Box Score

GREENSBORO, NC UNC Greensboro overcame a 15-point second-half deficit and held Furman without a field goal over the final 8:06 of the game to garner a 70-65 Southern Conference women's basketball victory this afternoon at Fleming Gym. The win was the ninth in the last 11 games for the Spartans, who now find themselves in third-place in the league standings.

“I could not be prouder of the effort put forth by this team today,” said UNCG head coach Lynne Agee. “I thought we let everything hang out in the second half and was amazed by the heart and courage we displayed. It was a tremendous effort by the whole team, highlighted by Jasmine Byrd's 3-pointer at the end and the post play of Ashley Current throughout the game.”

Byrd, a sophomore guard from Dumfies, VA, canned a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining to give UNCG (11-8, 8-4 SoCon) the lead for good, 67-65. Jasmine Dixon added one free throw and Amanda Eaton knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to cushion the Spartans win. Byrd's long ball came after the Spartans had converted only 1-of-16 shots from beyond the arc. In fact, Byrd made both 3-pointers for UNCG on the afternoon.

Furman (13-7, 8-5 SoCon) began the second-half with an 11-point, 43-32 advantage, and would push its lead to as many as 15-points on two separate occasions. The first on two free throws by Princess Wells with 9:24 left, and the second, on a layup by Jen Nadalin, which gave the Paladins a 64-49 lead with 8:06 to go. From there, Furman missed its final seven shots from the field and turned the ball over 10 times, which gave UNCG the opportunity to get back in the game.

Current spearheaded the comeback with seven of the Spartans next 10 points to cut the lead to five, 64-59, with 5:18 to go. Tommi Paris converted a free throw to put Furman up 65-59, but UNCG answered with three points from the free throw line. Byrd then nailed a jumper at the 2:17 mark to bring UNCG to within one, 65-64, which set up the heroic shot by Byrd.

Current, a junior forward from Orlando, FL, played a spectacular game off the bench, posting her first career “double-double” with a career-high 16 points and tying her career-best rebounding effort with 12 caroms. Junior center Caroline Blair had 11 points, while Byrd added 10 points.

Freshman guard Kristen Boone set the UNCG Division I single-season record for steals with 80. The native of Upper Marlboro, MD, who stood second in the nation with 4.22 steals per outing entering today's game, had four steals, the last which surpassed Tina Wilson's 1992-93 effort of 79 thefts. Next up for Boone is Stephanie Johnson's school-record mark of 83, which was set in 1987-88, when the Spartans competed at the Division III level.

Paris led the Paladins with 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while Katie Roach added nine points and 10 rebounds. Nadalin had seven points and 11 rebounds.

In the first-half, Melynda Gant connected on a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 5:30 to give Furman an eight point, 12-4 lead. Gant knocked down her third trey of the half to give the Paladins a 21-12 lead with 9:07 to go, but UNCG rallied with a 16-6 run to take its first lead of the game, 28-27. The spurt started on a Kaleah Latham free throw and was capped on a Dixon free throw with 4:20 left until halftime. Meanwhile, Furman answered back by scoring 16 of the  next 20 points to take a 43-32 lead into the locker room.

The Spartans are back in action on Tuesday when they take the short trip down I-40 to take on Elon in a SoCon tilt at 7 pm. Meanwhile, Furman visits league rival Wofford on Tuesday at 7 pm.

AGATE

UNC GREENSBORO 70, FURMAN 65

FURMAN (13-7, 8-5 SoCon)

PARIS, Tommi 7-10 1-2 15; ROACH, Katie 1-2 7-8 9; GANT, Melynda 3-6 0-0 9; PHELPS, Chrissy 3-5 2-3 8; NADALIN, Jen 3-13 1-3 7; SCOTT, Megan 2-3 2-2 7; LANGE, Jessica 2-5 0-0 4; HARRIS, Laney 1-3 0-0 3; WELLS, Princess 0-2 3-4 3; STRICKLAND, Mivvi 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 22-50 16-24 65.

UNC GREENSBORO (11-8, 8-4 SoCon)

CURRENT, Ashley 7-11 2-6 16; BLAIR, Caroline 4-5 3-4 11; BYRD, Jasmine 4-15 0-0 10; LATHAM, KaLeah 2-5 3-6 7; DIXON, Jasmine 2-6 2-3 6; OTAMIRI, Irene 3-6 0-0 6; BOONE, Kristen 1-9 3-6 5; BROOKS, Kemena 0-5 4-4 4; BRITT, Stephanie 1-5 1-2 3; EATON, Amanda 0-5 2-2 2; CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-73 20-33 70.

Furman.......................   43   22  -   65

UNC Greensboro.........   32   38  -   70

Halftime: Furman 43, UNC Greensboro 32. 3-point goals-Furman 5-11 (GANT, Melynda 3-5; SCOTT, Megan 1-2; HARRIS, Laney 1-2; WELLS, Princess 0-1; PARIS, Tommi 0-1), UNC Greensboro 2-17 (BYRD, Jasmine 2-8; LATHAM, KaLeah 0-1; OTAMIRI, Irene 0-1; BOONE, Kristen 0-2; BRITT, Stephanie 0-1; EATON, Amanda 0-4). Fouled out-Furman-None, UNC Greensboro-None. Rebounds-Furman 42 (NADALIN, Jen 11), UNC Greensboro 49 (CURRENT, Ashley 12). Assists-Furman 8 (PARIS, Tommi 3), UNC Greensboro 13 (BOONE, Kristen 3; EATON, Amanda 3). Total fouls-Furman 25, UNC Greensboro 18. A-279.

- UNCG -