UNC Greensboro Downs Lady Camel Basketball, 69-46

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro Spartans (1-1) relied on pressure defense and three-point shooting to keep its series history against the Campbell University women’s basketball team perfect, Tuesday. UNCG has won all eight meetings between the two North Carolina-based foes.
Campbell took the lead early, taking advantage of some cold Spartan shooting. UNCG did not hit its first bucket until the 16:03 mark in the first, by which point, they were trailing Campbell 8-0. A 6-2 UNCG run pulled them within one where they stayed until Jennifer Hart scored one of her 10 points at the 12:07 mark in the first half.
Campbell had found some scoring success early, getting a combined nine points out of the two starting guards before turnovers began to plague the CU offense. Campbell committed 18 turnovers in the first half, compared to 9 for UNCG.
The lone Lady Camel to continually find the basket in the late part of the opening half was sophomore Crystal Clary, who had eight points. Clary finished the game with her first double-double of the season (10 points, 11 rebounds) and three blocks.
The two teams would exchange leads two more times before UNCG’s Stephanie Britt converted a fast-break bucket to take the lead for good at the 9:02 mark in the first. A 17-9 run in the remainder of the opening half sent the Spartans to the locker room with a 36-25 lead.
“If you would have told me we would come out and shoot 61 percent in the opening half and still be down by 11 at half time, I would’ve said you were crazy,” Head Coach Wanda Watkins said. The Lady Camels were 11-for-18 in the first half, while UNCG was 16-for-31.
But in the second half, UNCG came out with the same full-court pressure that had helped their run at the end of the first. The Spartans had 12 steals in the first half alone, mostly coming from the pressure they exerted on the Lady Camels’ guards and a full-court press that UNCG went to late in the first half.
While UNCG was working on stopping the Lady Camels before they got across the mid-court mark, forward April Cromartie tried to open things up by hitting from the inside, scoing the first six CU points in the second. Cromartie and Clary continued to work down low for Campbell, accounting for 21 of Campbells’ 31 rebounds for the game. Cromartie finished with her first double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) of the season, including a 6-for-8 stint from the free-throw line.
Seniors Stacey Hinkle and Carrie Emory each finished with seven points. Hinkle led the team with four assists.
Three Spartans finished in the double-digit scoring column. Samika Foster and Cristi Strickland each had 13 points, including a 3-for-4 mark from beyond the three-point arc for Strickland, while Jennifer Hart added 10 points. All but four Spartans scored in their first win of the regular season.
Campbell will host Western Carolina University in Carter Gym, Saturday, at noon. [box score]