Jan. 15, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina was held scoreless for just over eight minutes in what would prove to be a decisive first half as the UNC Greensboro Spartans cruised to a 72-58 win Saturday night in the Ramsey Center.

The Lady Catamounts (7-9, 3-6 SoCon), who dropped their third-straight, were once again led in scoring by senior guard Shaketia Barnes. The Wilson, N.C., native scored 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting to pace Western for the third time in the past trio of contests. Her senior counterparts Lori Tanner and Jennifer Gardner also reached double digits, recording 13 and 12, respectively. Gardner just missed a double-double with nine rebounds in the losing effort.

UNC Greensboro (8-7, 5-3 SoCon) had three players reach double figures as it won its fourth-consecutive Southern Conference game. Freshman guard Kristen Boone led all scorers with 18 points, followed by 12 from senior Amanda Eaton and 10 from post Caroline Blair.

Western jumped out to a seven-point lead over the first five minutes of the game, connecting its first 5-of-7 shots, including a perfect 3-for-3 from long range, two of which by Tanner. However, UNCG responded by putting together a 32-6 run, which included a 15-0 spurt over eight minutes, to take its largest lead of the first stanza, 21 points at 38-17. The Spartans led at the break, 41-21, holding Western to its fewest points in a single-half this season.

The Lady Cats closed the deficit to 18 within the first minute of the second half, but UNC Greensboro slowly stretched its advantage to a game-high 28 points on back-to-back Boone free throws with 11:21 remaining in regulation. Western would manage a 16-3 run to cut the Spartan lead to 15, 64-49, but that's as close as the Lady Catamounts could get until a Tanner lay-up in the final minute provided the final margin of defeat at 72-58.

By virtue of her dozen points, Jennifer Gardner moved into 16th on the WCU All-time scoring list, surpassing Judy Green (1981-84). Gardner currently has 1,080 points, a mere six shy of 15th-standing Brenda Williams.

Western Carolina continues its current home stand on Monday, January 17 as it hosts Elon at the Ramsey Center. UNC Greensboro continues its three-game road swing by traveling to Davidson on Tuesday, January 18.