Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women’s basketball team claimed a 62-54 victory over USC Upstate on Saturday (Nov. 9) in Fleming Gym. The last time the Spartans started the season off 2-0 was in the 2017-18 season when the team earned wins over Southern Wesleyan (93-65) and Greensboro College (82-34).
Makiah Asidanya led both teams with her second-consecutive game of recording 18 points, going 3-for-4 from behind-the-arc, 3-for-3 from the charity stripe and 6-for-9 at the field.
A jumper from Jaila Lee, following a layup from Khalis Cain, put UNCG up 4-0 to start Saturday’s battle of the Spartans. USC Upstate responded with two consecutive three-pointers to take the 6-4 lead. However, the Blue & Gold came back with an 8-0 run to take the 12-6 advantage. USC Upstate concluded the first quarter with three points, but UNCG was able to hold the 12-10 margin at the end of the frame.
A layup from Nia Howard started the second quarter for UNCG to take the 14-10 lead, but USC Upstate bounced back for an 8-1 run to make the score 18-15, in its favor. The remainder of the first half would go back-and-forth, but with the game tied at 30 and eight seconds remaining on the scoreboard, Asidanya secured a three-point play to give UNCG the 33-30 lead at the break.
The Blue & Gold found its stride in the second half, outscoring USC Upstate, 21-12 in the third quarter. The squad posted their best scoring run of the game with nine unanswered points to close out the third frame on top, 54-42.
UNCG took its biggest lead of the game within the fourth quarter with a 13-point advantage at 6:30 (59-46) concluded by a driving layup from Jayde Gamble. USC Upstate responded back with a 6-0 run to make it a seven-point game (59-52). However, UNCG was able to outlast USC Upstate to walk away with the 62-54 win.
