UNCG defeats backyard rival Elon, 56-54

GREENSBORO, NC – Brittany Frazier hit two crucial free throws and grabbed a key rebound late in the game to lead the UNC Greensboro women’s basketball team to a 56-54 win over backyard rival, Elon on Saturday afternoon in Fleming Gym.

UNCG (5-15, 3-6 SoCon) was led by seniors Brittany Frazier and Kemena Brooks who both tallied 10 points in the victory. Frazier also led the way on the glass with a team-high seven rebounds. The Spartans shot 33.3 percent for the game on 22-of-66 shooting from the field and committed a season-low, 11 turnovers.

“I thought we played a pretty good game,” said coach Lynne Agee. “We did lose our focus and became a little too relaxed, which let them back in the ballgame late but I was pleased with the way that our seniors, especially Brittany Frazier led us late in the game she hit some crucial free throws and had a huge rebound late that led us to the win.”

Elon (6-14, 2-7 SoCon) had three players in double figures with Kitara McMoore leading the way with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. Tierra Bumbrey and Tiffany Davis were also in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectfully. The Phoenix shot 42.6 percent on 23-of-54 shooting for the game and recorded 41 rebounds. 

The Phoenix made things interesting late and used a 10-0 run late in the half to cut a 15-point UNCG second half lead to a one point lead with just over a minute remaining in the game before a key rebound and free throws from Brittany Frazier sealed the win and gave the Spartans their second consecutive win.

Elon came out in the second half with two quick buckets to cut the lead to 31-28 with just two minutes off the game clock and from that point the teams traded buckets before baskets from Brittany Frazier and Ashley Ling extended UNCG’s lead to 37-28. Gini Grimsley put a punctuation mark on a UNCG 9-4 run with a three-pointer from the left side to give UNCG a 40-28 lead.

Elon ended a nearly six minute drought with a basket from Bumbrey but a foul on the other end put Grimsley on the line to keep the Spartan lead at 12 points at the 12:15 mark. The Spartans continued to turn their hard work on the defensive end of the floor into offense which turned into a season-high nine fast break points for UNCG and 10 points off turnovers.

McMoore continued to keep the Phoenix in the game and the just when Elon seemed poised to make a run, a block from Ashley Ling followed by a trey from the Centreville, VA, native on the other end pushed the Spartan lead to 48-32 with a little over eight minutes remaining.

UNCG opened up a 4-1 lead early in the first half but Elon responded and cut the lead to 6-5 with four minutes off the game clock. The Phoenix went on a 6-2 run to take their first lead of the game but the teams traded three-point baskets to keep the lead with Elon at the first media timeout of the game.

With Elon holding a 13-12 lead, UNCG went on an 8-4 run to pull ahead 20-17 at the 6:31 mark. Elon wouldn’t go away and used a three-pointer from Tierra Bumbrey to cut the lead to 22-20 and as the teams traded buckets down the stretch but UNCG closed the half with a 7-4 run to take a 29-24 lead into the break.

Elon’s McMoore led all-scorers with 10 points at the break on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Brooks led UNCG with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting from the floor and had a team-high four rebounds. The Spartans had a season-low three turnovers in the first stanza.

The Spartans hit the road for two games and open their two-game road trip at Georgia Southern on Feb. 2. First tip is set for 3 pm in Georgia Southern’s Hanner Fieldhouse.

AGATE
UNCG 56, ELON 54

ELON (6-14, 2-7 SoCon)
MCMOORE, Kitara 9-11 1-1 19; BUMBREY, Tierra 6-16 0-0 14; DAVIS, Tiffany 5-9 0-0 10; MOORE, Shashonna 1-6 3-4 5; COTTON, Urysla 1-2 1-3 3; SPEARS, Shamica 1-2 0-0 2; WHIDDEN, Katie 0-2 1-2 1; ALLISON, Nicole 0-0 0-0 0; LUEDTKE, Jess 0-0 0-0 0; WALL, Amber 0-3 0-0 0; TAYLOR, Julie 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 6-10 54.

UNCG (5-15. 3-6 SoCon)
FRAZIER,Brittany 4-10 2-3 10; BROOKS,Kemena 4-13 0-0 10; LING,Ashley 3-3 1-28; GRIMSLEY,Gini 2-9 2-2 7; MULLINS,Ashley 2-6 0-0 6; HYSON,Lakiah 3-6 0-0 6; DIXON,Jasmine 2-7 1-2 5; CHAMBERLAIN,Meghan 1-4 0-0 2; GIRSTAUTAITE,Agne 1-3 0-0 2; SMITH,Kendra 0-1 0-0 0; FLOYD,Monique 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-66 6-9 56.

Halftime: UNCG 29-24; 3-point goals--ELON 2-10 (BUMBREY, Tierra 2-6; DAVIS, Tiffany 0-2; TAYLOR, Julie 0-2), UNCG 6-25 (MULLINS,Ashley 2-6; BROOKS,Kemena 2-10; LING,Ashley 1-1; GRIMSLEY,Gini 1-6; DIXON,Jasmine 0-1; HYSON,Lakiah 0-1). Fouled out--ELON-None, UNCG-None. Rebounds--ELON 41 (MCMOORE, Kitara 9), UNCG 40(FRAZIER,Brittany 7). Assists--ELON 7 (DAVIS, Tiffany 2; BUMBREY, Tierra 2), UNCG 14 (LING,Ashley 4). Total fouls--ELON 13, UNCG 12. Technical fouls--ELON-None, UNCG-None. A-423

- UNCG -