UNCG heads to SoCon power Chattanooga

Janae' Stevenson (Photo by Dano Keeney)

Final	1	2	T
UNCG (3-16, 2-9 SoCon)	19	25	44
Chattanooga (14-6, 9-2 SoCon)	35	28	63
Chattanooga, Tenn. (The McKenzie Arena)

UNCG	Chattanooga
Pts: Breonna Patterson - 10	Pts: 2 Players (#03, #25 - 16)
Reb: Jarae Savage - 8	Reb: Taylor Hall - 8
Ast: Dayshaun Richbow - 5	Ast: 2 Players (#05, #11 - 4)

Team Statistics	UNCG	Chattanooga
Field Goal %	27.5% (14-51 )	36.8% (21-57 )
Rebounds	30	48
Assists	9	16
Turnovers	13	13
Pts off Turnovers	4	18
2nd Chance Pts	8	20
Pts in the Paint	12	26
Fastbreak Pts	0	0
Bench Pts	17	19

full stats

UNCG (3-15, 2-8 SoCon) at Chattanooga (13-6, 8-2 SoCon), Jan. 28, 5 p.m., Chattanooga, Tenn.

LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com (via GoMocs.com)
Audio: GoMocs.com (free)
Video: GoMocs.com (subscription-based)

UNCG at Chattanooga game notes

Storylines

• UNCG heads to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the middle game of its three-game road swing when it takes on Southern Conference power Chattanooga on Saturday.

• The Spartans dropped a 57-43 contest at Elon on Monday. The game was close in the second half until the Phoenix turned in a 10-0 run to get some breathing room. Breonna Patterson scored a game-high 14 points, while freshman Jarae Savage pulled down 12 rebounds for the second straight game to match her career high. Dayshaun Richbow had a career-high six steals off the bench.

• Patterson leads UNCG in scoring with 10.5 points per game, while Savage's recent surge has lifted her into the team rebounding lead at 5.6 per contest. Janae' Stevenson is second in both categories at 8.5 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Dayshaun Richbow leads the team with 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

• Chattanooga leads the series with UNCG, 29-6. The teams first met in 1997-98, UNCG's first season in the Southern Conference, with the Spartans winning the first four contests. The Lady Mocs have had the run of the series since then and are currently riding a 12-game winning streak against UNCG. Chattanooga had won 10 straight in the series before the Spartans' last win – 71-68 in Chattanooga on Jan. 2, 2007 – meaning the Lady Mocs have won 22 of the last 23 meetings.

• In this season's first meeting, on Dec. 1, UNCG opened 9-for-11 from the floor to jump out to a 20-5 lead before the Lady Mocs recovered and got their offense going in a 63-46 win. Chattanooga answered the Spartans' opening spurt with a 21-4 spurt of its own to close to within 26-24 at the half. Despite UNCG holding its first halftime lead over Chattanooga since the 2007 win, the second half was all Lady Mocs as the preseason league favorites rallied for the victory. Patterson led UNCG with 16 points, while Whitney Hood had a game-high 19 for Chattanooga.

• Chattanooga is 13-6 overall and 8-2 in the SoCon but has lost two straight to drop out of first place in the league. After dropping a pair of games in Cancun over Thanksgiving, the Lady Mocs' win over UNCG on Dec. 1 kickstarted an 11-1 stretch in which the only loss came to then-No. 6 Tennessee.

• Chattanooga's recent losses have come against its top challengers for the league's top spot, Appalachian State and Davidson. The Lady Mocs fell 62-51 at App on Jan. 21, getting 12 points from Hood. Two days later, Chattanooga suffered a 56-52 setback to the Wildcats despite Hood's 19-point effort. Hood was Chattanooga's lone double-digit scorer in both games.

• Hood leads the Lady Mocs in scoring at 14.2 points per game, while Kayla Christopher is just a shade under 10 points per game at 9.9. Taylor Hall averages close to a double-double with 8.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Christopher dishes off a team-best 2.5 assists per game.

• Hood and Christopher were both Preseason All-SoCon picks for the Lady Mocs were picked to win the league. Hood was the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 17.

• Chattanooga saw its streak of 11 straight SoCon regular-season titles come to an end last season.

• The Lady Mocs' RPI of 59 is best in the SoCon and is the only one under 100.

• As a team, Chattanooga leads the league and is 25th nationally in free throw percentage at .753. The Lady Mocs turn the ball over just 12.9 times per game, the fourth-best mark in the nation. However, as its opponents are averaging just 11.4 turnovers per game, Chattanooga actually has a negative turnover margin (-1.53 per game).

 • Individually, Hood leads the league and is 23rd nationally in field goal percentage at 53.8.

- UNCG -