Boiling Springs, N.C. – The UNCG women's basketball team suffered a 59-57 loss to undefeated Gardner-Webb (4-0) on the road Tuesday night. The Spartans move to 2-3 overall and will have four days to prepare for their next game against Longwood at home Saturday, November 28, at 2 p.m.

Southern Conference Player of the Week Lucy Mason (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee Charter) led all scorers with 28 points. The senior guard shot 47.7 percent from the floor and made seven-of-eight shots from the free throw line in the two-point loss. Mason has scored at least 20 points and led all scorers in all five of UNCG's games thus far.

Gardner-Webb jutted out to an early 7-3 lead by the 6:16 mark but UNCG strung together a 9-2 run capped off by a fast break layup from Mason to tie the game 12-all at 3:35. The Runnin' Bulldogs held off UNCG to lead 16-14 at the end of the first period.

The Spartans fell behind by nine on two occasions in the second period but a 7-0 run that ended with Mason hitting a buzzer-beating jump shot made it a one possession game at the break with GWU ahead 29-27.

Mason led all scorers with 14 points in the half shooting five-for-nine from field goal range and a perfect three-for-three from the charity stripe. India Timpton (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) chipped in six points for the Spartans while Mariah Wilson (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) blocked four shots and grabbed three rebounds.

 UNCG shot an impressive 55 percent from the field in the opening half connecting on 11-of-20 shots. The Spartans held a slight 17-15 advantage in rebounds but the Runnin' Bulldogs were able to capitalize on 12 UNCG turnovers, while only turning the ball over four times themselves.

A trey by Mason in the opening minute gave UNCG its first lead of the game, 30-29. Gardner-Webb took back a four-point lead, 39-35, with 4:10 to go in the third period. The Spartans pulled ahead by five points with a 7-0 run topped with a Bailey Williams (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) three-pointer with under a minute to go. At the break UNCG held a 44-40 advantage over the Runnin' Bulldogs.

A pair of free throws by Kiera Currie cut UNCG's lead to one, 48-47, with just under five minutes left in regulation. Mason answered with a bucket from downtown to once again make it a two-possession game with 3:45 to go. A three-pointer by Tierra Huntsman at 1:57 gave GWU the lead back, 54-53, and a free-throw by Aunesha Williams made it a two-point game with 1:26 to play.

Shanese Harris (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) made the second of two free throws to bring the Spartans within one, 55-54 but Gardner-Webb responded with a pair of shots from the charity stripe by Candace Brown. Huntsman drained two more free throws for the Runnin' Bulldogs for a five-point lead with 30 seconds to play.

Mason was fouled from behind the arc and knocked down all three free throws with 21 seconds to play. Gardner-Webb called timeout and advanced the ball to their zone but a turnover on the inbound put the ball back in UNCG's possession with 15 seconds left.

UNCG missed a layup but gained possession with 5.4 seconds remaining. Head Coach Wendy Palmer burner her final timeout to draw up a last second play. The Spartans executed Palmer's plan and Mason was wide open from downtown but her shot hit the rim and GWU grabbed the rebound to secure the victory.

Mason had another 14 points in the second half and was the only player to score in double figures. Harris pitched in with seven points and four rebounds while Timpton pulled down team-best five rebounds in the final 20 minutes.

Gardner-Webb was led by Brown who had eight points while Olivia Parker had a team-best 11 boards. The Runnin' Bulldogs shot just 26.7 percent from field goal range in the second half and 12.5 percent, one-for-eight, from downtown.

Overall UNCG shot 44 percent from the field. Harris was second on the team in scoring for the Spartans with nine points and four rebounds while Timpton had eight points and nine rebounds. Jazmine Missouri (Largo, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) dished out a game-high four assists.

GWU had three players score in double figures with Huntsman and Brown leading the way with 17 points apiece. Parker was the third Bulldog in double figures with 11 points while adding 14 rebounds for the only double-double of the game.

UNCG returns to the hardwood inside Fleming Gymnasium Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off against Longwood. Live stats will be available and fans can check back to UNCGSpartans.com for more information.

-UNCG-