Florida Gulf Coast downs Spartans at UNCG Marriott Classic

GREENSBORO, NC – UNC Greensboro got 10 points each from Gini Grimsley, Ashley Mullins and Amanda Leigh, but it was not enough as the Spartans fell to Florida Gulf Coast, 66-50, in the second game of the UNCG Marriott Classic on Friday.

The Eagles (3-1) put four players in double figures, with Courtney Chihil and Adrianne McNally scoring a game-high 15 apiece. Kelsey Jacobson scored 14, all of which came in the first half, and Chelsea Lyles had 13 points.

The Spartans (1-4) hung with the Eagles in the first half, leading by as many as four after a Grimsley 3-pointer with 13:08 to play in the opening frame. FGCU was about to rip off a huge run, though, as the Eagles quickly turned an 18-16 deficit into a 33-22 halftime lead.

Lyles' pair of free throws tied the game at 18 before Chihil's pair of freebies put the Eagles ahead for good. A McNally layup made it a four-point game, but UNCG freshman Sarah Folwell hit a jumper to draw UNCG back to within two at 22-20.

Back-to-back 3s from Chihil and Jacobson pushed FGCU's lead to eight, and after a Mullins layup, Jacobson hit a pair of free throws and another 3 – her fourth of the half – to put UNCG down by 11 a halftime, 33-22.

The Spartans made the Eagles pay for 10 first-half turnovers, converting them into 11 points – half of UNCG's point total in the opening frame.

Early in the second half, Agne Girstautaite's layup cut the Eagles' lead to single digits at 35-26, and Grimsley's three-point play made it a two-possession game again. FGCU quickly responded, however, as Chihil and McNally hit consecutive layups underneath to push the Eagles' lead back to 10 at 39-29. Lyles and Brittany Brown added layups of their own to make it an 8-0 run, but another Grimsley three-point play halted the spurt.

By then, the damage was done, as FGCU held a 43-32 lead and never looked back. The Eagles stretched their lead to as many as 23 before the Spartans closed the game on a 12-5 run. Mullins had eight of her points in the run, including a perfect 4-for-4 showing at the free throw line.

The line was a struggle for the Spartans all day, as UNCG went just 13-for-26.

Sophomore TaShama Banner had another solid day defensively, coming away with a game-high five steals to go along with five rebounds. Grimsley had a team-high seven boards, while Chihil pulled down a game-high nine for the Eagles to just miss a double-double.

The Spartans harassed FGCU into 23 turnovers, converting them into 23 points. While the Spartans committed 19 turnovers of their own, the Eagles got just 11 points off them.

"I'm disappoint with how we played in the second half, obviously," UNCG coach Lynne Agee said. "We got a bit disjointed when they started on their run, and we can't do that. The first half was impressive. What they ran was a real challenge for us, particularly for a young team. I thought our defense was pretty good for most of the first half, handling their 3-point barrage. Based on the games we saw, they shoot 35-40 of those a game. We knew what we were in for.

"I saw progression from the other day to today in our intensity and our effort," she said. "I thought we put out a good effort. We've never seen an offense like that, so it was a great challenge for us, and I was pleased with how we challenged it."

Sophomore guard Monique Floyd suffered a head injury during the game and did not return. She is questionable for Saturday's game.

Winston-Salem State and Bowling Green played the early game of day one of the UNCG Marriott Classic, with Bowling Green coming away with an 80-43 win.

WSSU and FGCU will play at 1 p.m. Saturday, and UNCG and Bowling Green will close out the Classic with a contest starting at 3 p.m.

AGATE
FLORIDA GULF COAST 66, UNC GREENSBORO 50

FLORIDA GULF COAST (3-1)
McNALLY, Adrianne 6-9 3-5 15; CHIHIL, Courtney 4-8 5-5 15; JACOBSON, Kelsey 4-9 2-2 14; LYLES, Chelsea 4-11 4-5 13; BROWN, Brittany 2-4 0-0 4; FESSEDEN, Amanda 1-2 0-0 3; JACKLIN, Diana 1-3 0-0 2; MURPHY, Shannon 0-4 0-0 0; MINGOS, Kristina 0-1 0-0 0; BEDDOME, Emma 0-1 0-0 0; HERMAN, Kristine 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 14-17 66.

UNC GREENSBORO (1-4)
LEIGH, Amanda 3-8 2-2 10; MULLINS, Ashley 3-10 4-4 10; GRIMSLEY, Gini 4-11 2-2 10; HYSON, Lakiah 3-13 1-2 8; FOLWELL, Sarah 2-3 0-2 4; FLOYD, Monique 1-1 1-2 3; BANNER, TaShama 0-4 3-10 3; GIRSTAUTAITE, Agne 1-2 0-2 2; SMITH, Kendra 0-1 0-0 0; MORKUNAITE, Agneta 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 13-26 50.

