Presbyterian 69, UNCG 62
Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s basketball team suffered 69-62 loss to Presbyterian (1-7) Thursday afternoon. The Blue & Gold welcomed a record 1,007 fans to Fleming Gymnasium for Education Day, surpassing the previous record of 903 set February 27, 2016. Nadine Soliman, the nation's leading freshman scorer had 24 points while Te'ja Twitty grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds while adding 14 points for her second career double-double. Jade Scaife was on the verge of her own double-double with nine points and and eight boards.
The Blue & Gold trailed early after Presbyterian jumped out to a 9-0 start. Turnovers plagued the Spartans in the opening quarter while the Blue Hose capitalized on them, scoring nine of its 20 points off of turnovers. PC led 20-11 at the end of the first quarter with Cortney Storey leading all scorers with eight points. UNCG shot 28.6 percent in the quarter while Presbyterian shot 47.4 percent and 40 percent from behind the arc.
Presbyterian pulled ahead by as many as 12 in the second quarter but an eight-point performance by Nadine Soliman helped the Blue & Gold to cut the deficit to six, 31-25, at halftime. The Spartans improved to shoot 40 percent from the field in the second quarter while PC was just 23.5 percent from the field and 8.3 percent from three-point range.
UNCG was fierce after the break, outscoring the Blue Hose 19-15 to trail by two at the end of the third quarter. Soliman had six points in the frame while Te’ja Twitty added six points and seven rebounds when UNCG closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run.
The Spartans went on a 6-0 run to open the final stanza to take their first and only lead of the game at the 9:03 mark. But Presbyterian responded on a 13-2 run to regain control of the ballgame. With 2:11 to play in regulation a pair of free throws by Bailey Williams brought the game within three points but a layup by Storey made it a two-possession game once again. PC made 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute to hold on for the seven-point win.
UNCG shot 39 percent overall while PC shot 37.1 percent from the field. The Blue & Gold out-rebounded the Blue Hose 48-33 but 22 turnovers allowed PC to capitalize with 23 points off of TOs in the game.
UNCG (5-6) heads to Durham, N.C., Sunday for a 6 p.m. tip-off at North Carolina Central. The Spartans will be back in action at home Wednesday, Dec. 21 to face Norfolk State at 7 p.m.
UNCW 56, Furman 52
Box Score
WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNCW converted three free throws over the final minute and a half of play and took advantage of pair of late turnovers to hold off Furman, 56-52, in Thursday morning women's basketball action at Trask Coliseum.
Furman (4-7), which trailed 49-34 with eight minutes remaining, mounted a furious rally down the stretch to get within 53-52 following Kaitlyn Duncan's three-point play with 1:30 to go. After the Seahawks' Rebekah Banks free throw made it 54-52, Paladin guard Whitney Bunn was whistled for a charge with 14 seconds on clock, negating a potential game tying basket. UNCW's Moriah Crisp then converted one of two free throws to up the lead to 55-52, and the Seahawks preserved the advantage thanks to a pair of Furman turnovers in the final 11 seconds following missed free throws.
UNCW (4-4) was paced in scoring by Madison Raque and Jenny DeGraaf's identical 11-point efforts.
Bunn topped all scorers with 17 points, followed by Cierra Carter with 16 points. DeAnneisha Jackson rounded out the double figure scoring effort with 10 points, which she combined with a game high 13 rebounds.
Furman's strong second half almost allowed the Paladins to escape a subpar first half. After grabbing an early 4-2 lead, the Paladins went nine minutes without scoring, which the Seahawks parlayed into an 18-0 run before Bunn's layup a minute into the second quarter ended the drought and cut UNCW's lead to 20-6.
The Paladins trailed 30-16 at the break and were down 42-32 after three quarters. A 7-2 spurt by UNCW to start the fourth quarter upped the advantage to 49-34 and appeared to seal the game's verdict, but a Bunn layup opened an 8-0 Furman run that the senior guard capped with a 3-pointer with 5:22 remaining. A pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Carter, and two baskets by Duncan helped the Paladins cut the 53-52 with 1:30 to go.
Furman finished the game shooting 32.1 percent (18x56) and just 3-of-16 from 3-point range.
UNCW fared a little better, hitting on 22-of-63 shots (34.9%) and 7-of-23 from beyond the arc.
The Seahawks claimed a 44-39 rebounding advantage and got 28 points from its bench. Furman's scoring came from only four players.
The Paladins play at Davidson on Sunday in a 2 p.m. game.