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MOUNT OLIVE – The visiting UNC Pembroke women's basketball team clinched its first victory of the season as the Braves held Mount Olive to just nine field goals and a mere 16.1 percent shooting from the field to log the 51-37 victory in regional play on Saturday afternoon inside the Kornegay Arena.

The Braves (1-1) extended its winning streak in the series with Mount olive (2-2) to two games and a 23-3 record in the series, while the loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Trojans.

Seniors Kierra Haney and Avae' Hardy along with sophomore Phoenicia Lawson captured double-digit scoring as Haney led the way with 12 including 8-for-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Both Hardy and Lawson tallied 10 points, as Hardy notched three a of the team's six treys. Leading the way with eight rebounds was senior Jazmine Kemp and sophomore Katelyn Mitchell.

"I was really proud of our girls' effort today," said UNCP head coach John Haskins. "I thought the intensity and how hard we played defensively was the key to the game. Our girls did a really good job and played hard on the defensive end. I thought we competed pretty well on the glass and offensive did much better."

Mount Olive posted a meager 9.4 percent shooting in the first half as the team drained just three three-pointers and followed in up in the second half with four treys and a pair of field goals. Ni'ya Styles collected four field goals and finished the game with 11 points, while Ty Wallace nabbed a game-high 11 boards.

Despite giving up 18 turnovers, UNCP capitalized 19 points off Mount Olive's 14 mistakes and added another 18 points in the paint. The Black and Gold registered one extra foul shot than the Trojans and out-rebounded Mount Olive 44-43, but was able to use 41.7 percent shooting from the field in the first stanza to soar past the Trojans.

Kemp chipped in the first points of the game on a layup at the 19:48 mark and nailed another three points along with a free throw by Kierry Haney to give the Braves a 6-0 lead. Mount Olive put its first point on the board at the 16:12 mark, but UNCP controlled the lead for the remainder of the half. Haney's two foul shots gave UNCP it is largest lead of the half with 15 points and sent the two teams into the locker rooms at intermission with a 30-17 score.

Coming out of the break, UNCP again held Mount Olive scoreless through the first 2:49 minutes of the second stanza and used a 7-3 run on Hardy's long three-pointer for a 17-point lead. The Trojans were unable to cut the deficit to single digits as UNCP lead by 19 points on another Hardy three-pointer with 3:50 remaining and finished the game with a 14-point victory.

The Braves will open up the home portion of their 2014-15 schedule with a Tuesday battle against Livingstone (3-0). Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and admission into the contest with three canned food items is free.