Box Score
CHATTANOOGA, TN The UNC Greensboro women's basketball team led at halftime, but could not hold on as the Spartans fell, 70-57, to first-place Chattanooga in Southern Conference women's basketball action at McKenzie Arena.
UNCG (13-13, 10-9 SoCon) was unable to overcome a 6:06 scoring drought in the second half that saw Chattanooga's 50-48 lead balloon all the way up to 61-48 at the 4:24 mark. Jasmine Byrd connected on a 3-pointer at
10:17 to bring the Spartans to within two, 50-48, but UTC (23-3, 18-1 SoCon) rattled off 11 straight points to squash any thoughts of an upset by the Spartans.
UNCG was able to extend its five-point halftime lead to as many as seven, 39-32, on pair of free throws by Stephanie Britt at the 18:54 mark of the second half. That margin was short lived though as the five-time defending SoCon champions showed there mettle, running off 14 of the game's next 17 points to lead, 46-42, with 14:11 remaining.
Byrd, the product of Dumfries, VA, led the Spartans with a game-high 20 points. Freshman guard Kristen Boone, a native of Upper Marlboro, MD (Gwynn Park HS), came up with four steals to add to her Division I leading total of 114 steals. That figure also ties for the 6th best all-time single-season total by a freshman since 1988.
Amanda Eaton connected on three 3-pointers, which pads her school record of 165 treys. Irene Otamiri added eight first half points.
Nicole Mattison led UTC with 16 points, while Katasha Brown added 12 points. Tiffany Patton recorded her third “double-double” of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds, which moved her into the school's top-10 all-time rebounding list.
The first half was a back and forth affair with neither team leading by more than the halftime score, 35-30, in favor of the Spartans. UTC took its largest lead of the first half, 22-18, on a Mattison 3-pointer at the 7:41 mark. Otamiri put UNCG back on top, 24-23, with a jumper at 4:16, but the Lady Mocs would go back up four points, 28-24, on another jumper by Mattison with 2:18 to go.
Not to be outdone, UNCG finished the half on an 11-2 run. Boone jump started the spurt with an old fashion three-point play and Byrd capped it by burying a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Spartans a five-point edge at the break. Byrd led the way for the visitors with 12 points in the half. UNCG shot 50.0 (14-for-28) percent from the floor and buried four-of-five free throw attempts.
Mattison had 12 points to lead Chattanooga over the first 20 minutes of play. Tiffany Patton added five points.
UNCG wraps up its regular season portion of the schedule on Saturday against SoCon rival Wofford at Fleming Gym at 3 pm. Meanwhile, Chattanooga will visit College of Charleston on Saturday at 2 pm in Charleston, SC.
AGATE
CHATTANOOGA 70, UNC GREENSBORO 57
UNC GREENSBORO (13-13, 10-9 SoCon)
BYRD, Jasmine 8-15 0-0 20; EATON, Amanda 3-8 0-0 9; OTAMIRI, Irene 3-9 2-2 8; BOONE, Kristen 3-7 2-3 8; CURRENT, Ashley 1-3 1-2 3; CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 1-4 1-2 3; BLAIR, Caroline 0-2 2-2 2; LATHAM, KaLeah 1-5 0-0 2; BRITT, Stephanie 0-0 2-2 2; JACKSON, Shanika 0-0 0-0 0; DIXON, Jasmine 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 10-13 57.
CHATTANOOGA (23-3, 18-1 SoCon)
MATTISON, Nicole 6-10 2-4 16; BROWN, Katasha 4-8 2-2 12; PATTON, Tiffany 4-7 2-2 10; HALL, Laura 2-10 0-0 6; ROBERSON, Tiffani 3-5 0-1 6; HAND, Brooke 2-7 0-0 5; SIPPEL, Lyndi 1-4 2-2 5; MOHR, Amy 1-1 2-4 4; MCWILLIAMS, KeKe 1-2 0-0 2; ANDERSON, Alex 1-7 0-0 2; TALLEY, Holly 0-0 1-2 1; SPANN, Kristen 0-0 1-2 1; SERMONS, Shamya 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 12-19 70.
UNC Greensboro............ 35 22 - 57
Chattanooga................... 30 40 - 70
Halftime: UNC Greensboro 35, 30. 3-point goals-UNC Greensboro 7-20 (BYRD, Jasmine 4-9; EATON, Amanda 3-7; BOONE, Kristen 0-2; LATHAM, KaLeah 0-1; OTAMIRI, Irene 0-1), Chattanooga 8-20 (MATTISON, Nicole 2-4; HALL, Laura 2-4; BROWN, Katasha 2-4; HAND, Brooke 1-5; SIPPEL, Lyndi 1-3). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-None, Chattanooga-None. Rebounds-UNC Greensboro 37 (CURRENT, Ashley 6; DIXON, Jasmine 6; CHAMBERLAIN, Meghan 6), Chattanooga 39 (PATTON, Tiffany 14).
Assists-UNC Greensboro 10 (BOONE, Kristen 5), Chattanooga 13 (MATTISON, Nicole 6). Total fouls-UNC Greensboro 20, Chattanooga 10. A-1867.
- UNCG -
