PEMBROKE – The UNCP women's basketball team used a healthy rebound margin and a 9-2 run late in the second half to key a 69-62 win over visiting Queens University on Monday evening at the English E. Jones Center. 

The Lady Braves (3-2) collected 45 rebounds, including 37 defensive rebounds, compared to just 38 total rebounds from the Royals (2-1). UNCP moves to 8-1 all-time against region opponent Queens and picks up its third straight victory. The Lady Braves won the advantage in fastbreak points, 12-2, as well as points in the paint, 38-20. The Royals grabbed 15 steals, outmatching the Lady Braves who picked up nine steals. 

UNCP received double-digit scoring performances from four different players. Jazmine Kemp, Chandrica Fuller and Wayne Mack totaled 13 points apiece, as Courtney Bolton added 11. Kemp tallied a team-best nine rebounds and Mack delivered an additional eight boards for the Black and Gold. 

Sarah Myatt led the way for the Queens' offense and defense with 14 points and nine rebounds. Shonice Pettay added nine points for the Royals, while Lacey Singletary and Dyonna Battle scored seven points apiece. 

"It was a struggle. I told the girls that Queens is going to trap us and press us hard, and that was true. They trapped every possession and trapped almost every pass. I don't think we did a terrible job of handling early, we got a little better, but we still weren't as good as we needed to be in terms of handling their traps and handling their pressure. We did attack some, and did get layups and score," said UNCP head coach John Haskins. "It was a good win, I knew it would be a tough win, I knew it would be ugly, just the way they play. We hung on and we'll get better because of it."

The Royals brought a 29-27 lead into the second half. UNCP shot 50 percent from the field and was able to take a nine-point lead over Queens, bringing the score to 54-45 with seven minutes remaining. After an 8-0 run, the Royals tied the game up at 56-56 late in the game. Despite committing 11 second half turnovers, UNCP rode a 13-6 run to close the game out. 

Both teams suffered poor shooting percentages in the first half, as the Lady Braves were held to just a 34.8 shooting percentage and the Royals could only garner a 27.5 percentage from the field. UNCP fell behind early, 15-7, just seven minutes into the game. The Royals took advantage of 13 UNCP turnovers in the first half, which Queens converted into 12 points. 

"We've played five games and now we can assess what we really need to work on and get better at. The thing is, we've been going pretty hard, so it will give the girls some time off at Thanksgiving. So hopefully they come back rejuvenated a little bit and we can work on some things and get ready for Wingate," said Haskins. "I think we need to keep getting better and hopefully we will. The girls are working hard, this is a good bunch of kids. The play well together and they work hard."

The Lady Braves will be back in action when they host Wingate (3-1) on December 1st. UNCP will take on the Bulldogs for the second time this season at 4 p.m. in the English E. Jones Center.

To watch the full game click HERE.