GREENSBORO, N.C. – On Thursday, fourth-seeded UNCG women's basketball begins what it hopes will be a long run at the Southern Conference Tournament, taking on fifth seed Furman at 1:45 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
All games at the conference tournament will be broadcasted live on ESPN3, with links to live coverage of Spartan contests available at UNCGSpartans.com.
UNCG earned the No. 4 seed after finishing the regular season with a 16-13 record, including a 7-7 mark in SoCon play. The 16 wins are the most for the Spartans since the 2006-07 season, while the seven conference wins are the most for the program since 2010-11.
The Spartans and Paladins met up twice in the regular season, splitting the season series as both teams defended their home court. Furman earned a 65-55 victory in Greenville, South Carolina behind 23 points from Le'Jzae Davidson, while the Blue and Gold were led by Alexis Pitchford's (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park) 16 points in a 65-52 victory at Fleming Gymnasium.
Furman rounded out the regular season with a 14-16 record, dropping three-straight games to close out the campaign. In the absence of First Team All-SoCon performer Whitney Bunn, the Paladins are led by Cierra Carter and Davidson, who rank ninth (12.7) and 12th (10.8) in the conference in points per game.
Both squads pride themselves on tenacious defense, tying for the SoCon lead at .373 in defensive field goal percentage. The two sides also clean the glass efficiently, with Furman (37.9) led only by UNCG (40.1) in rebounds per game.
The Spartans are making their 20th appearance at the SoCon Tournament, posting a 14-16 all-time record. Last season, the Blue and Gold was bounced in the quarterfinals by top-seed Mercer 53-75. The Spartans last won a SoCon tourney game in 2012-13, knocking off these same Furman Paladins 73-68 in the first round in Asheville.
UNCG and Furman tipoff in the quarterfinals Thursday at 1:45 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
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