Women's Basketball 11/14/2014 3:21:00 PM UNCGSpartans.com

Women's Basketball Drops Season Opener at Clemson, 80-51

Box Score CLEMSON, S.C. – A late first half run from Clemson proved to be the difference as the UNCG women's basketball team fell 80-51 in the 2014-15 season opener Friday afternoon at the Little John Coliseum.

UNCG took 68 shots but only 18 went down as the Spartans finished the game shooting 26.5 percent from the floor. Clemson had a hot-shooting second half and finished the game 30-for-58 from the field at 51.7 percent. The Tigers used their size to score 40 points in the paint but UNCG out-rebounded them 44-41 with 24 on the offensive end.

Senior guard Jessica Collins (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield/Eckerd College) finished the game with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, including two treys. Junior guard Lucy Mason (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee Charter) scored nine second half points to finish with a team-high 11 points but was only 3-for-13 from the field. Mason was one rebound shy of tying her career high after grabbing seven rebounds along with two steals and two assists.

Senior forward Jarae Savage (Marietta, Ga./North Cobb) was the third Spartan in double-figures with 10 points off the bench and finished with six rebounds.

Freshman Shelbie Davenport paced Clemson with 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting in her first collegiate contest. Nikki Dixon chipped in 15 points off the bench and freshman Cha'nelle Perry added 13 points for the Tigers.

Clemson opened the second half with a 13-6 run after a three-point shot from Daneesha Provo at the 16:05 mark. The Tigers would continue to push the lead after a 14-9 streak with just under 10 minutes left in the game increasing their largest lead to 62-39.

Mason would end a 10-0 run with a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 67-41 with just under six minutes to play. The Spartans committed a game-high 20 turnovers leading to 20 points for Clemson.

Savage would score the final bucket for UNCG with a jumper with just under two minutes left.

In the first half, Clemson ended the half on a 14-5 run to take a 35-24 lead thanks to eight first half points from Shelbie Davenport. Collins led the Spartans in scoring finishing with a team-high six points on 2-for-6 shooting.

The Blue and Gold pulled down 22 rebounds in the first half, including 10 offensively. The Spartans opened the game holding a 9-5 lead off four points from freshman Skye Jefferson (Richmond, Va./Cosby).

The Tigers answered with a 10-0 run to take a 15-10 lead by the second media timeout. UNCG would respond cutting the lead to one point at the seven-minute mark at 18-17 on a layup from freshman Keli Foster (Hampton, Va./Bethel).

Clemson would open up its biggest lead of the half thanks to an 8-0 run at the 4:30 mark on a layup by Ivy Atkism to make the score 26-17. UNCG scored seven points the rest of the half to trail by 11 at intermission.

The Blue and Gold return to action Sunday, Nov. 16 to face the College of Charleston at 2 p.m. inside TD Arena.

Follow the UNCG women's basketball team all season long by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans official Twitter feeds @uncgsports/@uncgwbb

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