GREENSBORO, N.C.  – UNCG women's basketball tallies a third straight win on Sunday afternoon, after defeating visiting Appalachian State by a final of 54-47. The Spartans' victory is their fifth straight at home, with forward Te'ja Twitty delivering her second straight double-double on game-highs of 14 points and 13 rebounds. 

A surge of offense for the Spartans insured a UNCG lead at the end of the first quarter, with the home team coming back from a 10-6 deficit to bring a 16-10 lead into the break. Senior Alexus Willey hit a pair of jumpers from beyond the arc to help give her team the early advantage, while the Spartan defense held the visiting Mountaineers to 4-for-17 in the opening frame. 

App State would establish a 9-2 run to start the first five minutes of the second quarter, as the Spartans were forced to once again play from behind and retake the lead before the end of the period. Te'ja Twitty pulled down a pair of boards in the second quarter to take six points and six rebounds into the halftime break. The home team held the Mountaineers to nine field goals in the first 20 minutes, holding a 24-21 lead to start the second half, with 14 of their first half points coming in the paint. 

After the Mountaineers tied up the contest on a three-pointer to start the third quarter, the Spartans answered back with a 12-3 run while hitting five straight field goal attempts to go back ahead 36-27. Te'ja Twitty scored six of her 14 points in the third quarter alone, to help UNCG take a seven-point advantage into the final quarter.

The Spartans were forced to hold off the Mountaineers in the fourth, with the visitors coming within a bucket with less than seven minutes remaining. Willey's fourth three would help spark UNCG's offense down the stretch however, with the hosts outscoring ASU 9-2 in the proceeding three minutes. Twitty completed the 22nd double-double of her career midway through the fourth, pulling down four rebounds to close out the afternoon with 14, as the Spartans finished off a 54-47 victory.

Three Things To Know
-- Twitty's 14 points and 13 rebounds give her 22 double-doubles for her career, just two away from tying the Spartan all-time record

-- Willey tied a season-high with four three-pointers on Sunday, just one shy of the career-high she set against Radford back in 2017

-- The Mountaineers did not score more than 14 in a single quarter on Sunday, shooting 19-for-58 (.328) overall

Up Next For The Spartans
The Spartans continue their home stretch while hosting Lenoir-Rhyne on New Year's Day at Fleming. UNCG is 3-1 against the Bears all-time, last facing the program during the 1986-87 season.

-- UNCG –