UNCG's furious comeback foiled by Appalachian State

BOONE, NC – Kiki Conyers’ free throw with 1.7 seconds left gave Appalachian State an 85-84 victory over UNC Greensboro in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Holmes Center.

Trailing by 10 points with 2:00 left in regulation, UNCG sophomore guard Kemena Brooks converted two free throws with 13 seconds on the clock to bring the Spartans all the way back and tie the game 84-84. The Mountaineers took the ball the length of the floor, where Conyers drove the lane and got fouled. She made the front end of the two shot foul and then intentionally missed the second shot. The game clock expired without either team gaining possession of the ball.

Brooks scored a game and career-high 25 points for UNCG (12-11, 8-6 SoCon), while sophomore center Meghan Chamberlain also notched a career-high with 16 points. Sophomore guard Kristen Boone added 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, while junior forward Irene Otamiri had 10 points for the Spartans.

Danielle Edwards and Conyers had 17 points apiece to lead Appalachian State (11-12, 7-7 SoCon). Eboni Kirby and Greteya Kelley each had 14 points, while Whitney Tossie added 12 points for the Mountaineers.

Chamberlain canned a jumper to open the second half of play, giving UNCG a 34-30 lead. From that point, ASU went on a 24-12 run over the next six minutes to take a 56-46 lead with 13:13 to play. Four conventional 3-point plays by the Mountaineers paced the home team in their run.

Chamberlain got UNCG back to within seven, 61-54, but Tossie buried a trey at the other end for the Mountaineers to put them back up 10, 64-54 at the 8:17 mark. Boone made it a 66-62 affair after a 3-pointer at the 7:05 mark, but ASU’s Kelley leaked out and scored a fast-break layup moments later to give them a 68-62 lead. Boone again got UNCG back to within four, 68-64, on a mid-range jumper in the lane at the 5:26 mark, but another old-fashioned 3-point play by Kirby at the 2:58 mark put the Mountaineers up 75-66.

Trailing by 10 points, Brooks and freshman guard Gini Grimsley scored all of UNCG’s points in the final 2:00 minutes. Brooks started the comeback with a trey at the 1:39 mark. Grimsley made it 81-77 on a 3-pointer of her own with 59 seconds to go. A layup by Brooks and another trey by Grimsley made it 84-82 with 17 ticks remaining. A turnover by ASU gave the Spartans the ball back, where Brooks ultimately pulled up for a 13-foot jumper that she was fouled on. She buried both shots, which set up the heroics by ASU’s Conyers.

A turnover filled first half left UNCG with a slim 32-30 lead at the break. The Spartans fell behind 16-5 in the opening minutes of the game due to poor shooting and Kirby knocking down a pair of 3-pointers for the Mountaineers. UNCG converted only 2 of its first 16 attempts from the field.

A 9-2 run got the Spartans right back into it, trailing by four, 18-14, at the 9:59 mark. Otamiri led the visitors early with six points. Although turnovers continued to plague both teams, UNCG made it a 24-22 ballgame on a Kaleah Latham layup with 4:10 left in the first half. The Spartans immediately tied it on a pair form the line by Otamiri and then took their first lead of the game, 26-24, on a layup by Boone at the 3:25 mark.

The Spartans rebounded nicely from their rough start by connecting on 66.7 percent (12-of-18) of their attempts over the final 11:56 of the half. They would extend their lead to four points on two occasions, the final time on a running layup by sophomore guard Kemena Brooks, which made it 32-28 with 34 seconds left on the clock.

ASU turned the ball over 17 times in the first 20 minutes and UNCG turned them into 18 points. Conversely, the Spartans gave it up 15 times.

UNCG visits College of Charleston on Monday at 4:30 pm in Charleston, SC. Meanwhile, Appalachian State hosts Wofford on Valentine’s Day on Tuesday at 7 pm.

AGATE
APPALACHIAN STATE 85, UNC GREENSBORO 84

UNC GREENSBORO (12-11, 8-6 SoCon)
BROOKS, Kemena 8-13 7-7 25; BOONE, Kristen 6-11 4-6 17; CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 5-9 6-8 16; OTAMIRI, Irene 4-10 2-3 10; GRIMSLEY, Gini 2-2 0-0 6; DIXON, Jasmine 2-5 0-1 4; LATHAM, KaLeah 2-6 0-0 4; CURRENT, Ashley 0-3 2-2 2; BLAIR, Caroline 0-0 0-0 0; BYRD, Jasmine 0-2 0-0 0; MULLINS, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0; LING, Ashley 0-1 0-0 0; JACKSON, Shanika 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 21-27 84.

APPALACHIAN STATE (11-12, 7-7 SoCon)
EDWARDS, Danielle 6-10 5-6 17; CONYERS, Kiki 5-11 6-7 17; KIRBY, Eboni 5-10 2-4 14; KELLEY, Greteya 6-10 2-2 14; TOSSIE, Whitney 5-12 1-2 12; WYATT, Jocelyn 3-7 0-1 6; KETNER, Whitney 1-5 2-2 4; BENNETT, Jaime 0-0 1-2 1; THOMAS, Natalie 0-1 0-0 0; COSTNER, Carleena 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-66 19-26 85.

Halftime: UNC Greensboro 32-30. 3-point goals-UNC Greensboro 5-12 (BROOKS, Kemena 2-4; GRIMSLEY, Gini 2-2; BOONE, Kristen 1-2; DIXON, Jasmine 0-1; BYRD, Jasmine 0-2; OTAMIRI, Irene 0-1), Appalachian State 4-12 (KIRBY, Eboni 2-3; TOSSIE, Whitney 1-2; CONYERS, Kiki 1-4; KETNER, Whitney 0-1; WYATT, Jocelyn 0-2). Fouled out—UNC Greensboro-None, Appalachian State-BENNETT, Jaime. Rebounds-UNC Greensboro 44 (DIXON, Jasmine 7), Appalachian State 34 (KIRBY, Eboni 9). Assists-UNC Greensboro 9 (BOONE, Kristen 5), Appalachian State 12 (KIRBY, Eboni 5). Total fouls-UNC Greensboro 22, Appalachian State 22. A-470.

- UNCG -