GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG women's basketball (16-7, 5-3) travel to Johnson City, Tennessee for a Saturday afternoon matchup vs. the ETSU Buccaneers (8-15, 3-5). The Spartans handed the Bucs a 63-47 loss earlier this season (Jan. 9) in Greensboro. In that contest, Spartans forwards Te'ja Twitty (13pts, 10rebs) and Aja Boyd (12pts, 14rebs) both notched double-doubles to kickoff conference-play. The 20 turnovers forced by UNCG is the most this season against SoCon opponents. 

Who: ETSU
Where: Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.
When: Saturday, February 8 | 2 PM 
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LAST TIME OUT
The Spartans last took the floor, Thursday night at Chattanooga. Nadine Soliman scored 15 points in the opening quarter, finishing with 24 on the night to lead the way. The performance was Soliman's sixth 20-plus point game of the season and first during SoCon action. The Mocs, led by Lacy Bouldin (25pts) held on in the second half for the 74-59 home win. Twitty came up three rebounds shy (7) of setting a new program career record in double-doubles. With the loss, the Spartans face their first multiple-game losing streak of the season (2).  

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-- Despite the skid, UNCG maintains the No. 15 scoring defense in Division I (55.2 ppg)
-- In all games, Soliman leads all SoCon players with 16.4 points-per-game
-- Off the bench, guard Alexus Willey leads the Spartans with 43 three-pointers made and ranks second in the conference with a 3PT-FG percentage of 42.6
-- Twitty, Boyd and Soliman have combined for 13 double-doubles so far this season

SCOUTING THE BUCS 
-- Junior Micah Sheetz leads the way with 15.3 points-per-game, good for fourth in the southern conference; her free-throw percentage of 83.6 also sits fourth in the SoCon and 53rd in the nation
-- Bucs have won two of their last four games, going 1-1 at home during that span, including a triple overtime loss to Chattanooga (Feb. 1).
-- In their last game, Sheetz notched double-digit points for the 22nd consecutive game, finishing with 13 points and six boards against Western Carolina; E'Lease Stafford scored a career-best 29 points on 11-17 shooting, leading to head coach Brittney Ezell's 100th win at the helm for ETSU

SERIES HISTORY
ETSU leads the all-time series, 19-15. The first meeting came during the 1969-70 season, with the Bucs earning a 39-37 win. The Spartans are 1-0 this season vs. the SoCon foe, following three-straight losses since the 2017-18 season. Both teams have series winning streaks of five games, with UNCG's spanning from 2000-01 to 2002-03 and ETSU's from 2014-15 to 2016-17. Last season, the Spartans' rally came up short vs. the Bucs in their regular season finale. In the game, Soliman set a single-season record for rebounds (171) with 11 boards, along with a game-high 29 points. 

COMING UP 
The Spartans will have a week to prepare for their second matchup of the season with the Western Carolina Catamounts (4-19, 1-7). Tip-off is set for Saturday, February 15th at 2 p.m. Earlier this season, UNCG earned an 11-point victory, 54-43 over Western in Greensboro. Willey led with 12 points, shooting 4-for-7 from three-point land.