GREENSBORO, N.C- The UNCG women's basketball team fell to East Tennessee State (16-10, 8-3 SoCon), 80-77, inside Fleming Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Senior Lucy Mason (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee Charter) had a game-high 34 points, 23 of which game in the second half. The Spartans fall to 8-18 overall and 0-11 in the Southern Conference and will hit the road for the final two road games of the season Thursday, February 18 against Furman and Saturday, February 20, at Wofford.

Jade Scaife (Fort Washington, Md./Archbishop Spalding) led all scorers in the first quarter with nine points and two rebounds shooting three-of-four field goals and connecting on all three of her free throws. The Spartans shot an impressive 46.7 percent from the field and held ETSU to 36.8 percent in the quarter. Bailey Williams (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) made a last second layup to tie the game 17-all heading into the second frame.

Mason had nine points in the second quarter while Williams added seven for UNCG to trail by six, 27-21, at halftime. The Spartans shot 100% at the free throw line, six-of-six, in the period. ETSU was led by Tianna Tarter who had eight points while Shamauria Bridges chipped in seven.

Bridges led all scorers with 12 points in the first half while Mason had 11 for UNCG. The Spartans shot 40.6 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the charity stripe in the opening half. The Bucs held a 20-17 advantage in rebounds while each team had six turnovers.

A fast break layup by Mason at 6:15 gave UNCG its first lead of the half, 52-50. Four trouble sent Mason to the bench and ETSU would put together a 14-3 run in her absence to lead by seven, 63-56, at the end of the third quarter. UNCG shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter and held East Tennessee State to 33.3 percent. The Bucs connected on 9-of-12 shots from the free throw line and out-rebounded UNCG 11-8.

A fast break layup by Mason followed by a good trey cut the Bucs lead to one, 65-64 with 6:50 to go in regulation. ETSU answered and took back a six-point lead at 2:34 with a layup by Tarter. Back-to-back buckets from downtown by Mason tied the game 74-all with 1:44 to play. Raven Dean hit a jumper to push the Bus ahead 76-74 and then added two free throws in four trips to the charity stripe in the final minute. Mason hit her sixth trey of the game with eight seconds remaining but Tarter secured the Bucs victory with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining. ETSU held off the Spartans rally for a three-point victory to sweep UNCG in the regular season series.

Mason scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and tallied five three-pointers. UNCG shot 57.1 percent and held ETSU to 42.9 percent from the field. Through the final half of the game the Spartans shot 53.8 percent and 71.4 percent from behind the arc.

Scaife finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds, just one board shy of a double-double for the second-consecutive game. Williams added 13 points and four rebounds while Keli Foster (Hampton, Va./Bethel) added nine points and three assists with a game-high two steals before an early exit due to personal fouls in the fourth quarter.

Mason connected on a career-best six three pointers as she shot 100% from behind the arc. Tarter led the Bucs with 20 points three rebounds and seven assists.

ETSU leads the all-time series 14-12 and has won the last eight meetings between the two teams. UNCG will turn its attention to Furman when the Spartans travel to Greenville, S.C., Thursday, February 18 for a 7 p.m. tip-off versus the Paladins.

-UNCG-