GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG women's basketball controls its own fate this Friday, looking to cement a fifth seed in the 2021 Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship presented by General Shale with a win over Western Carolina. The Spartans are currently tied with Furman for that number five spot in the standings, but own the tie-breaker between the two after beating the Paladins twice at home earlier this year.

Who: Western Carolina
Where: Ramsey Center | Cullowhee, N.C.
When: Friday, February 26 | 7 p.m. 
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

HOW'S THEIR FORM?
-- UNCG has won three of its last four contests in SoCon play, most recently beating Chattanooga 58-51 on the road. Junior Jaylynn Brown (22) and Pernilla Sorensen (17) both grabbed career-highs in points during that contest
-- The Catamounts have lost six of their last seven games, but were victorious in their most recent contest at ETSU by a final of 62-48

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-- Senior guard CeCe Crudup leads all Spartans with an average of 11.4 points this year, while her 12.6 per game in conference play rank eighth in the SoCon. She has also registered two steals per game against conference opponents this year, ranking her third in the SoCon in that category
-- No other player in the SoCon has collected more rebounds in conference play than freshman Khalis Cain. She is averaging 10.2 per SoCon contest, 4.5 of which are coming on the offensive side of the floor. She has also registered 29 total blocks against conference opponents, placing her in a tie for a SoCon best
-- The Spartans are the premier shot blockers in the SoCon, averaging a league best 3.8 rejections per conference contest. The Spartans combined for nine blocks over two games against Chattanooga last week, and their nine in game two of their series against Samford this month was two off the program's single game record

SCOUTING WESTERN CAROLINA
-- Guard Kyla Allison leads the Catamounts with an average of 10.8 points on the year. Her 75 assists in the current season rank second in the SoCon
-- Averaging just under two threes per game in SoCon play (1.9), Lauren LaPlant ranks third in the conference in that category. Her 134 attempts from beyond the arc are the most in the SoCon and rank 31st in the country

SERIES HISTORY
-- UNCG is 32-39 against Western Carolina all-time, losing to the Catamounts by a final of 49-42 at home to start this year's SoCon season
-- That loss to WCU broke up a six game winning streak for the Spartans against the Catamounts

#letsgoG