Box Score (PDF)

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The UNCG women's basketball team fell behind midway through the first half Wednesday night and could not recover, falling 88-48 to Davidson in a Southern Conference contest at Belk Arena.

For the third time in the last four games, junior forward Janae' Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Eau Claire) posted a double-double with 14 points and a team-best 14 rebounds. Of those boards, 10 came off the offensive glass. Junior guard Breonna Patterson (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) also reached double figures offensively with 14 points.

UNCG (3-14, 0-8 SoCon) put up 68 shots from the field in the game but could hit just 21 of those attempts to finish with a 31-percent performance. Conversely, the Wildcats (10-8, 7-1 SoCon) were able to drain 34 field goals to end up at 51 percent. Davidson also held a slight upper hand in rebounding, pulling down 42 as compared to 41 for the Spartans. The Wildcats scored 48 points in the paint and netted 27 points off 19 UNCG turnovers while also receiving 39 points from the bench. 

UNCG scored five of the first seven points as Stevenson dropped in a layup and completed a three-point play down low. Davidson would then answer with four straight to pull within 7-6 at the first official timeout. Patterson scored at the 12:25 mark to keep the Spartans close, trailing just 12-11, but a three-point field goal by Laura Murray capped a 7-0 run which saw the home team push ahead 19-11 with 10:52 left in the half.

Freshman guard Ebona Goins (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) nailed UNCG's first triple of the contest to pull the Blue and Gold to within 19-14. However, the Spartans could not keep the Wildcats contained as Davidson raced out to a 28-14 cushion by netting the next nine points. Despite UNCG's efforts, the home team was able to extend its lead to 19 heading into halftime when two Barbara Sitton sank two free throws with 43 seconds on the clock.

Stevenson led all scorers with 10 points in the first 20 minutes while also pulling down five rebounds (four offensive). Senior forward Sidnei Harmon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) also corralled five caroms, including three on the offensive glass. Murray netted nine for Davidson as eight different Wildcats scored in the period.

Both squads attempted 33 shots in the half, but Davidson was able to knock down 16 of them for a 49-percent shooting performance while the Spartans hit just nine for 27 percent. UNCG won the rebounding battle 22-19 thanks to 10 offensive rebounds, but turned the ball over 12 times, leading to 15 points for the Wildcats.

A layup from Goins proved to be the first points of the second half for the Spartans, but Davidson had already built a 51-21 cushion at that point. The lead grew to as much as 42 in the final minute of the game before the buzzer sounded.

UNCG returns home Saturday, Jan. 26, for the first time in four games as the Blue and Gold hosts Georgia Southern. Tipoff at Fleming Gymnasium is set for 4 p.m.

 - UNCG -