UNC Greensboro used a late run to pull out a 71-60 victory over ETSU in Southern Conference action Saturday in Greensboro, N.C.
After a first-half that saw six ties, the second-half proved to be no different with six more ties, before junior forward Jessica Lonon gave the Lady Bucs a 56-54 lead with just 5:52 left in regulation. That would prove to be ETSU’s final lead as the Spartans put the game away with a 17-4 run to close the game.
UNCG (6-6, 2-2) was clutch from the free-throw line down the stretch. The Spartans hit 9-of-10 from the line during the 17-1 run and finished the ballgame 19-of-23, good for 82.6 percent. Free-throw shooting haunted the Spartans in each of their two previous conference losses. UNCG failed to shoot 60 percent from the charity stripe in both outings.
Nicole Murray rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points. Similar to Reed, Murray was all over the court. The senior guard grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists and added three steals. Kellan Law collected a career-high 10 rebounds and added some critical free throws toward the end of the game. UNCG also got solid performances from Megan Honeycutt and Ashley Current off the bench. Honeycutt scored six points in 17-minutes, while Current grabbed six rebounds in 16 minutes.
ETSU (3-10, 0-4) struggled from the field the entire afternoon. The Lady Bucs shot just 29.3 percent from the floor (22-for-75), but stayed in the game thanks to 24 offensive rebounds. Junior forward Lauren Trantham pulled down 17 boards, including seven on the offensive end, while sophomore forward Tiffani Mayes added 12 boards, five on the offensive glass.
The Spartans finally started to knock down some shots in the second half. After shooting just 31 percent (9-for-29) in the opening half, UNCG shot 44.1 percent (15-for-34) in the second stanza. UNCG also did a better job on the boards in the final 20 minutes. The Spartans, which were out rebounded by seven in the first half, turned it around, out-rebounding ETSU 30-22 after halftime.
ETSU and UNCG exchanged baskets over the first seven minutes, but the Lady Bucs put together an 8-0 run to grab an 18-10 lead with 10:24 remaining in the opening half. The Spartans responded with a 15-3 spurt, taking a 25-21 lead at the 5:15 mark.
ETSU dominated the boards in the opening half. The Lady Bucs had a 28-21 advantage on the glass, including 12-5 on the offensive side. Trantham spearheaded the effort, collecting 10 in the first half. ETSU used the effort, especially late in the first half, to climb even by intermission, 29-29.
Senior guard Kiya Verdell led ETSU with 17 points, while freshman guard Adrienne Walker scored 13 points. Trantham added nine points and Lonon picked up eight points.
UNCG’s Amanda Eaton, who led all scorers with 20 points, was 7-for-14 from the field, 2-for-7 from 3-point territory and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
“I was very pleased with our intensity level at the beginning of the game,” said ETSU head coach Karen Kemp following the game. “We were not able to connect on easy buckets. You can’t shoot 29 percent from the field on the road and expect to win.”
The Lady Bucs return to action this afternoon at 5 p.m. against Western Carolina in Memorial Center.