CULLOWHEE, N.C. - UNC Greensboro went more than 10 minutes in the first half without a basket and saw Western Carolina turn in a 20-0 run over the span en route to a 57-42 win over the Spartans on Tuesday to avenge a January loss.
UNCG (7-18, 4-13 Southern Conference) was held scoreless for 10:21 in the first while the Catamounts (6-20, 5-12 SoCon) blew the game open.
The Spartans had jumped out to a 12-7 lead and looked sharp early, but Sarah Folwell's jumper with 11:51 to play in the opening frame was UNCG's last basket until Lakiah Hyson's driving layup with 1:30 left.
By that time, Western had found its offensive rhythm, with Emily Clarke scoring 10 of her 11 points in the big run to give the Catamounts a 27-12 lead.
Hyson's layup seemed to lift the lid off UNCG's basket, however, as the Spartans ended the half with seven straight points to get their deficit back in single digits at 27-19.
UNCG tightened up its defense at halftime, and held Western Carolina without a field for a 7:56 spurt early in the second stanza. The Catamounts were still getting to the free throw line, however, and the Spartans were only able to trim three points from Western's lead over that span. WCU was 8-for-10 from the line during its field goal drought, but UNCG could only put 11 points on the board while the Catamounts were missing from the field.
Monique Floyd's layup with 12:23 to play made it 40-33, but that was as close as UNCG would get in the second half. Clarke hit the back end of a two-shot foul to push the Catamounts' lead back to eight points, and Caitlin Hollifield's jumper - which ended WCU's field goal drought - put Western back up by 10.
Hyson hit a free throw on the other end to get the Spartans back within single digits, but Heather Swayne answered with a fastbreak jumper to make it 45-34 and put the lead in double digits to stay.
Hyson was the only UNCG player in double figures, as she scored 12 points on the afternoon Kendra Smith and Agne Girstautaite had eight each.
Kendra Carroll finished with a game-high 16 for Western Carolina, while Kaila'Shea Menendez finished with 13, 11 of which came at the free throw line. Clarke had 11.
UNCG shot just 26.4 percent from the field, its second-worst shooting game of the season. The Spartans were also just 1-for-11 from beyond the 3-point arc, good for a season-worst 9.1 percent. Smith's triple with 14:03 remaining extended UNCG's streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 114.
Western Carolina held an 18-6 advantage in points off turnovers, taking advantage of 16 UNCG miscues.
The loss gives UNCG a split with Western this season. The Spartans topped the Catamounts 75-61 in Greensboro on Jan. 11.
The Spartans have now lost nine straight, their longest losing streak since dropping 14 consecutive games to finish the 1978-79 season.
UNCG will look to get back in the win column Saturday at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. Opening tip is set for 4:30 p.m. for the Mountaineers' Pink Zone contest.
AGATE
WESTERN CAROLINA 57, UNC GREENSBORO 42
UNC GREENSBORO (7-18, 4-13 SoCon)
Lakiah Hyson 3-14 6-9 12; Kendra Smith 3-9 1-1 8; Agne Girstautaite 3-3 2-2 8; Monique Floyd 2-6 2-2 6; Sidnei Harmon 2-4 2-2 6; Sarah Folwell 1-4 0-0 2; Amy Clapper 0-2 0-0 0; TaShama Banner 0-2 0-0 0; Jazz Weaver 0-4 0-0 0; Agneta Morkunaite 0-1 0-0 0; Brey Dorsett 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 13-16 42.
WESTERN CAROLINA (6-20, 5-12 SoCon)
Kendra Carroll 7-14 2-3 16; Kaila'Shea Menendez 1-3 11-12 13; Emily Clarke 3-11 3-4 11; Janae Mckinney 3-5 0-0 6; Caitlin Hollifield 2-6 0-0 4; Kristen Feemster 1-3 1-2 3; Jessica Jackson 1-4 0-0 2; Heather Swayne 1-3 0-0 2; TT Belcher 0-1 0-0 0; Brittany Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 17-21 57.
UNC Greensboro 19 23 42
Western Carolina 27 30 57
3-point goals--UNC Greensboro 1-11 (Kendra Smith 1-3; Monique Floyd 0-1; Sarah Folwell 0-1; Agneta Morkunaite 0-1; Brey Dorsett 0-2; Lakiah Hyson 0-3), Western Carolina 2-15 (Emily Clarke 2-9; Jessica Jackson 0-3; Heather Swayne 0-1; Kendra Carroll 0-2). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-None, Western Carolina-None. Rebounds--UNC Greensboro 36 (Lakiah Hyson 6), Western Carolina 37 (Jessica Jackson 7). Assists--UNC Greensboro 4 (Monique Floyd 2), Western Carolina 6 (Jessica Jackson 3). Total fouls--UNC Greensboro 16, Western Carolina 12. Technical fouls--UNC Greensboro-None, Western Carolina-None. A-287
- UNCG -
