Box Score

PEMBROKE – Down 13 points with under three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the UNC Pembroke women's basketball squad uncorked a 15-0 run to close the game, edging Flagler 65-63 Wednesday evening in a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) contest at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The victory improves the Braves (14-6, 9-4 PBC) to 10-1 in Pembroke this season, the most home wins in a season since the 2004-05 campaign. UNCP also improves to 6-2 all-time at home against Flagler (3-17, 1-12 PBC), while the Saints lose their 15th game in their last 16 outings this season. The Black & Gold jumps into a tie for second with USC Aiken in the PBC East Division race, just one game behind Lander.
 
After leading for the majority of the third period, the Black & Gold surrendered the advantage at the 3:12 mark on a pair of Saint free throws. Flagler forced their way to the charity stripe for the remaining of the quarter, going on a 12-5 run thanks to eight freebies to lead 51-47 after three.
 
Flagler collected 12 of the first 15 points in the fourth to build a 63-50 lead, capped off by a Bri Roberts long ball at the 4:03 mark. That gave Roberts a game-high 16, but the Saints would not score again.  
 
The UNCP run was kick started by a Brianna Baham layup with 2:59 to play, but the hosts found themselves down nine with under 120 seconds remaining. What happened next was nothing short of extraordinary, as the Braves cashed in points on their final five possessions. Nyla Allen trimmed the deficit to nine with 1:47 to play before Jonissa Monley converted a three-point play at the 1:06 mark to pull the Black & Gold within six.
 
After a Flagler turnover, Baham buried a 3-pointer with 41 seconds to play to shave the deficit to three. Baham came up with a steal on the other end, leading to a Monley jumper with 17 seconds on the clock. The UNCP full-court press forced another Saint miscue, giving the hosts the ball with 10 ticks remaining down one.
 
Baham took the inbound pass and drove straight to the basket and drew a foul, but missed the backend of two freebies. As the ball caromed off the right iron, Allen leaped and hauled in the offensive board, before going right back up for the hoop and the harm. The junior missed the free throw, but Jillian Ebron grabbed the Braves' third offensive rebound in the final two minutes to keep the ball out of Flagler's hands and secure the UNCP victory.
 
Monley finished with a team-best 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Allen chipped in 13 and grabbed nine rebounds. Baham and Jasmine Huntley each poured in 10 points, with six of Baham's 10 coming in the final three minutes. Blair Silliman added nine points on a trio of long balls in 14 minutes off the bench.
 
The Braves committed a season-low four turnovers and turned nine Flagler turnovers into 17 points, with 10 of those coming amidst the 15-0 run. UNCP outrebounded the Saints 47-38, including a glaring advantage on the offensive glass at 21-7.
 
The Saints jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the first frame, but the Black & Gold scored seven of the final nine points to trail just 14-12 at the end of one. The second quarter was the Silliman show, as the junior accounted for nine of the Braves' 18 points. UNCP scored the final 10 points of the quarter to haul a 30-25 lead into the locker rooms.
 
UNCP opens a two-game road trip Saturday with a trip to Augusta. Tipoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. on the front end of a women's-men's doubleheader. The Jaguars (10-9, 5-8 PBC) have dropped two straight and three of their last four dating back to Jan. 21. The Braves were 68-62 winners when the Jaguars visited Pembroke on Jan. 2.