Slim Lead for UNCG Leads to Win
1/6/2011 3:50:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Greensboro, N.C. - The Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team came close to giving UNC Greensboro its first Southern Conference loss of the year, but the Spartans held onto a slim two-point lead in the final minute en route to a 55-51 win. Monique Floyd had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds for UNCG as the leader in both categories. UNCG improves to 8-5 on the year and remains undefeated in league play at 5-0.
Krista Tate led Georgia Southern (5-10, 2-4 SoCon) with 11 points and she and Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) tied for the team's top rebounding honors with nine boards each. Navarro, MiMi DuBose (Jefferson, Ga.) and Candice Ivy (Roswell, Ga.) each had eight points.
A steal by Navarro and jumper by Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) with 46 seconds left in the game left the Lady Eagles down two points, 51-53. A missed shot by Floyd and rebound by Williams gave Georgia Southern the ball with 16 seconds remaining, but a turnover in the last seconds forced the Lady Eagles to foul Floyd. She hit both of her free throws to secure the Spartan win.
Coming out of the half, Floyd hit two baskets to extend the Spartan lead to seven points, but Georgia Southern ran off eight straight points off three layups by DuBose for a 33-32 Lady Eagle lead. Dayshun Richbow connected on two from the line to push the score back in UNCG's favor at 14:07. The margin fluctuated between two and four points as the teams traded baskets over the next four minutes.
Down three and without a field goal for three minutes, Jordi Cook (Tunnel Hill, Ga.) came off the bench and hit a three at the 8:54 mark to tie the game at 40 all. The Spartans hit three straight three-pointers for a 49-40 score, but the Lady Eagles fought back again. A trey by Navarro sparked a 6-0 scoring spurt to put GSU down three, 46-49, with just over four minutes remaining.
Richbow and Floyd would help the Spartans to a 53-47 lead, with Richbow picking up a steal and layup, and Floyd rebounding her own missed shot. Tate would take it to the basket for Georgia Southern and hit both free throws after being fouled to cut the lead to four, 53-49, UNCG. Navarro fed Williams for a jumper after Navarro picked up a steal from Richbow and the Lady Eagles had pulled within two, 51-53, in the final minute of the game.
A three-pointer by Navarro and four free throws by the senior point guard and sophomore guard Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) helped Georgia Southern to a three-point lead early in the game. Kendra Smith's jumper cut the lead to one and, following a steal by Floyd and a pair of free throws from Richbow, UNCG took the lead 8-7. The Spartans would hold the advantage for the rest of the half, but the Lady Eagles kept the score within two possessions.
Richbow's layup at the 14:44 mark would be the last time either team would score for a three-minute period until Jazz Weaver put the Spartans up by five, 14-9. Back-to-back jumpers by Ivy and then four points from Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) kept the UNCG margin to one point over the next three-minute stretch. In the last five minutes of the half, the Spartans went up by as many as five, but the Lady Eagles would counter with jumpers by Williams and Ivy. UNCG took a 28-25 lead into the locker room.
The Lady Eagles return home for a 3 p.m. Saturday contest against Davidson. Tickets are $1 for the afternoon game. Fans may purchase the specially priced tickets online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/tickets by using the promotional code "dollar" or at the ticket windows at Hanner Fieldhouse prior to the game.
Fans may follow Georgia Southern Women's Basketball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/ladyeagles or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates.
