GREENSBORO, N.C. - Coming off a tough weekend in Birmingham, Ala. UNCG women's basketball looks to bounce back with a return home this weekend, hosting SoCon opponents Furman on Thursday February 11th and Saturday February 13th. 

75-percent of the Spartans' wins have come inside Fleming Gymnasium this year, along with half of their victories in conference-play. Meanwhile, Furman's current run on the road for the 2020-21 season sits at just 1-10, as they have not won away from Greenville since December 3rd. 

As one of the two strongest defenses in the conference, the Spartans will hope to shutdown one of the better three-point shooting squads in the SoCon this week, with Furman ranking second in the league for threes made per game. 

Who: Furman
Where: Fleming Gymnasium | Greensboro, N.C.
Game 1: Thursday, February 11 | 7 p.m. 
Game 2: Saturday, February 13 | 2 p.m. 
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

HOW'S THEIR FORM?
-- UNCG will be looking to break a three-game losing skid after dropping a pair to Samford on the road last week. The Spartans held the Bulldogs to just 46 in game one of that series and were two blocks shy of tying a program record in game two, where they combined for nine on the night
-- Furman swept ETSU last weekend, beating the Bucs by double-digits in both contests. The Paladins have six losses in conference play this year, but four of those have come at the hands of the two top-ranked teams in the SoCon, Samford and Mercer

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-- The Spartans combined for 15 blocks in their two games in Birmingham, Ala., five of which came from Lilian Izundu. UNCG's nine rejections on Saturday were two off the single game record of 11 the program set against NC Central back in 2012, and is the most the team has recorded in a contest since collecting 10 against Wofford in 2017
-- UNCG boasts one of the top defenses in the country, with its 57.6 points allowed per game tying for 38th in the nation and first in the conference. Teams have made just 81 threes against the Spartans this season, with opponents' .244 percentage from beyond the arc putting UNCG 13th in three-point defense throughout all of Division I
-- Freshman Khalis Cain has become one of the premier bigs in the SoCon since earning her first start in mid-December. In conference-play, Cain leads the SoCon with 10.6 rebounds and 4.6 offensive boards per contest. Her average of 2.0 blocks per game against SoCon opponents trails only Samford's Natalie Armstrong, and her .800 free throw shooting in conference-play is fourth overall

SCOUTING FURMAN
-- The Paladins are one of the better three-point shooting teams in the league, ranking second in the SoCon with 6.3 threes made per contest 
-- With an average of 18.7 points per SoCon contest, Furman's Tierra Hodges is currently the second-most prolific scorer in the conference, while her 9.2 boards per game in conference-play ranks fourth. She, Samford's Annie Ramil and Mercer's Jaron Dougherty are the only three players in the league to rank in the top-five for both categories. Those latter two are averaging double-doubles against the Spartans this season

SERIES HISTORY
-- UNCG leads the all-time series with the Paladins (26-25) by one game after sweeping the side in two meetings last season
-- Contests between UNCG and Furman have been decided by more than 10 points just once in the pair's last 10 meetings, with the winning program earning a decision by an average of just 5.8 in that span

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