Women's Basketball 12/6/2012 7:00:00 PM UNCGSpartans.com

Women's Basketball Hosts Richmond In Saturday Matinee

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The UNCG women's basketball team looks to get into the win column Saturday and snap a three-game skid as the Blue and Gold hosts Richmond in a nonconference matchup at Fleming Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

UNCG fell short in its last outing, an 88-61 loss at the hands of College of Charleston. The game wrapped up the opening weekend of Southern Conference play for both teams.

Latisha Harris led the way for College of Charleston with 23 points and nine rebounds, hitting nine of her 15 shots. Junior Breonna Patterson (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) paced UNCG with 13 points while freshman Lucy Mason (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee Charter) dropped in 12. Fellow rookie Sarafina Arthur-Williams (Germantown, Md./Winston Churchill) scored her first collegiate points in the contest and ended up with nine as well as four blocked shots. On the glass for the Spartans, sophomore Jarae Savage (Marietta, Ga./North Cobb) picked up 10 rebounds, including four offensive boards.

• Saturday's contest marks the third meeting between UNCG and Richmond with the Spiders capturing both contests. Richmond picked up a 75-60 victory over the Blue and Gold last season at the Robins Center.

• In last year's encounter, Jazz Weaver scored a career-high 13 points while now juniors Janae' Stevenson and Patterson dropped in 11 and 10 points respectively. Richmond's Abby Oliver scored a game-high 19 points, while Rachael Bilney and Genevieve Okoro had 12 each. Two-sport standout Becca Wann, the Atlantic 10 Conference's Offensive Player of the Year in women's soccer, added 10 points for the Spiders. Richmond dominated the glass, out-rebounding UNCG 45-29 and limiting the Spartans to just 11 offensive boards. The Spiders, meanwhile, secured 19 offensive rebounds, scoring 18 second-chance points to UNCG's three.

• Richmond enters the game at 6-4 overall after a 65-51 win at home over Virginia Tech Wednesday. The Spiders are 1-2 on the road with losses at Boston University and Hartford and a victory in Harrisonburg, Va. over James Madison.

• The Spiders connected on 12 of their first 15 baskets (80%) against the Hokies to take their largest lead of the half at 34-17 with 5:30 remaining. Richmond took a comfortable 41-29 advantage into the break, as Rachael Bilney led all scorers with 11 first-half points. Bilney was a large part of the success, going 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from long range. The Spiders were held scoreless for the first six minutes of the second half as Tech edged to within 41-33 with 14:23 left. But Bilney ended the drought with a layup to push the deficit to double-digits. The short-lived eight point deficit was the closest Virginia Tech would get the rest of the way. Richmond made 12-of-14 (85.7%) free throws and went 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the three-point line. The Spiders went 22-of-47 (46.8%) for the game. The Spiders ended the game with 16 assists and nine steals. Richmond's bench outscored the Hokies, 31-10.

UNCG AT A GLANCE:
Record: 1-5 (.200) >> Southern Conference Record/Standing (0-2/T-8th) >> Last Five Games: 1-4 (.200) >> Last 10 games: 2-8 (.200) >> Last 15 games: 2-13 (.133) >> Miscellaneous: UNCG plays the 36th game in Palmer's tenure as the Spartans host Richmond. UNCG's all-time record stands at 673-463 (.593).

WHAT'S UP NEXT?
UNCG plays the third contest of a five-game homestand Saturday, Dec. 15 when it hosts Norfolk State. Tipoff at Fleming Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.