GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women's basketball team begins its 2013-14 campaign inside Fleming Gymnasium Saturday with an exhibition contest against NCAA Division II member Francis Marion. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and the contest precedes the men's basketball team's exhibition matchup with Lees-McRae College.

Live stats and video are available free of charge through www.uncgspartans.com. Admission to the game is also free and seating will be general admission.

The Spartans enter the new season with a great mix of old and new. UNCG lost just one starter from last year's team and welcomes six newcomers into the fold. In 2012-13, UNCG continued to build and progress as it handed Samford a rare home loss while winning a game in the conference tournament for the first time since 2010. Sophomore guard Lucy Mason (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee Charter) headlines the returning corps of players, having been named the 2013 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year as well as to this year's preseason all-conference team. Mason averaged a team-best 12.5 points per game while also leading the squad in field goals made, three-point field goals made and assists.

UNCG also returns leading rebounder and senior forward Janae' Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Eau Claire) who pulled down 7.7 boards per game and finished third for the Spartans in scoring at 10.6 points per game. She set a program Southern Conference tournament record with 15 rebounds in the first round victory over Furman and ended the season with six double-doubles to bring her career total to 11 – the fifth-most in school history. Steveson led the league in offensive rebounding at 3.8 per game and finished sixth in rebounds per game, ninth in blocked shots and 10^th in field goal percentage. Senior guard Breonna Patterson (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) represents the third UNCG returner who averaged in double figures offensively as she netted 10.9 points per game last season.

A six-member freshman class joins the program this season and is well-balanced across the positions with three guards, two forwards and a center. Helping highlight the class is forward Jade Scaife (Ft. Washington, Md./Archbishop Spalding) who played in the National High School Invitational this past April after averaging 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and tallying 18 double-doubles. She also led the Cavaliers to a 29-2 record and was named the Baltimore Sun Player of the Year. Guard Bailey Williams (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) was tabbed the Virginia Division 3 state Player of the Year last season after leading Spotswood to a 29-1 record and the Virginia Division 3 state title. She graduated with the most points, assists and steals in program history and posted 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in the state championship game.

Fourth-year Francis Marion head coach Kate Glusko welcomes back five letterwinners, including two starters, from last year's squad which finished with a 13-13 record. The Patriots added seven newcomers to the roster during the offseason, including a pair of NCAA Division I transfers. FMU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament in four of the past six seasons and have twenty-two 20-win seasons in the team's 40-year history.

UNCG will open the 2013-14 regular season Friday, Nov. 8, at Florida State. Tipoff between the Spartans and Seminoles is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.