Friday, March 02, 2001

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- UNC Greensboro bolted out to a 41-11 first half lead and never looked back to claim a 85-53 victory over East Tennessee State in quarterfinal action of the Mountain Dew Southern Conference Tournament. The Spartans, now 21-7 on the year, advance to face No. 2 seed Georgia Southern in the semifinals of the tourney at the BI-LO Center on Saturday. The UNCG-Georgia Southern contest will begin 30 minutes after the Chattanooga-Furman contest, which tips off at Noon.

The Spartans held ETSU shooters to just .148 field goal shooting (4-27) during the first 20 minutes, while connecting on .500 (16-32) of its first half field goal opportunities. The 11 first half points scored by the Lady Bucs was the lowest point total ever allowed by UNCG in a half.

UNC Greensboro, which ended the contest with an impressive .515 shooting percentage (35-68), was paced by senior guard ChoRhonda Gwaltney (17 points). The Spartans, 21-7 on the year, featured a balanced attack with Gwaltney, Samika Foster (15 points), Nicole Murray (13 points), and Sandi Reid (10 points) all scoring in double figures.

ETSU, which ends it season with a 7-21 mark, was led in scoring by its lone senior, Chris Forman (nine points).