GREENWOOD, S.C. – An impressive field goal shooting percentage of 42.6 percent gave the UNCP women's basketball team the advantage in the 63-62 nail-biting victory over No. 19 Lander on Saturday afternoon in Horne Arena.

UNCP (15-11, 12-6 PBC) recorded its highest number of wins in conference action since joining the NCAA Division II in 1992 and also marked the most wins in conference action under head coach John Haskins. The Lady Braves posted their fourth-consecutive victory this season and have won seven of their last eight games. 

The Lady Braves snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with Lander (20-6, 15-3) and captured their first victory in Horne Arena since Jan. 31, 2007. The victory marked the second time this season that the Black and Gold have defeated a nationally-ranked team and the first time that accomplishment has been achieved in school history.

UNCP has shot more than 40.0 percent from the field for three-straight games and for the 12th time this season. The Black and Gold were led by four athletes in double figures as Amelia Partin led the offense with 18 points. Taylor Gallentine and Jasmine Hairston each drained 12 points, while DeDe Cotten notched 11 points and led the defense with nine rebounds.

Partin and Cotten each nailed a trio of shots from behind the arc, while Gallenitne and Cotten were perfect from the charity stripe. 

Despite being out-rebounded by four and committing two additional turnovers, UNCP proved a strong offensive game with accurate shooting be the determining factor in a win. Along with a strong field goal shooting percentage, UNCP was 35.3 percent from the 3-point line and 70.8 percent from the foul line.

"I am really proud of the girls' effort," said Haskins. "I thought that everyone that came in the game did something positive, but it was a total team effort."

The Bearcats held onto the lead from the start of the game and kept the Lady Braves pacing to within three points, until UNCP took the first lead of the game on Washington's layup at the 3:53 mark in the first half with a score of 23-22. Throughout the final four minutes, the lead changed three times and the score was tied twice. 

Coming out of halftime with the lead, the Black and Gold pulled ahead by four points, but lead tossed back-and-forth, until the game was tied for the eighth time with less than three minutes left to play. Gallentine pushed the squad ahead by two with her free throws, but Ciara Lyons brought the Bearcats to within one on her foul shot. 

Hairston and Partin gave the squad a three –point lead, but the clutch shot was the final foul shot by freshman PBC Player of the Week Jazmine Kemp to put the team up by four. Brittni Johnson connected on a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining, but due to Kemp's previous foul shot, UNCP put away the epic victory.

"Overall this was a very good win and I am proud of it. The girls kept battling and kept believing they were going to win."

UNCP knocked down 26 points in the paint, while Lander had 24. Johnson was the leading scorer for Lander with 22 points, while Lyons totaled 13 points and eight rebounds. The Bearcats shot 35.0 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from the foul line.
 "We are excited about having some momentum about going into the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and I know we have a tough draw with Columbus State in the first round." 

The East Division's third-seeded Lady Braves look ahead to the first round of the PBC Tournament on Wednesday against the West Division's second-seed Columbus State (16-10, 11-6). The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ga., inside the Lumpkin Center.