Game Notes (PDF)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women's basketball team seeks its first Southern Conference victory Monday while also looking to snap a three-game slide as the Spartans welcome defending league champion Samford to Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans and Bulldogs will tip at 7 p.m. 

In its last outing, UNCG suffered a 76-46 loss to league co-leader Chattanooga. The Lady Mocs (10-2, 3-0) knocked down eight three-point field goals, including three each by Kayla Christopher and Alex Black, to aid their effort. The Spartans (3-9, 0-3) fired at 39 percent from the field in the second half to end up at 34 percent for the contest. Chattanooga finished with a 38-35 advantage in rebounding, with UNCG pulling down 13 offensive boards to the visitors' 12. The Blue and Gold turned the ball over 26 times, leading to 27 points as well as 17 steals. The Lady Mocs also distributed the ball well, picking up 20 assists. 

Junior Janae' Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Eau Claire) and sophomore Jarae Savage (Marietta, Ga./North Cobb) paced the Spartan offense with 14 points each (a career high for Savage) while freshman Lucy Mason (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee Charter) chipped in with 13 of her own. Stevenson blocked three shots and is now one block away from moving into a tie for third place on the program career top 10 list. 

• Saturday's contest marks the 10th meeting between UNCG and Samford with the Bulldogs holding a 6-3 advantage in the series. The teams split a pair of matchups last season with each squad winning on its home floor. The Spartans won 61-53 Dec. 3, 2011 at Fleming Gymnasium before Samford responded with an 83-40 victory Jan. 30 at the Pete Hanna Center. 

• In the last meeting between the programs, Stevenson scored a team-best 13 points, including 10 of the Spartans' final 12. Sidnei Harmon and Savage netted eight points each. Shelby Campbell scored a career-high 23 points off the bench for the Bulldogs, while Paige Anderson and Ruth Ketcham added 12. For the game, Samford was 31-for-50 from the floor. And 8-for-16 from three-point range. 

• The Bulldogs are 5-7 overall and 2-1 as they travel to Greensboro. Samford is playing without its leading scorer as the aforementioned Shelby Campbell suffered a season-ending knee injury Dec. 29 at Auburn. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a five-game skid with all of those contests occurring away from home. 

• In its last contest, Samford fell at Elon by a 65-41 score. The Bulldogs were led in the game by senior guard Jazmine Martin with 11 points. Senior Hannah Dawson added seven points, while junior Kendall Schwantz had six points and six rebounds. Sophomore Taylor Reece also posted six points. As a team, Samford shot 34.9 percent overall and 16.7 percent from three-point range. Elon made 48.1 percent of its shots overall and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. The game was tight early in the first half until, with the Bulldogs trailing, 11-9, Elon went on a 10-0 run to push its lead to 12 points at 21-9.

FROSH LEADING THE WAY...
Freshman Lucy Mason is averaging a stellar 15.7 points per game thus far this season. Not only is she the top freshman scorer in the Southern Conference, but she also now ranks first nationally among all rookies. 

SPEAKING OF FRESHMEN...
UNCG's seven freshmen have earned valuable playing experience this season and are responsible for over half of the Spartans' offensive output. Of UNCG's 697 points, the rookies have scored 379 (54 percent). 

SCORING IS WAY UP...
After averaging just 49.6 points per game last season, the Spartans are scoring 58.1 a contest this year. UNCG netted 71 points against Norfolk State, its most since dropping in 70 at North Carolina Central Nov. 26, 2011. 

DEFENSIVE CLAMPS...
UNCG limited North Carolina Central to just 39 points in a victory at Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans allowed their fewest amount of points in a single game since holding Fordham to 39 in a 50-39 victory at Fleming Gymnasium Dec. 13, 2008. 

MAKING IT RAIN FROM RANGE...
Not only did UNCG tie a single-game program record with 12 three-point field goals against nationally-ranked Florida State, the Spartans fired at 57 percent from beyond the arc - marking their highest percentage since hitting five of seven against Chattanooga last season (Jan. 28, 2012). 

LUCKY NUMBER 7(0)...
Over the last four seasons, UNCG is 20-1 when scoring at least 70 points. The Spartans' last loss when scoring 70 was nearly five years ago, Dec. 20, 2007, when UNCG lost at UCF, 76-73. The Blue and Gold reached 70 points just once last year, but it turned out to be in victory as UNCG downed N.C. Central 70-53 on the road. 

THREE-POINT STREAK AT 32...
UNCG has nailed at least one three-point field goal in the last 32 games and 187 of the last 188. The Spartans owned a streak of 155-straight contests with a triple until they went 0-6 at Wofford Dec. 17, 2011. 

STUFFED...
Junior Janae' Stevenson is rapidly moving her way up the UNCG career blocked shots list. As a freshman, she swatted 36 shots, the fourth-most in a single season in school history. She did two better with 38 blocked shots last season. With 88 to her credit now, she is fourth in program career history. Stevenson blocked a career-high four shots in UNCG's 55-54 win over Georgia Southern last year. Should she maintain her current pace, Stevenson should easily surpass UNCG's career record of 121 by Rebecca Viverette (1994-98) by the time her career is over. 

JUST FINE IN FLEMING...
UNCG has historically been dominant in Fleming Gym, posting a 196-87 (.693) mark at the venue. In 23 years, UNCG has had just four losing seasons in the facility. Last season, the playing surface was christened Lynne Agee Court in honor of the former UNCG coach, who retired in March 2011 after 30 years at the helm. The court was officially dedicated at halftime of UNCG's Dec. 3 contest against Samford. 

UNCG POLICY REGARDING INJURY REPORTS...
Due to circumstances surrounding the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), UNCG has developed a policy regarding the release of injury information. UNCG student-athletes have the right to hold all injury information, except body part and playing status, confidential and private. As a standard operating procedure, coaches, media relations staff and other athletic department personnel should refrain from sharing specific injury information with the media. However, in certain occasions, injury information could be released at the discretion of the media relations department after authorization is obtained from the student-athlete. It is the policy of the UNCG athletic training staff to not address the media unless it is absolutely necessary. Therefore, inquiries by the media regarding medical situations should be addressed to a media relations representative. 

NEXT UP...
UNCG kicks off a four-game road swing Saturday, January 12 with a contest against Furman at Timmons Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

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