December 2, 2011

UNCG (1-4, 0-1 SoCon) vs. Samford (4-2, 0-0 SoCon), Dec. 3, 2 p.m., Fleming Gymnasium

LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com
Radio: WUAG 103.1 FM
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UNCG vs. Samford game notes

Storylines

• UNCG hosts defending Southern Conference tournament champion Samford on Saturday. The Spartans will also dedicate Fleming Gymnasium's Lynne Agee Court and honor their former coach at halftime of the contest.

• Saturday will also serve as UNCG's Alumnae Day.

• Agee coached UNCG from 1981-2011, putting together a 556-311 record at the helm for the Spartans. She led UNCG to a 197-80 record in Fleming Gym, which opened in 1989. Agee turned in 18 winning seasons in her 22 in the facility and won at least 10 games in a season there eight times.

• UNCG fell to preseason SoCon favorite Chattanooga on Thursday, 63-46. The Spartans stormed out of the gate, hitting nine of their first 11 shots to take a commanding 20-5 lead, but UNCG went cold just as quickly while Chattanooga clawed back into it. The Lady Mocs took their first lead of the game shortly after halftime and never looked back.

• Sophomore guard Breonna Patterson scored 16 points to lead UNCG against Chattanooga, turning in her third straight double-figure scoring game after notching just one as a freshman last season.

• Janae' Stevenson added 10 points off the bench against the Lady Mocs, while Sidnei Harmon flirted with a double-double with seven points and nine rebounds.

• The Spartans picked up their first win of the season Nov. 26 at North Carolina Central, 70-53, to give coach Wendy Palmer her first career victory.

• Patterson, who entered the season with career averages of 4.1 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game, is averaging 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in her four games this season. She leads UNCG in scoring and assists and is third in the SoCon in scoring.

• Harmon and freshman Jarae Savage are second on the team with 8.0 points per game, while Harmon leads the Spartans with 5.8 rebounds per game. Harmon's 3.4 offensive boards per game lead the SoCon.

• UNCG is 2-5 against Samford all-time. The teams split the first four regular-season meetings, each team winning on its home court, but Samford had the edge in the series with a win in the 2009 SoCon tournament. The Bulldogs then swept both meetings last season.

• The Bulldogs claimed a 66-46 win over UNCG in Birmingham, Ala., on Jan. 11 of last season in a contest that was postponed a day by a massive snowstorm that hit the area. Samford completed the season sweep in Greensboro on Feb. 21, taking a 59-52 win. Stevenson had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Spartans in that contest, while Emily London scored a game-high 17 for Samford.

• Samford brings a 4-2 overall record into Saturday's contest and will be opening SoCon play against the Spartans. Samford has beaten Montana, Alabama State, Southeast Missouri and Jacksonville State and has lost to No. 18 DePaul and Western Kentucky.

• The Bulldogs were ranked 25th in the preseason CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 and are receiving votes in this week's poll.

• In their last outing, the Bulldogs connected on a school- and SoCon-record 16 3-pointers in a 73-40 win over Jacksonville State on Wednesday.  Paige Anderson paced four players in double figures with 13 points (four 3s), while Jazmine Powers stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six steals. Ruth Ketcham and Taylor Reece had 11 points each, connecting on three 3-pointers each.

• Anderson, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, leads the team with 11.8 points per game, while Shelby Campbell averages 10.2 off the bench. Powers leads the team with 4.0 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game and has a SoCon-best 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Ketcham averages a team-best 4.2 rebounds per game.

• As a team, Samford leads the SoCon in 3-point percentage (.388), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9) and 3-pointers per game (8.7).

- UNCG -