GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG women's basketball, fresh off its first win of the Southern Conference schedule, heads to Johnson City, Tenn. to take on the ETSU Buccaneers inside J. Madison Brooks Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. Thursday. The Spartans enter the contest 10-9 overall, and 1-3 in the SoCon. ETSU is currently 9-9 overall, and 1-2 in SoCon action.
Thursday's contest will be broadcasted live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Kasey Marler will be doing the play-by-play with Bruce Tranbarger on color. Live stats will also be available for the contest. Links for each service are on the UNCG women's basketball schedule page.
UNCG enters the game having defeated the Samford Bulldogs 64-40 on Saturday night inside Fleming Gymnasium. Led by seniors Bailey Williams (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) and Shanese Harris (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch), the Spartans earned the largest margin of victory over a conference opponent since the 2006-07 season. The pair of seniors combined for 25 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and six steals. As a team, UNCG shot 51-percent from the field, and 75-percent from the charity stripe.
The Blue and Gold have one of the top defenses in the league, holding opponents to 38-percent shooting from the field. The team is also the top rebounding team in the league, outrebounding opponents by an average of 5.5 boards per game. UNCG is second in the league with 9.5 steals per game, and carry that same average in its four Southern Conference games. The team also leads the SoCon with 3.8 blocks per game in league matchups.
A pair of rookie standouts leads the Spartan offense. Nadine Soliman (Cairo, Egypt/Mokattam Language School) and Te'ja Twitty (Rutherfordton, N.C./Rutherfordton-Spindale Central) average 17.7 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Twitty leads the Spartans and is fourth in the league, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game.
Freshman Alexis Pitchford (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park) and Williams sit fifth and sixth in the league in assists, respectively. Pitchford shoots 34-percent from the field and leads the team shooting 86-percent from the line. Williams adds 21 made 3-pointers, while playing in an average of 32.5 minutes per game.
ETSU enters with a 1-2 record in SoCon play, having lost its last matchup in Chattanooga, 60-45. In that contest, the Bucs were led by junior Tianna Tarter. Tarter, who averages 19.4 points per game, led all scorers with 19 points, hitting 7-of-16 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Raven Dean added a double-double, going for 10 points and 12 boards. As a team, the Bucs shot just 25-percent from the field, well below the season average of 38-percent.
Tarter has earned SoCon Player of the Week honors four times this season, as well as earning the SoCon Player of the Month award in December. Her 19.4 points per game average leads the league, adds 5.7 rebounds per game, and is second in the league with 2.3 steals per game.
Shamauria Bridges also averages double figures, scoring 13.9 points per game, shooting 34-percent from 3-point range. Raven Dean is second on the squad with 99 rebounds, averaging 5.5 per game and chips in 7.9 points per game.
First tip for the game between UNCG and ETSU is set for 7:00 p.m. in Brooks Gymnasium.
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