GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's basketball team secured The Southern Conference (SoCon) opening win over the Samford Bulldogs, 73-64, on Thursday night inside Bodford Arena.
Thursday night's victory improves UNCG's win streak to six and makes the squad 9-1 over the past 10 games.
The win over the Bulldogs also marks 26-straight home wins for the Spartans and makes the team 37-1 over the past two seasons.
Thursday night's win marks the fourth consecutive year UNCG has won its SoCon opener. In addition, it is the fourth-straight win over the Bulldogs.
Three Spartans reached double-figures in the contest with
Jeni Levine leading the way with 21 points.
Jaila Lee matched her career-best with 17 points, while
Makiah Asidanya chipped in 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After heavy defense kept both teams scoreless for the first 2:41, Asidanya chipped in a basket off the glass to give UNCG a 2-0 advantage at 7:19. The Bulldogs tied things up with a jumper at the 6:20 mark. After another plus two-minute scoring draught, Levine recorded back-to-back three pointers to give UNCG the six-point edge, 8-2. The Bulldogs bounced back with five-straight points to cut their deficit to one going to the huddle, 8-7.
Samford continued its momentum into the second quarter, starting off with nine consecutive points, extending its scoring run to 14-0, 16-8. A triple from
Tasia Johnson at 4:23 gave UNCG its first points of the frame, narrowing the gap to five, 16-11. Both teams went back-and-forth, but the Bulldogs continued to maintain the advantage. Asidanya drained a three-pointer with 33 seconds on the clock, but Samford's Emily Bowman got off the final basket of the half for the Bulldogs to hold a 27-18 lead heading into the locker room.
The Spartans found their stride to start the third quarter with an 11-4 run, narrowing the gap to two at 6:52, 31-29. Both teams exchanged three-pointers before Samford strung together a 6-0 run to regain an eight-point lead at 3:57, 40-32. A three-pointer from Lee concluded the third frame to make it a five-point game at the break, 45-40.
UNCG turned on the jets in the final frame, outscoring Samford 33-19, marking the most point scored in a quarter against a DI opponent this season. The Spartans started out with an 8-2 run to take a one-point lead at 8:28, 48-47. The score toggled back-and-forth until three-pointers from Levine and Lee granted UNCG with 54-50 lead at 7:09, allowing the Spartans to maintain the advantage the rest of the way. UNCG knocked down four consecutive free throws to close out the 73-64 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Moffitt was two points shy of a double-double after leading the contest with 12 rebounds and adding eight points. She also notched two blocks.
- Levine and Lee combined for seven three-pointers.
- Levine led the Spartans with four assists.
- Kristina Rakotobe added two steals.
- UNCG bested Samford in points off turnovers (17-12), rebounds (37-29), second chance points (17-0), points in the paint (24-16), fast break points (12-7), blocks (5-2) and assists (18-12).
- Samford led the way in bench points (22-11) and steals (7-6).
RECORDS
UNCG: 11-5, 1-0 SoCon
SAM: 7-11, 0-1 SoCon
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UNCG WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
To secure your tickets for UNCG women's basketball home games click
HERE for options including single games, group discounts and full season ticket options. All (14) home games will be played on campus in Bodford Arena. UNCG faculty/staff and students are free with their ID. To learn more about upcoming ticket promotions or to purchase over the phone call the UNCG Ticket Office at 336-334-3250 or email
admoore10@uncg.edu.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will continue SoCon play by hosting Mercer on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in Bodford Arena.
