GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 16-seeded UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's basketball team will take on No. 1 USC in the First Round of the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament in Los Angeles, California, at the Galen Center on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. EST/noon PST.
 
Saturday's NCAA First Round matchup between the Spartans and Trojans will mark the two teams' first meeting in program history.
 
For more information on the First Round of the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament click here.
 

  
 
AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The last time UNCG earned a spot in the NCAA Division I Tournament was in 1998 after defeating former Southern Conference (SoCon) foe Georgia Southern, 75-68, in the SoCon Championship. 
• The 1998 UNCG team, who earned the No. 15 seed, and then-ranked No. 2 Alabama faced off in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Lubbock, Texas, representing the Midwest region of the bracket. 
•  The Crimson Tide defeated the Spartans, 94-46, in the First Round. After defeating No. 7 UCLA, 75-74, in the Second Round, No. 2 Alabama was later eliminated by No. 3 Louisiana Tech in the Regional Semifinals, 71-57.
• The Spartans have competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament seven times (1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88) and the NCAA Division II Tournament once (1990-91).

 
SOCON TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

• No. 1 UNCG took down No. 2 Chattanooga on Sunday, March 9 in the SoCon Championship, 64-57, with an overtime win at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina to earn an automatic bid into the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• It was the Spartans eighth SoCon Championship appearance in program history.
• The Spartans defeated No. 8 Western Carolina, 50-43, in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 6 before knocking out No. 4 Wofford on Friday, March 7, 54-50, in the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament.

 
ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS

• Khalis Cain was named to the SoCon Tournament MVP and to the All-Tournament First Team, while Jayde Gamble was selected to the SoCon All-Tournament Second Team after both of their stellar performances in the conference tournament. 

• Cain's recognition marks the third time in program history a Spartan has been named a SoCon Tournament MVP. The last time a Spartan earned an All-Tournament MVP recognition was in 2001 when ChoRhonda Gwaltney received the recognition.
• Cain had an incredible stat sheet throughout her three games in the SoCon Tournament. She registered two double-doubles, 41 rebounds, 41 points, six assists and nine blocks.
• In the SoCon Championship game against the Mocs, Cain posted a career-best 20 points to reach her 1,000^th career point, while adding 12 rebounds and five blocks.

 
THE STATS SHEET

• UNCG is in the top 50 nationally in seven statistical categories including, scoring defense (1^st/51.8), bench points per game (14^th/27.0), field goal percentage defense (26^th/36.9), winning percentage (31^st/80.6), fouls per game (32^nd/13.9), rebound margin (41^st/5.9) and scoring margin (40^th/13.1).
• The Spartans are pacing the SoCon in five categories: bench points per game (27.0), fouls per game (13.9), scoring defense (51.8), scoring margin (13.2) and winning percentage (80.6).
• Cain is ranked ninth in the country with a 4.3 offensive rebounds per game average. She is 63^rd with 8.9 rebounds per game and 65^th with 277 rebounds. She leads the SoCon in all three categories.
• Cain leads the team with 43 blocks.
• Gamble is third in the league with 64 steals and a 2.06 steals per game average.
• Gamble paces the team with 366 points, 137 field goals, 82 assists and 64 steals. 
• Nya Smith stands out from downtown with 51 three-pointers in her freshman campaign.
• Jaila Lee leads the squad at the charity stripe with 78 free throw and a 73.6 percentage.
• UNCG is besting its opponents in points per game (65.0-51.8), field goals per game (22.9-18.9), three-pointers per game (6.3-4.6), free throws per game (12.9-9.4), rebounds per game (37.1-31.2), assists per game (10.8-9.8), steals per game (9.0-5.7) and blocks per game (3.1-2.7).

 
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS

• UNCG concluded the 2025 SoCon slate with a 13-1 record, marking its best SoCon regular season finish in program history to earn the SoCon Regular Season Title.

• This is the second time in program history the Spartans have secured the SoCon Regular Season Title outright and fourth time earning at least a share. It is Patterson's second time earning a share of the SoCon Regular Season Title and first time earning it outright.

 
THE WINNING STREAK

• UNCG is on a 14-game winning streak for the longest winning streak in the Division I era.
• The longest winning streak in program history was tabbed in the 1986-87 season with 24 consecutive wins.
• The Spartans are heading into the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament with a 25-6 overall record for the most wins in the Division I era and tied for third all-time.

 
UNDEFEATED AT HOME

• The Spartans concluded the 2024-25 regular season slate undefeated at home at 14-0.
• This is the second time in program history that UNCG has went undefeated at home and first time in the Division I era.
• The Spartans went 10-0 at home back in the 1987-88 regular season.
• UNCG is on an 18-game winning streak at home and is 29-1 over the past two seasons for the best home record in the SoCon.