Florida Gulf Coast............   33   33  -   66
UNC Greensboro................   22   28  -   50

3-point goals--Florida Gulf Coast 8-25 (JACOBSON, Kelsey 4-9; CHIHIL, Courtney 2-5; LYLES, Chelsea 1-3; FESSEDEN, Amanda 1-1; MURPHY, Shannon 0-3; MINGOS, Kristina 0-1; BEDDOME, Emma 0-1; JACKLIN, Diana 0-1; BROWN, Brittany 0-1), UNC Greensboro 3-15 (LEIGH, Amanda 2-6; HYSON, Lakiah 1-2; GRIMSLEY, Gini 0-4; BANNER, TaShama 0-1; MULLINS, Ashley 0-2). Fouled out--Florida
Gulf Coast-None, UNC Greensboro-None. Rebounds--Florida Gulf Coast 40 (CHIHIL, Courtney 9), UNC Greensboro 35 (GRIMSLEY, Gini 7). Assists—Florida Gulf Coast 12 (BROWN, Brittany 3), UNC Greensboro 8 (HYSON, Lakiah 2; SMITH, Kendra 2). Total fouls--Florida Gulf Coast 22, UNC Greensboro 21. Technical fouls--Florida Gulf Coast-None, UNC Greensboro-None. A-274

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GREENSBORO, NC – Junior forward Niki McCoy led the way with 20 points as Bowling Green coasted to an 80-43 win over Winston-Salem State in women's basketball action at the 2008 UNCG Marriott Classic.

Bowling Green (3-2) led by as many as 30 in the first half as Winston-Salem State nearly had more turnovers (15) than points (17) in the opening 20 minutes. The Falcons shot 51.6 percent from the floor in the opening half, including 6-for-13 from 3-point range, to take a 44-17 lead to the locker room.

McCoy equaled her season-high thanks to 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. The junior from Sylvania, OH, also had a team-high six rebounds. Eleven of the 13 Falcons that played in the game hit the scoring column. Tracy Pontius added 13 points for Bowling Green.

Nikki Lee led Winston-Salem State with 18 points, the only Lady Ram in double figures. Vontisha Woods grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the Lady Rams.

Winston-Salem State (0-5) scored the first bucket of the game before the Falcons broke out with a 19-2 run to take control right from the outset. Pontius had eight of her 11 in the run, including a pair of treys.

Bowling Green forced nine turnovers by the Lady Rams in the first nine minutes of the contest, converting that into 10 of its first 22 points. The lead grew to 19 by midway through the opening half, 25-6, and the Falcons were on the way to their third straight win.

The second-half start was about the same as the first half with Bowling Green jumping out quickly on a 19-3 run to extend its lead to 43, the biggest of the afternoon. The Falcons hit 7-of-11 from the floor to open the second half to extend the rout.

Bowling Green will face tournament host UNC Greensboro at 3 p.m. Saturday, while Winston-Salem State will face Florida Gulf Coast at 1 p.m.

AGATE
BOWLING GREEN 80, WINSTON-SALEM STATE 43

WINSTON-SALEM STATE (0-5)
Talnesha Kee 6-10 2-2 18; Porsche Harrell 3-4 0-0 6; Keoshia Worthy 1-2 3-4 5; Chloe Morse 1-4 1-2 3; Vontisha Woods 1-9 1-2 3; Jordhan Peterson 1-2 0-0 2; Rene Rector 1-6 0-1 2; Quintoya Mobley 1-4 0-0 2; Jalesa Byrd 1-1 0-0 2; Corbin Bradford 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 7-11 43.

BOWLING GREEN (3-2)
Niki Mccoy 9-12 2-4 20; Tracy Pontius 3-6 4-4 13; Lauren Prochaska 2-6 3-4 9; Jessica Slagle 2-3 3-3 8; Kelly Zuercher 3-3 2-2 8; Maribeth Giese 2-3 0-0 5; Tara Breske 2-4 0-0 5; Sarah Clapper 2-5 0-0 5; Lindsey Goldsberry 1-2 0-0 3; Chelsea Albert 1-3 0-0 2; Jen Uhl 1-4 0-0 2; Laura Bugher 0-0 0-2 0; Victoria Mcgowan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 14-19 80.

Halftime: Bowling Green 44-17. 3-point goals--Winston-Salem State 4-12 (Talnesha Kee 4-6; Vontisha Woods 0-1; Rene Rector 0-3; Quintoya Mobley 0-1; Corbin Bradford 0-1), Bowling Green 10-23 (Tracy Pontius 3-5; Lauren Prochaska 2-5;  Tara Breske 1-1; Jessica Slagle 1-2; Maribeth Giese 1-1; Sarah Clapper 1-4; Lindsey Goldsberry 1-2; Jen Uhl 0-2; Niki Mccoy 0-1). Fouled out--Winston-Salem State-Talnesha Kee, Bowling Green-None. Rebounds--Winston-Salem State 26 (Vontisha Woods 10), Bowling Green 30 (Niki Mccoy 6; Jen Uhl 6). Assists--Winston-Salem State 5 (Keoshia Worthy 2), Bowling Green 16 (Lindsey Goldsberry 4). Total fouls--Winston-Salem State 17, Bowling Green 17. Technical fouls--Winston-Salem State-None, Bowling Green-None.

- UNCG -