BOX SCORE

BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Junior guard Da'Naria Erwin Spencer (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenburg) recorded a season-high 27 points and answered several UNC Greensboro runs as Radford women's basketball slipped by the Spartans, 75-67, Monday night at the Dedmon Center.
 
Erwin Spencer dished out a season-best 9 assists, none bigger than a kick out to Ashley Buckhannon (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe), who knocked down a three-pointer after the Spartans pulled within five, its closest margin of the game.
 
"I'm really proud of how we fought tonight,” commented head coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba.  "We got up early and Greensboro did a great job defensively to cut it close.  I thought we did a great job in a game that was getting close, but we finally pulled out the win.”
 
Radford became only the fifth team in school history to start 4-0 and the first to accomplish the feat since 1983-84.
 
Erwin Spencer led all scorers with 27, including 9-of-9 from the stripe and Buckhannon tallied 14 points.   The Highlanders shot 48 percent from the field on 28-of-58 shooting and improved to 25-7 under Ngongba when hitting 40 percent shooting or better.
 
Breonna Patterson came off the bench to lead UNC Greensboro in scoring with 23, followed by 13 from Natalie Headley. 
 
The defensive intensity picked up in the second half for the Spartans.  After the two teams went on a 3:14 scoreless drought, UNC Greensboro (0-3) went on a 6-0 spurt to pull within seven, 49-42 at the 10:36 mark. 
 
Radford responded in the following minutes with two three-point plays by Erwin Spencer.  The Spartans went on to make several short runs, but Erwin Spencer answered nearly every time. 
 
Erwin Spencer's jumper 37 seconds in sparked a 12-1 opening run, as the Highlanders never surrendered the lead. 
 
The Highlanders embark on a month-long road swing starting Saturday, Nov. 26 at George Washington at 2 p.m.  The Colonials' all-time leading scorer, Ngongba returns to her alma mater for the first time as an opposing coach.