For video of UNCG coach Lynne Agee's postgame comments, click here.
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Senior guard Monique Floyd became the 22nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for her career, but that was about the only bright spot for UNCG as Furman remained undefeated at home with a 67-42 win over the Spartans on Monday.
Floyd hit the milestone with her first bucket of the evening, a short jumper off the glass from the right block. The Fairmont, N.C., native would add seven more points in the first half but would not score in the second and finished with a team-high nine for the Spartans (10-11, 7-6 Southern Conference).
"I'll take the positive out of tonight's game," UNCG coach Lynne Agee said. "Mo scored that basket and put herself in an elite category of 1,000-point scorers. She's just a terrific athlete and has worked so hard to improve her game over her four years here. I'm very proud of that accomplishment for her tonight."
Kaitlin Murphy scored a game-high 17 to lead Furman, which improved to 8-0 at home on the season. Kelly O'Connor added 16 for the Paladins (9-12, 5-7 SoCon), while Raegan Thompson had 10 and narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
Dayshaun Richbow scored the game's first basket, but that was the last time UNCG would lead. The Paladins rattled off a 9-0 run, capped by a Murphy 3-pointer, and the Spartans would never get closer than four points the rest of the way.
A Natalie Headley jumper pulled UNCG to within four at 12-8, but Furman responded with a 12-0 spurt and the rout was on. An O'Connor 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in the first half pushed the Paladins' lead to 26 at 39-13.
A Sarah Folwell free throw and a Floyd steal and layup just before the half made it a 39-16 game at intermission. The 16 points were the fewest scored by the Spartans in a first half since a 15-point effort at Davidson on Jan. 2, 2010, while the 23-point margin was UNCG's worst halftime deficit this season.
The second half was much more even, but UNCG could never get closer than 20 points, that coming on a Jazz Weaver jumper that made it 51-31 with 10:03 left.
A Murphy 3 with 6:01 left gave Furman its biggest lead of the game at 60-31. The 29-point spread was UNCG's biggest deficit of the season.
For the contest, UNCG turned the ball over 26 times, leading to 27 Furman points. The Paladins also had 26 turnovers, but the Spartans were only able to convert them into 14 points.
UNCG shot just 29.1 percent from the floor for the game, a season low. The Spartans were just 1-for-9 from 3-point range, with freshman Breonna Patterson's triple with just 29.8 seconds left saving UNCG's now 140-game streak with at least one made 3-pointer.
"We executed very poorly," Agee said. "It was the worst performance of the season, I think."
UNCG will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 5, when it takes on Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. Opening tip is set for 5 p.m.
AGATE
FURMAN 67, UNCG 42
UNCG (10-11, 7-6 SoCon)
Monique Floyd 4-8 1-1 9; Jazz Weaver 3-9 0-0 6; Natalie Headley 2-3 1-1 5; Nneka Awuruonye 1-2 2-2 4; Sidnei Harmon 2-7 0-0 4; Dayshaun Richbow 2-6 0-0 4; Breonna Patterson 1-4 0-0 3; Kendra Smith 1-7 0-0 2; Sarah Folwell 0-4 2-4 2; Janae' Stevenson 0-2 2-4 2; Agneta Morkunaite 0-0 1-2 1; Amy Clapper 0-0 0-0 0; Colleen Nosovitch 0-0 0-0 0; Brey Dorsett 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-55 9-14 42.
FURMAN (9-12, 5-7 SoCon)
MURPHY, Kaitlin 5-13 4-5 17; O'CONNOR, Kelly 4-11 5-5 16; THOMPSON, Raegan 2-9 5-7 10; ROBERTS, Jánice 2-4 4-4 8; BERRY, Kendra 3-5 0-0 6; RANDOLPH, Ayanna 1-1 0-0 2; ROBINSON, Martha 1-2 0-0 2; MORRISSEY, Brigid 0-0 2-2 2; PEELER, Emily 1-2 0-0 2; OBERG, Kaitlin 1-1 0-0 2; KEETON, Brooke 0-0 0-0 0; LEDFORD, Lakyn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 20-23 67.
UNCG.......................... 16 26 - 42
Furman........................ 39 28 - 67
3-point goals--UNCG 1-9 (Breonna Patterson 1-3; Kendra Smith 0-1; Sarah Folwell 0-3; Brey Dorsett 0-2), Furman 7-16 (O'CONNOR, Kelly 3-8; MURPHY, Kaitlin 3-4; THOMPSON, Raegan 1-3; PEELER, Emily 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-None, Furman-None. Rebounds--UNCG 31 (Janae' Stevenson 5), Furman 39 (THOMPSON, Raegan 9). Assists--UNCG 6 (Jazz Weaver 2; Dayshaun Richbow 2), Furman 12 (RANDOLPH, Ayanna 4). Total fouls--UNCG 17, Furman 18. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, Furman-None. A-268
- UNCG -
