GREENSBORO, N.C.  –  UNCG women's basketball gets off to their best start since the turn of the century on Saturday, moving to 11-4 on the season with an 80-45 final over visiting Concord. In addition to the Spartans' record start, senior guard Nadine Soliman set an individual mark of her own, sinking five buckets to move to 665 field goals all-time and clinch a program Division I career record. 

The Spartans opened up their second game of 2020 on a 10-2 run, hitting six of their first eight shot attempts in the first quarter. Senior guard Nadine Soliman would set that aforementioned record in the opening period, hitting a pair of field goals to move her career total to 662. The score going into the first break of the afternoon stood at a slim 19-13 UNCG lead, but it would be in the second where the home team found the hot hand and stretched their advantage to as much as 27.

The Mountain Lions' first field goal of the second quarter came at the 9:25 mark, but the visiting team would have to wait another 8:45 of play before finishing their second of the term. The Spartan defense forced nine Concord turnovers over the 10 minute period while holding their opponents to just 2-for-11 shooting. Alexus Willey poured in eight points during quarter number two to help the Spartans take a 44-19 lead into the half, with starting center Aja Boyd sitting just two boards shy of a double-double in the opening 20 minutes alone. 

Boyd tallied another five points in the third to move to 15 overall, as the Spartans continued to extend their lead, while scoring 10-of-18 attempts from the floor. The Mountain Lions managed to convert half of their 16 shot attempts in the period, but were once again hindered by the pressure of the Spartan defense, committing another five turnovers before the start of the fourth. 

The visitors once again experienced a scoring drought in the final period, with UNCG forcing their opponents to just three field goals and 10 points. Excellanxt Greer hit a three-pointer and a pair of free throws in that quarter to take home a new career-high, while Twitty's two points pushed the senior to a game-high of 16 overall. The Spartans' 80-45 decision is their fifth consecutive victory and their seventh straight when playing inside Fleming Gymnasium, moving to 11-4 for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign. 
 

Three Things To Know
-- While she already owns the Division I program record, Soliman sits just three field goals shy of taking the all-time program record

-- Aja Boyd fell a single board shy of her second double-double of the season, and her fourth straight double-digit rebound performance, scoring 15 and nine on the afternoon 

-- The Spartans outscored Concord 42-18 in the paint, while producing 24 points off of 24 forced turnovers

Up Next For The Spartans
The Spartans open the Southern Conference season on January 9th at home against ETSU. UNCG holds a 14-19 record against the Bucs all-time, with the pair's last five meetings being decided by nine points or less. 

-- UNCG –