Saturday, January 14
Denton
2:00 PM CT
University of North Texas
-511,24 CUSA
75
vs
59
Florida Atlantic
-105,33 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Fla. Atlantic
16
22
8
13
59
North Texas
12
17
21
25
75
McGruder Drops 29 to Lead Women’s Basketball Past FAU
1/14/2023 6:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore from Grand Prairie, Texas, scores career-high in second consecutive contest
DENTON, Texas (Jan. 14, 2023) – For the second consecutive contest, sophomore Kendall McGruder set a career-high in scoring, this time with 29 points to lead North Texas to a 75-59 victory over Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon inside the Super Pit.
The Mean Green outscored the Owls 46-21 in the second half to earn their second C-USA victory and improve to 5-11 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
McGruder was on fire all night, going 12 for 18 from the floor and 4 for 7 from 3-point range to top her previous career-high of 17 which she set on Wednesday night against LA Tech. The sophomore out of Grand Prairie, Texas, scored 19 points in the second half, going 8 for 12 from the floor.
UNT also got a 17-point performance off the bench from Quincy Noble as well as seven rebounds apiece from Tommisha Lampkin and Aniyah Johnson.
As a team, the Mean Green put together one of their best second halves of the season as they outrebounded the Owls 21-9, shot 56.7 percent from the floor and did not allow FAU to shoot a single free throw over the final two periods.
The two teams went back-and-forth early with neither squad leading by more than three points over the first six minutes of game action.
With the score 20-16 early in the second quarter, FAU was the first to create separation with a quick 6-0 run that swelled the lead to 10 with 6:47 left in the half.
The Owls swelled the lead to as many as 11 late in the second quarter before McGruder hit a jumper with six seconds left to make the score 38-29 in favor of FAU at the break.
The third quarter belonged to the Mean Green. Trailing 42-31, UNT took the lead for the first time since the early going with a 17-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer from McGruder who scored seven of the 17 points.
UNT got a pair of free throws from Ereauna Hardaway to end the quarter with a 50-46 lead going into the final period.
Leading 58-52 in the fourth, UNT put the game away with a 12-3 run that featured five points each from both Aniyah Johnson and McGruder to put the lead at 70-55 with 3:14 left to play.
The Mean Green would hold on down the stretch to earn a 16-point victory, the largest of the season for UNT.
Defensively, UNT held FAU to just 29 percent from 3-point range and forced 15 turnovers. The Mean Green were also dynamic in transition with a 24-6 advantage in fastbreak points.
Quoting Coach Mitchell
"I'm just really proud of our team. We had some up and down moments in the first half and I thought we responded really well after halftime, especially defensively. To hold them to 21 points in the second half and for us to score 46…we just locked down. We wanted to get stops and it showed that we wanted to get stops. And that turned into easier offensive opportunities for us. I thought we executed well down the stretch executing our offense and taking what they gave us…We need to show consistency now at this point. You need to see the same team on Monday when we play FIU."
Next Up
The Mean Green return to the court Monday afternoon when they take on FIU at 3:30 p.m. inside the Super Pit.
The Mean Green outscored the Owls 46-21 in the second half to earn their second C-USA victory and improve to 5-11 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
McGruder was on fire all night, going 12 for 18 from the floor and 4 for 7 from 3-point range to top her previous career-high of 17 which she set on Wednesday night against LA Tech. The sophomore out of Grand Prairie, Texas, scored 19 points in the second half, going 8 for 12 from the floor.
UNT also got a 17-point performance off the bench from Quincy Noble as well as seven rebounds apiece from Tommisha Lampkin and Aniyah Johnson.
As a team, the Mean Green put together one of their best second halves of the season as they outrebounded the Owls 21-9, shot 56.7 percent from the floor and did not allow FAU to shoot a single free throw over the final two periods.
The two teams went back-and-forth early with neither squad leading by more than three points over the first six minutes of game action.
With the score 20-16 early in the second quarter, FAU was the first to create separation with a quick 6-0 run that swelled the lead to 10 with 6:47 left in the half.
The Owls swelled the lead to as many as 11 late in the second quarter before McGruder hit a jumper with six seconds left to make the score 38-29 in favor of FAU at the break.
The third quarter belonged to the Mean Green. Trailing 42-31, UNT took the lead for the first time since the early going with a 17-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer from McGruder who scored seven of the 17 points.
UNT got a pair of free throws from Ereauna Hardaway to end the quarter with a 50-46 lead going into the final period.
Leading 58-52 in the fourth, UNT put the game away with a 12-3 run that featured five points each from both Aniyah Johnson and McGruder to put the lead at 70-55 with 3:14 left to play.
The Mean Green would hold on down the stretch to earn a 16-point victory, the largest of the season for UNT.
Defensively, UNT held FAU to just 29 percent from 3-point range and forced 15 turnovers. The Mean Green were also dynamic in transition with a 24-6 advantage in fastbreak points.
Quoting Coach Mitchell
"I'm just really proud of our team. We had some up and down moments in the first half and I thought we responded really well after halftime, especially defensively. To hold them to 21 points in the second half and for us to score 46…we just locked down. We wanted to get stops and it showed that we wanted to get stops. And that turned into easier offensive opportunities for us. I thought we executed well down the stretch executing our offense and taking what they gave us…We need to show consistency now at this point. You need to see the same team on Monday when we play FIU."
Next Up
The Mean Green return to the court Monday afternoon when they take on FIU at 3:30 p.m. inside the Super Pit.
Team Stats
FAU
UNT
FG%
.424
.537
3FG%
.294
.333
FT%
1.000
.650
RB
27
33
TO
16
15
STL
5
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
12
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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