 
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS

• Smith was named SoCon Freshman of the Year, Sixth Woman of the Year and tabbed to the First Team and All-Freshman Team.
• Smith's Freshman of the Year honor marks the third time in program history UNCG has had a freshman achieve the mark.
• It is the first time in UNCG women's basketball program history that a SoCon Freshman of the Year was also named to the SoCon First Team. 
• Smith has also earned SoCon Sixth Woman of the Year for the first time ever, as this is the first season the recognition is being awarded.
• Cain earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team.
• It is Cain's second time in her career earning a spot on the SoCon All-Defensive Team and her third and fourth times earning an SoCon All-Conference selection.
• Gamble was selected to the All-Conference Second Team.
• It is Gamble's second consecutive year receiving All-Conference honors as she was also named to the SoCon First Team last season.

 
HEAD COACH TRINA PATTERSON

• The title win marks the second time in UNCG history and first time under Head Coach Trina Patterson that the Spartans have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.
• In her ninth season at the helm of the Blue & Gold, Patterson has now tallied her fourth season at UNCG achieving 20 or more wins
• Patterson is in the winningest season of her 26-year coaching tenure with 25 victories currently on the 2024-25 campaign.
• After her successful regular season, Patterson was named SoCon Coach of the Year. This year's Coach of the Year honor marks Patterson's third time receiving the recognition. She also earned the award in the 2016-17 and 2019-20 seasons.

 
SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

• Cain earned her second SoCon Player of the Week of her career (Jan.28) after registering a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 66-58 win over Western Carolina (Jan. 25). 
• Smith was named the SoCon Player of the Week (Dec. 24) after leading the Spartans with 19 points and five boards at Wake Forest (Dec. 20). 

 
SCOUTING USC

• The No. 1 USC Trojans come into Saturday's First Round game with a 28-3 overall record and concluded Big Ten play at 16-1.
• USC defeated Indiana, 84-79, in the Big Ten Quarterfinals to go on and defeat Michigan, 82-70 in the semifinal round. UCLA snagged the Big 10 Championship game, 72-67, to secure the title win over the Trojans.
• The only other two losses for the Trojans this season were to No. 6 Notre Dame, 74-61, on Nov. 23 and at Iowa, 76-69, on Feb. 2.
• Prior to USC's loss to the Bruins in the Big 10 Tournament Championship game, the Trojans were on a nine-game winning streak.
• In last season's NCAA Tournament, USC defeated Baylor, 74-70, in the First Round before being eliminated by UConn, 80-73, in the Second Round.
• The Trojans are currently ranked in the top-20 nationally in 10 categories: blocks per game (2^nd/6.8), scoring margin (5^th/21.6), scoring offense (9^th/81.5), free throws made per game (9^th/16.42), winning percentage (11^th/90.3), field goals percentage defense (14^th/36.3), rebounds made per game (15^th/41.81), rebound margin (17^th/7.6), assists per game (20^th/17.4) and free throw attempts per game (19^th/21.29).
• Juju Watkins is in top-10 nationally in five categories: points per game (2^nd/24.6), field goal attempts (2^nd/577), free throw attempts (3^rd/256), free throws (4^th/210) and points (4^th/764).
• Kiki Iriafen is leading the Big Ten and is 14^th nationally with a 4.2 offensive rebounds per game average.
• Watkins paces the Trojans with 746 points, averaging 24.6 points per game. She also leads the team with 246 field goals, 62 three-pointers, 210 free throws, 109 assists, 58 blocks and 69 steals.
• Iriafen leads USC with 257 rebounds.
• USC is besting its opponents in points per game (81.5-59.8), field goals per game (29.1-21.5), three-pointers per game (6.9-5.0), free throws per game (16.4-11.9), rebounds per game (41.8-34.2), assists per game (17.4-12.6), assist/turnover ratio (1.2-0.6), points off turnovers (22.7-12.1) and blocks per game (6.8-2.9).
• Watkins was voted Big Ten Player of the Year by both the conference coaches and a select panel of the Big Ten media members.
• This season, Watkins became the first basketball player at the Division I collegiate, WNBA and NBA levels since 2000 to score 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks and five assists in a single game.
• Watkins ranks 11th all-time at USC in career scoring with 1,604 points and was the fastest Trojan to score 1,000 career points in program history.
• Watkins and Iriafen were both named to the All-Big Ten First Team.
• Rayah Marshall and Kennedy Smith both received Big Ten Honorable Mentions.
• Watkins and Marshall earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, while Smith was nodded to the All-Freshman Team.
• Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb is in her fourth season at the helm of the USC women's basketball program and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Trojans to finish first in the regular season.

PURCHASE UNCG GEAR 
Click here for your one-stop shop for all of your official UNCG merchandise! From apparel to accessories, there is something for everyone!

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOME TICKET INFORMATION
It's never too early to lock-in your 2025-26 UNCG women's basketball season ticket deposit! Make a deposit now to secure your seats to see the SoCon Champions defend their crown in Fleming Gymnasium next season. Click here.

UP NEXT
The winner of Saturday's NCAA Tournament First Round game will face the winner of No. 8 California and No. 9 Mississippi State in the Second Round on Monday, March 24 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California.