GREENSBORO, N.C. – Monique Floyd scored 18 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds as UNCG ran its winning streak to six games with a 55-51 win over Georgia Southern on Wednesday.

The Spartans improved to 8-5 overall and 5-0 in the Southern Conference for just the second time in school history. GSU fell to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in the league with the loss.

Dayshaun Richbow joined Floyd in double digits with 12 points, the second-highest total of her career, and matched her career high with five steals.

Krista Tate had a team-best 11 points for the Lady Eagles, just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. Jamie Navarro had eight points and nine boards of her own.

With Georgia Southern holding the ball and UNCG nursing a 53-51 lead with 10.1 seconds left, the Spartans got the stop they needed when Meredyth Frye stumbled driving the lane and turned the ball over. Floyd, playing tough defense with four fouls, came up with the steal and was fouled, then went to the line and knocked down both ends of the one-and-one with 3.1 seconds left to salt away the win.

Like just about every game in UNCG's streak, this one was tight throughout. The Spartans briefly led by as many as nine in the second half, but the margin was in the three- to five-point range for most of the night.

The Lady Eagles tied it at 40 on a Jordi Cook 3-pointer with just under 9 minutes left, but Floyd answered with a 3 from the corner – just the second of her career – to put UNCG on top to stay. Amanda Leigh followed with a 3 of her own to push the lead to six points and freshman Breonna Patterson canned a triple off a GSU turnover to give the Spartans a quick 9-0 spurt and some breathing room.

GSU answered with six straight points to get it back to a three-point game, but Richbow picked Navarro's pocket at midcourt and raced in for a layup that put UNCG back up by five. The Lady Eagles refused to back down, however, clawing back to within two at 53-51 with less than a minute left to set up the frantic finish.

UNCG's 3-point barrage seemingly came out of nowhere, as the Spartans had hit just one of their first 13 attempts prior to Floyd's trey. Sophomore Brey Dorsett finally lifted the lid from 3-point range nearly 7 minutes into the second half. UNCG went 0-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Despite holding Georgia Southern to just 28.1 percent shooting in the first half, UNCG led by just three at the break, 28-25. The Lady Eagles shot just 31 percent for the game, going 18-for-58 from the floor.

GSU, which entered the game second in the SoCon in 3-point percentage (37.6 percent), also struggled from long range. The Lady Eagles shot just 3-for-16 from beyond the arc, good for just 18.8 percent.

Floyd's double-double was her second this season and fourth of her career. The senior from Fairmont, N.C., did it while battling foul trouble that limited her to just 8 minutes in the first half and 21 for the contest.

"Down the stretch right there, I thought we were going to open it up a little bit," UNCG coach Lynne Agee said. "We couldn't. We made some mistakes, had some turnovers and did some things quickly where we let them back in the game. This team doesn't appear at this stage to be a team that gets real rattled. We seem to be fairly steady and can deal with the ups and downs of the game and can play through it. … I'm really pleased with how we're coming together as a team and people are taking over their roles and playing to their potential."

UNCG will complete the back end of its 11-day, five-game stretch this weekend at Chattanooga and Samford. The Spartans will try for the first 6-0 SoCon start in school history when they face the Lady Mocs in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Saturday at 6 p.m.

NOTES: Junior Jazz Weaver pulled down a career-high six rebounds. … UNCG shot 81.8 percent from the free throw line (9-for-11), well above its season average of 63.4 percent coming into the game. … The Spartans' only other 5-0 SoCon start came in the 2000-01 season. UNCG finished 14-4 in SoCon play that season.

AGATE
UNCG 55, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 51

GEORGIA SOUTHERN (5-10, 2-4 SoCon)
Krista Tate 3-7 5-5 11; Meredyth Frye 2-11 5-7 9; Candice Ivy 4-7 0-1 8; Mimi Dubose 4-10 0-1 8; Jamie Navarro 2-6 2-2 8; Samantha Williams 2-8 0-0 4; Jordi Cook 1-3 0-0 3; Briana Scott 0-2 0-0 0; Ro-Ro Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Danielle Spencer 0-1 0-0 0; Logan Youngblood 0-1 0-0 0; Aishya Wofford 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 18-58 12-18 51.

UNCG (8-5, 5-0 SoCon)
Monique Floyd 7-8 3-5 18; Dayshaun Richbow 4-10 4-4 12; Brey Dorsett 1-7 2-2 5; Janae' Stevenson 2-5 0-0 4; Jazz Weaver 2-6 0-0 4; Kendra Smith 2-7 0-0 4; Amanda Leigh 1-7 0-0 3; Breonna Patterson 1-3 0-0 3; Nneka Awuruonye 1-1 0-0 2; Sidnei Harmon 0-1 0-0 0; Sarah Folwell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 9-11 55.

Georgia Southern..............   25   26  -   51
UNCG..........................   28   27  -   55

3-point goals--Georgia Southern 3-16 (Jamie Navarro 2-5; Jordi Cook 1-3; Mimi Dubose 0-4; Samantha Williams 0-2; Meredyth Frye 0-2), UNCG 4-17 (Breonna Patterson 1-2; Amanda Leigh 1-6; Monique Floyd 1-1; Brey Dorsett 1-3; Kendra Smith 0-3; Sarah Folwell 0-2). Fouled out—Georgia Southern-None, UNCG-None. Rebounds--Georgia Southern 42 (Krista Tate 9; Jamie Navarro 9), UNCG 37 (Monique Floyd 11). Assists--Georgia Southern 11 (Krista Tate 4; Jamie Navarro 4), UNCG 6 (Breonna Patterson 2; Dayshaun Richbow 2). Total fouls--Georgia Southern 13, UNCG 17. Technical fouls--Georgia Southern-None, UNCG-None. A-211

- UNCG -