Greensboro College women make it 20 in a row

GREENSBORO, N.C.– Eighteenth ranked Greensboro College advanced to the semifinals of the USA South Conference Tournament with an 85-48 victory over NC Wesleyan at Hanes Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.

The Pride now faces fourth seeded Shenandoah on Friday in Newport News, Va. Tipoff is 2 p.m.

Dione Eccles (Clemmons NC/West Forsyth) led four Pride players with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Danielle Duncan (Greensboro, NC/Ragsdale) added 10 points and grabbed 10 boards. The Pride is now 25-1 and won its 20th straight game.

Chelsea Thomas (Durham NC/Apex) came off the bench to score 14 points on 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and Nikki Wilborn added 12 points to round out double-figure scorers for Greensboro. Junior Kim Enoch (Mebane, NC/Bartlett Yancey) came through with a solid nine point, eight rebound performance.

Essence Chambers scored a game-high 27 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Battling Bishops. Teammate T’Keya Holloway recorded 10 rebounds as NC Wesleyan completed its season at 6-20 overall.

Greensboro College converted 9-of-18 three-pointers as a unit and hit a total of 28-for-74 (37.8%) of its shots from the floor. The Pride outscored NC Wesleyan 45-18 in the paint and dominated bench points 44-6.

A 44-27 lead by GC at halftime quickly turned into a 25-point deficit for the Battling Bishops, as Greensboro went on a 10-0 run over the first 4:45 of the second half. The Pride lead reached 40 points on a Thomas 3-pointer, marking the largest margin of the game.

Four Greensboro College players scored six points or more in the first half, led by Eccles’ nine. Greensboro converted 15-38 (39.5%) of its shots from the field, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc to hold the 17-point advantage. The difference came as GC outscored its opponent 21-0 in bench play.

Chambers answered with 19 first half points for the Battling Bishops, who struggled to find an inside or transition game. The Bishops were outscored 24-10 in the post and 16-2 on the break.

Leading 15-14 with 11:55 on the clock, Greensboro converted three 3-pointers over the next 4:26, taking a 30-18 lead.

Following a Chambers three-pointer GC stretched the lead to 38-21 by the 3:33 mark.