GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women's basketball team (8-21, 0-14 SoCon) fell to Western Carolina (7-21, 3-11 SoCon) in the regular a season finale, 84-80, in front of a record crowd of 903 fans on senior night. The Spartans will play the No. 1 Seed Mercer (22-7, 12-2 SoCon) in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament March 4 in Asheville. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m.

They day began with the four graduating seniors; Lucy Mason (Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee Charter), Jazmine Missouri (Largo, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross), Medena Bartley (Savannah, Ga./Beach) and Kaitlin Callahan (Windsor, Vt./Southern Maine) being honored for their accomplishments during their careers prior to playing in their final home game in Fleming Gymnasium.

Western Carolina took an early lead but the Spartans kept it close with 3:55 on the clock in the first quarter tied 9-all. The Catamounts closed out the frame on a 6-0 run to lead 15-9 at the break. In the second, UNCG fell behind by as many as 12 points but trailed by just seven, 37-30, at halftime.

UNCG shot 20.0 percent in the first quarter but improved to shoot 40.9 percent in the second on 9-of-22 from the field. WCU averaged 50 percent from the field in the first quarter and improved to shoot 10-of-13 and 76.9 percent in the second. The Catamounts also connected on 7-of-9 free throws in the first half. Raziyah Farrington led all scorers with 16 points while Mason had a team-high 12 points for the Spartans.

Western Carolina again pulled ahead in the third quarter, leading by as many as 13 points with two minutes to play in the frame. A trey by Keli Foster (Hampton, Va./Bethel) rallied the Spartans with 1:58 to go. Mason had an and-one play in the final 30 seconds of the frame to make it an eight-point game, 68-57, with one quarter left. UNCG was relentless in the final quarter, fighting back from a six-or-more point deficit four times. The Catamounts were consistent through the final stretch at the free throw line, connecting on 11-of-13 shots from the charity stripe, to solidify their four-point win and third victory of the conference season.

Mason scored 14 points in the second half to finish with a team-high 26 points and lead all scorers. Jade Scaife (Fort Washington, Md./Archbishop Spalding) added 18 points while India Timpton (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) added 14 points. Forster had a career-high seven assists and three steals in 32 minutes.

UNCG finishes the regular season 8-21 overall and 0-14 in the Southern Conference. The Spartans posted their best start since the 2001-02 season this year and have a chance to product their most wins in a season under the direction of head coach Wendy Palmer Thursday, March 4, when they take on top-seed Mercer in the SoCon Tournament.

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