UNCG picks up fourth consecutive conference victory, defeats Appalachian State 68-61

BOONE, NC – UNC Greensboro held off a late Appalachian State run to defeat the Mountaineers, 68-61, Saturday afternoon in the Holmes Center.

UNCG (11-6, 4-2) had four players in doubles figures, led by Jasmine Byrd who had 18 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from the line. Irene Otamiri had five rebounds in the victory.

“This was an important conference win for us,” head coach Lynne Agee said. “We played well, but had some breakdowns late in the game but I was glad that we we’re able to pull it out in the end. We’ve got another important game on Monday that we’ve got to get ready for.”

UNCG started the second half much like they ended the first, opening with a 9-3 run in the first four minutes, extending the lead to 49-33 at the 15:44 mark, the largest lead of the game.

The defense continued to be stingy, forcing ASU (8-9, 2-4) into three shot clock violations in the games first eight minutes and only allowing two field goals, pushing the lead to 49-36 at the 11:52 mark.

The Mountaineers were able to pick up a little momentum with quick buckets by Shante Williams and Whitney Ketner but UNCG responded with several defensive stops and pulled the lead to 56-42 with 8:10 left in the game. 

Appalachian State found their offense with a little over three minutes left in the game, scoring eight unanswered points to cut the UNCG lead to 10 points and got the lead down to five, but UNCG sealed the game at the line for their fourth consecutive conference win.

The Spartans scored on the game's first possession to take an early lead in the game's early going, but Appalachian State responded with two buckets to keep the game close. UNCG went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-7 lead at the 15:50 mark.

The teams traded buckets for the next few possessions and Appalachian built a 10-point, 23-13, lead. UNCG, however, was able to cut into the lead with their defensive pressure. Irene Otamiri forced three consecutive steals leading to six unanswered Spartan points, cutting the lead to 23-20 at the 6:21 mark.

UNCG took a 24-23 lead with just under five minutes remaining and stretched it to six points behind a Jasmine Byrd three-pointer and layups by Kristen Boone and KaLeah Latham. 

UNCG’s defense continued to fuel their offense, as the Spartans went on a 14-5 run in the final four minutes of the half, taking a 38-30 halftime lead and holding the Mountaineers to two field goals in the final four minutes of the half.

The Spartans shot 38.7 percent and forced Appalachian State into 10 turnovers in the first half.

UNCG continues its two-game road swing when they head to College of Charleston Monday, Jan. 15. Tip-off is set for 4:30 pm at John Kresse Arena.

AGATE
UNC GREENSBORO 68, APPALACHIAN STATE 61

UNC GREENSBORO (11-6, 4-2)
Byrd, Jasmine 4-12 7-7 18; Boone, Kristen 2-5 9-10 13; Chamberlain, Meghan 5-10 2-2 12; Otamiri, Irene 4-7 3-4 11; Latham, Kaleah 2-8 2-4 6; Grimsley,Gini 1-7 0-0 3; Brooks, Kemena 1-4 0-0 2; Frazier, Brittany 1-5 0-2 2;Dixon, Jasmine 0-5 1-2 1; Ling, Ashley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 24-31 68.

APPALACHIAN STATE (8-9, 2-4)
TOSSIE, Whitney 6-9 5-6 18; KETNER, Whitney 4-9 4-5 12; THOMAS, GiGi 4-11 0-0 8; COSTNER, Carleena 3-6 0-0 8; BENNETT, Jaime 3-9 2-2 8; RANDOLPH,Whitney 2-4 0-0 5; GRIMES, Maria 0-4 2-4 2; MIXON, Brittany 0-1 0-0 0; WILLIAMS, Shante 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 13-17 61.

Halftime: UNCG 38-30. 3-point goals--UNC Greensboro 4-13 (Byrd, Jasmine 3-6; Grimsley, Gini 1-4;Otamiri, Irene 0-1; Latham, Kaleah 0-1; Dixon, Jasmine 0-1), Appalachian State 4-11 (COSTNER, Carleena 2-5; RANDOLPH, Whitney 1-1; TOSSIE, Whitney 1-2; BENNETT, Jaime 0-1; THOMAS, GiGi 0-1; KETNER, Whitney 0-1). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-Otamiri, Irene, Appalachian State-TOSSIE, Whitney. Rebounds--UNC Greensboro 39 (Otamiri, Irene 5), Appalachian State 40 (KETNER, Whitney 11). Assists--UNC Greensboro 13 (Boone, Kristen 4), Appalachian State 17 (TOSSIE, Whitney 4; GRIMES, Maria 4; COSTNER, Carleena 4). Total fouls--UNC Greensboro 19, Appalachian State 22. Technical fouls--UNC Greensboro-None, Appalachian State-None.

- UNCG -