GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG women's basketball (2-8, 0-1) continues its path through the Southern Conference this weekend, hosting visiting Mercer (6-4, 0-1) in a two-game series on Thursday and Saturday.
The Spartans and Bears are both looking to bounce back from losses in their conference openers, with UNCG's top-ranked defense (56.9) facing the most productive offense in the SoCon this year (71.3). The hosting Spartans have held opponents to 60 points or less on seven occasions and 50 or less in four contests. The Bears have been held under 70 points just four times this season however, with three of those contests coming against power-five programs Georgia, Clemson and Alabama.
Who: Mercer
Where: Fleming Gymnasium | Greensboro, N.C.
Game 1: Thursday, January 14 | 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, January 16 | 2 p.m.
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Live Stats
HOW'S THEIR FORM?
-- Both Mercer and UNCG are coming off SoCon opener losses, with the Bears falling to Samford on the road 78-69 and the Spartans dropping a 49-42 decision to Western Carolina at home
-- Mercer's Jaron Dougherty dropped 27 against the Bulldogs on Sunday, while
CeCe Crudup led all Spartans with 15 points against the Catamounts
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-- Senior guard
CeCe Crudup leads the Spartans with 10.1 points per game, while her 5.4 boards per contest trails only
Khalis Cain (5.5) for a team-high
-- Cain has averaged 8.0 rebounds and 6.5 points since becoming a regular starter six games ago, she's also accrued nine blocks during that time
-- The Spartans boast the top defense in the conference, allowing just 56.9 points per game. That average ranks 35th in the country
SCOUTING MERCER
-- Despite scoring a league-high 71.3 points per game this year, Mercer also ranks 20th in blocked shots per game (5.6) and 31st in turnovers forced per game (20.6) in all of Division I
-- Three of the top-five scorers in the SoCon are on the Mercer roster, led by Jaron Dougherty's 18.2 per game
SERIES HISTORY
-- UNCG is just 3-12 against Mercer all-time, but is currently on a three-game winning streak against the Bears. All three of those wins came the previous season
-- The pair's previous meeting ended in dramatic fashion with Spartan alum
Nadine Soliman hitting an overtime buzzer-beater to send UNCG to the 2020 SoCon tournament finals
#letsgoG
