January 23, 2012

UNCG (3-14, 2-7 SoCon) at Elon (9-9, 5-4 SoCon), Jan. 23, 7 p.m., Elon, N.C.

LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com (via ElonPhoenix.com)
Audio: ElonPhoenix.com
Video: ElonPhoenix.com

UNCG at Elon game notes

Storylines

• After a four-game homestand, UNCG gets back on the road, starting with Monday's contest at rival Elon.

• The Spartans fell just short of putting together consecutive wins for the first time this season on Saturday, as Furman hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds to steal the road win, 66-64. UNCG led by as many as 16 in the second half and had taken a one-point lead on Breonna Patterson's 3 with 33.7 seconds left.

• UNCG put four players in double figures in the loss, with Janae' Stevenson and Patterson scoring 12 points each and Natalie Headley notching 11. Freshman Jarae Savage pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds.

• Patterson leads UNCG in scoring with 10.3 points per game, while Savage's big day against Furman lifted her into the team rebounding lead at 5.2 per contest. Stevenson is second in both categories at 8.8 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Dayshaun Richbow leads the team with 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

• UNCG leads the series with Elon, 23-15. The Spartans have won 20 of the last 26 meetings between the two teams and 14 of 19 since moving to Division I. UNCG is 8-11 on the road in the series after starting 0-7 in Elon and has won its last three in the Phoenix's gym. The teams split last season, each winning on the other's home floor.

• In last season's first meeting, on Jan. 19, 2011, Elon's Ali Ford drove the lane and got a scoop layup to fall as the final horn sounded to lift the visiting Phoenix past UNCG, 63-61. With the game tied at 61 and the final seconds ticking down, UNCG had possession of the ball and a chance to hold on for the final shot. Richbow, who just seconds earlier was poised to be the hero with a tiebreaking 3-pointer, was called for a travel, giving Elon the ball with 6 seconds left. Ford did the rest, going coast-to-coast for the win.

• UNCG got is revenge in the second meeting, taking a71-66 win in Elon on Feb. 10. Patterson hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 51 seconds left and Brey Dorsett hit both ends of a one-and-one with 4.8 seconds left to give the Spartans the win. Monique Floyd finished with a team-best 15 points for UNCG, while Stevenson had a career-best 15 rebounds. Ford scored a game-high 20 points to lead Elon.

• Elon is 9-9 overall and 5-4 in the SoCon under first-year head coach Charlotte Smith. The Phoenix has won three straight, taking wins over Georgia Southern, College of Charleston and Western Carolina, but its margin of victory in those contests was just 4.0 points per game.

• Against the Catamounts on Wednesday, Kelsey Evans had 14 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Phoenix to the 51-45 road win. Aiesha Harper added 10 points.

• Ford paces the Phoenix in scoring with 14.9 points per game and Evans averages 12.1 points and team-best 7.2 rebounds per contest. Harper dishes off a team-best 4.2 assists per game and leads the team with 1.6 steals per contest.

• Ford, who was a Preseason All-SoCon selection along with Evans, has hit more 3-pointers (55) than UNCG has as a team (44). The junior ranks fifth nationally with 3.2 triples per game. As a team, Elon is second in the SoCon with 6.7 per game.

• Elon is also second in the league with 13.1 assists per game and 3-point percentage (.349).

• Individually, Ford is third in the league in scoring and Harper is third in field goal percentage (.473). Evans leads the league and is 18th nationally in free throw percentage (.891).

- UNCG -