 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the floor. Jennifer Long and Jurica Hargraves were also in double figures with 13 and 15 points, respectively.
UNCG used a 6-0 run, keyed by a steal from Monique Floyd to pull ahead 55-46 and a jumper from Kemena Brooks to go ahead 57-47 at the 10:45 mark but a Hargraves three-pointer sparked a 5-0 High Point run that quickly cut the lead to 57-52 midway through the half. The teams battled for the remainder of the half but with a nine point lead and just over three minutes remaining UNCG went on a 5-0 run to push their lead to 70-56 and never looked back as they picked up their first win of the season.
UNCG opened the second half with a 5-2 run to extend their lead to 38-31 early in the half and was able to push their lead to as many as nine points before High Point’s LaTeisha Dean hit a three-pointer and forced a UNCG to cut the lead to 45-39 at the 15:44 mark.
The Panthers used good defensive rebounding and several UNCG miscues to key a 5-0 run to cut the lead to three points but the Spartans countered with a 5-0 run to keep the lead at 50-42 at the 13:46 mark of the stanza. High Point wouldn’t go away and used a layup from Jurica Hargraves to cut the lead to four points with just under 12 minutes remaining, the closest they had been since the end of the first half.
UNCG scored early in the first half with a three-pointer from Gini Grimsley but High Point responded with a long three to keep the game tied after two minutes of play. After three pointers early, both teams went cold from the field before High Point went on an 8-3 run to take a 15-11 lead at the 11:05 mark.
High Point was hot from behind the arc and was shot 3-of-5 from the three-point line with Dean connecting on a team-high two through the first nine minutes of the game. The Spartans were also shooting well from behind the arc connecting on 3-of-4 early.
UNCG cut the lead to two points and was able to tie the game with a two from Brooks before UNCG rattled off five consecutive points to take a 34-19 lead. High Point wouldn’t go away and responded with a bucket to cut the lead to three points but the Panthers went on a 6-0 run over the next 1:30 to cut the UNCG lead to 28-27.
The Spartans held High Point to one bucket in the last 2:06 to take a 33-29 lead into the break. The Spartans were led by Brooks who was 3-of-3 from the floor in the first half for seven points while Meghan Chamberlain was 2-of-5 for six points. As a team the Spartans shot 35.5 percent from the field on 11-of-31 shooting while pulling down 22 rebounds.
The Spartans will continue their road swing when they head to Longwood on Wednesday. Tip off is set for 7 pm at Willett Hall in Farmville, VA.
SIDELINES: UNCG forward Jasmine Dixon picked up her 300th career rebound...this is the first time in the last four meetings that the away team had won...UNCG also won last year’s contest with by 10 points.
AGATE
UNCG 74, HIGH POINT 64
UNCG (1-6)
BROOKS,Kemena 6-9 1-2 15; FRAZIER,Brittany 3-9 5-5 11;
FLOYD,Monique 5-9 1-311; GRIMSLEY,Gini 3-7 0-0 8;
CHAMBERLAIN,Meghan 3-11 2-2 8;GIRSTAUTAITE,Agne 2-2 4-6 8;
LING,Ashley 1-2 3-4 6; DIXON,Jasmine 1-4 2-2 4;HYSON,Lakiah 0-2 3-4
3; WADELINGTON,S 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 21-28 74.
HIGH POINT (4-4)
DEAN, LaTeisha 5-16 3-3 16; HARGRAVES, Jurica 6-16 1-4 15; LONG,
Jennifer 5-11 3-4 13; MANUEL, Amber 3-8 1-3 7; DODD, Amy 1-4 2-2 4;
TUCKER, Andrea 2-8 0-0 4; FIELDS, Francis 1-3 0-2 2; SAMUELS,
Ashlee 1-2 0-0 2; THOMPSON, Ayonna 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 24-68 11-20
64.
Halftime-UNCG 33-29; 3-point goals--UNCG 5-8 (GRIMSLEY,Gini 2-2; BROOKS,Kemena 2-3; LING,Ashley 1-1; DIXON,Jasmine 0-1; FLOYD,Monique 0-1), High Point 5-22 (DEAN, LaTeisha 3-11; HARGRAVES, Jurica 2-9; DODD, Amy 0-1; LONG, Jennifer 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-None, High Point-FIELDS, Francis. Rebounds--UNCG 49 (FRAZIER,Brittany 9), High Point 42 (TUCKER, Andrea 8). Assists--UNCG 9 (FLOYD,Monique 3), High Point 10 (FIELDS, Francis 5). Total fouls--UNCG 15, High Point 21. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, High Point-None. A-539
- UNCG -