UNCGs Byrd and Latham End Wildcats Road Win Streak, 78-55
1/27/2007 12:30:19 PM | Women's Basketball
Sports Information - Gavin McFarlin
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- UNC Greensboro's Jasmine Byrd and KaLeah Latham scored 24 and 18 points, respectively, in leading the Spartans over the first-place Davidson Wildcats, who had won their previous four contests, by the score of 78-55 in Southern Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gym in front of 643 fans. Davidson also saw its nine-game win streak away from Belk Arena come to a halt, suffering its first conference road loss of the season. The Wildcats dropped only their second game in the past 16, falling to 17-4 overall and 8-2 in league play. UNCG upped its overall record to 14-7 and its SoCon mark to 7-3.
Last game out against the Wildcats, Byrd was held to 5-of-15 shooting for 11 points, but it was a different story in this afternoon's game. The shooting guard hit nine of her 15 shots from the field, including four three-balls, while adding two free throws for her game-high 24 points.
While Byrd hit from the outside, Latham did her work down in the paint. The forward registered her second straight double-double, hauling in a game-high 11 boards to go along with her 18 points. With her 11 boards, Latham helped assist UNCG to a 44-37 rebounding margin over Davidson.
The first half for Davidson was a half to forget all together. The Wildcats were held to nine field goals in 36 attempts for a 25.0 percent shooting clip, while scoring a season-low 19 points in the stanza. It was the lowest point total since the 'Cats were held to 20 first half points last season against Rice on Dec. 2.
Byrd and Latham carried the Spartans to a halftime lead of 39-19, combining for 27 points in the half. Both of them went for 16 points, 10 from Byrd, through the first 10 minutes of play as UNCG broke a 6-all tie with a 16-0 run for a 22-6 lead with 10:03 remaining in the half. UNCG went on to hit 54.5 percent of its shots in the first half and finished the game at a 50.8 percent clip (31-of-61).
Senior Tia Washington (Charlotte, N.C.) finally took the lid off of Davidson's basket with back-to-back buckets to move the score to 22-10 on the next two possessions. Davidson had gone nearly seven minutes between a jumper from sophomore Mercedes Robinson (Mansfield, Texas) and Washington's two buckets. The Wildcats, who came in leading the SoCon with a 44.9 field goal percentage, finished the game draining only 30.3 percent of their shots.
The second half was much the same for the Wildcats as they just could not get anytime clicking on offense or defense all afternoon. The closest the 'Cats would get in the second half was 17 points after two free throws from Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) to bring the score to 43-26 at the 16:44 mark.
UNC Greensboro's lead would go under 20 points only five more times the rest of the way and Davidson trailed by as many as 31 points in dropping its 26th game all-time to the Spartans, 78-55.
Though Davidson had all 11 players etch their names in the scorer's book, no Wildcat for the first time this year scored in double figures. Junior Honna Housley (Riceville, Tenn.) led the way with nine points, all from downtown on 3-of-5 shooting. Washington followed Housley with eight points to go along with her five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Redshirt junior Katie Hamilton (Lilburn, Ga.) led the team in rebounding for the second straight game with eight caroms off the glass.
Davidson heads back to Belk Arena for its final game of the month of January, looking to improve on its 7-1 home mark with a contest against College of Charleston on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.
