UNCG (4-5, 1-0 SoCon) vs. Furman (6-3, 2-0 SoCon), Dec. 20, 2 p.m., Fleming Gym
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Radio: WUAG 103.1 FM (Stuart Barefoot & David Percival)
UNCG vs. Furman game notes
Storylines
• First place in the Southern Conference is on the line as UNCG will try for its second 2-0 league start in the last three seasons when it hosts 2-0 Furman on Monday at 2 p.m. Tickets for the contest are just $1 each.
• UNCG leads the series with Furman, 19-11. The squads have split in each of the last three seasons. The Spartans lead Furman 10-3 in Greensboro.
• In the last meeting between the schools, UNCG took a 60-49 win in Greensboro on Feb. 23, 2010. Furman's Raegan Thompson hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions midway through the second half to give the Paladins a 46-44 lead, but her second triple, which came with 8:53 left, would be Furman's last field goal of the night. UNCG outscored the Paladins 16-3 the rest of the way to snap a 10-game losing streak. Lakiah Hyson had a game-high 14 points for the Spartans, while Amanda Leigh had 12. Kendra Berry led Furman with 10.
• UNCG picked up an 80-67 win over Wofford to open SoCon play on Saturday, getting a double-double from Monique Floyd, who scored 15 points and matched her career high with 10 rebounds. Leigh had 13 points and moved into a tie for third place in school history in career 3-pointers, while Dayshaun Richbow and Janae' Stevenson had 11 points each. Richbow had a solid all-around game, also grabbing six rebounds, dishing off five assists with no turnovers, and coming up with four steals. Sidnei Harmon had eight points and eight rebounds, giving her 18 rebounds in her last two games. UNCG scored 30 points off 28 Wofford turnovers.
• Floyd was named the SoCon's Student-Athlete of the Week on Wednesday after her effort against Radford on Dec. 11. The recreation and parks management major boasts a 3.80 grade point average.
• Leigh leads UNCG this season with 13.4 points per game, while Floyd is second at 13.1. Stevenson averages a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game, while Floyd paces the team with 3.7 assists per game and has a nearly 2:1 assist to turnover ratio.
• Leigh enters Monday's contest with 135 career 3-pointers, tying her with Sam Ferguson (1995-98) for third place in school history. Leigh is now 34 3s back of second-place Amanda Eaton, who had 169 from 2001-05.
• Redshirt freshman guard Natalie Headley will be suiting up for the Spartans for the first time in her career Monday. After missing all of last season with a knee injury, Headley injured her shoulder in UNCG's final preseason practice and has yet to play this season. Thirty-nine games into her collegiate career, she is finally cleared to play.
• Furman is the surprise SoCon leader early in the season. The Paladins, picked 10th in the preseason coaches poll and 11th in the preseason media poll, are tied atop the league with 2-0 Samford and 1-0 UNCG.
• The Paladins have won five of their last six, with the only blemish an 86-75 loss at UNC Asheville on Dec. 11.
• Furman and UNCG have two common opponents so far in Clemson and Charleston Southern. Both squads lost to Clemson (UNCG 71-55 and Furman 62-53), while Furman downed Charleston Southern 71-70. CSU dropped UNCG 77-67 on Nov. 22.
• Berry, a senior, rattled home the first 3-pointer of her career with just 2.3 seconds left Saturday to lift the Paladins to a 63-62 win over Appalachian State, which is ranked 14th in the nation in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Kaitlin Murphy paced four Paladins in double figures with 16 points. Berry (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Lakyn Ledford (12 points, 13 rebounds) had double-doubles.
• Kelly O'Connor leads Furman with 13.4 points per game, while Murphy is second at 13.3 and Thompson is third at 10.6. Ledford leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game. Murphy dishes off a team-best 4.7 assists per game and grabs a team-high 2.0 steals per game.
- UNCG -
