GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG women's basketball drops a defensive battle on Tuesday night, coming up just short against the visiting Campbell Camels by a final of 42-38. Both teams were held to 15 field goals apiece, with the Spartans forcing 17 Camel turnovers and holding their opponents to a 29-percent shooting night from the floor. 

"I thought that our team did a great job on defense," said head coach Trina Patterson in postgame. "We held a team that averages 65 points and has three high-scoring [Big South] preseason all-conference selections. That was the goal ... We're struggling on the offensive side. We scored 35 points against North Carolina and 38 points tonight, but I think that I saw some great things from some of our younger players..."

Hitting 5-for-11 in the first 10 minutes, UNCG received the early offensive advantage with the score sitting 11-8 at the end of the first quarter. The home team put on a defensive clinic in the opening half, forcing the Camels to cough up the ball nine times and scoring seven points in transition to take a 23-14 lead into the halftime break. 

Senior guard Tori Powell had the hot touch in the first 20 minutes, hitting a three and going 3-of-4 from the floor for a team-high of nine points in the early stages. Fellow guard CeCe Crudup had eight of her own in the opening half, with Lillian Izundu pulling down four boards in that same span. 

Both sides grabbed 10 points in the third quarter, as the Spartans looked to defend a nine-point lead going into the final stanza. The buckets would come for the Camels in the remaining 10 minutes however, with the visiting side knocking down 6-of-14 along with a pair of threes and four trips to the line. The Spartans' shooting would inverse however, and with Campbell controlling the boards in the final stages, second-chance points became hard to come by. The Camels outscored their hosts 18-5 in the waning minutes to ultimately take home the 42-38 decision.

>> Crudup led all Spartans with 11 points on the night, adding four rebounds and a pair of assists. Powell delivered four boards and two assists as well, while pouring in nine points
>> Izundu had multiple career-highs against the Camels, pulling down seven boards on the afternoon, five of which were on the offensive glass. The redshirt-junior also added a pair of steals 
>> UNCG outscored Campbell in the paint by a margin of 22-16, but it was the 15 points the Camels received from their bench and the 16 that came off Spartan turnovers that proved the difference

Coming Up Next
The Spartans stay at home against visiting Division II side Belmont Abbey on Friday. UNCG was originally slated to open the season against the Crusaders back on the 25th, but saw that contest moved to December 4th after COVID-19 concerns associated with the visiting side. 

#letsgoG