PEMBROKE – Despite holding the lead until Livingstone's Cierra York's three-pointer with five minutes remaining in the game, the UNC Pembroke women's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season to the Blue Bears in a nail-biting 62-60 decision on Tuesday evening inside the English E. Jones Center.

Livingstone (4-0) remained perfect on the season and moved the series record with UNCP (1-2) to 2-1, while the Braves fell in its second contest of the season.

Senior Kierra Haney pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds including 11 on the defensive boards, while Avae' Hardy and Jazmine Kemp logged double-digit scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore Jasmine Huntley dished out seven assists as the Braves completed the contest with 20 team assists.

"They are a really good team and I thought we did a great job defensively and they didn't shoot the ball very well in the first half," said UNCP head coach John Haskins. "They got pretty warmed up in the seconds half and hit some huge shots that we couldn't contest. I thought the difference was 1) our turnovers and 2) failure to execute and be aggressive down the stretch offensively."

UNCP out-rebounded Livingstone 51-41 and tallied 35.5 percent shooting from the field, 25.8 percent from the arc and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe, while holding the Blue Bears to 30.4 percent shooting and a mere eight field goals in the first half.

UNCP opened up the first half with a 8-0 lead through the first seven minute of the game as Haney, Kemp, Katelyn Mitchell and Phoenicia Lawson used a team effort to deliver the strong offensive charge. At the 13:26 mark, Livingstone put its first points on the board with a jumper by Alexis Fowler and despite using a 12-7 run to come to within one point with nine minute left to play before the half, the Braves controlled the four-point lead going into the locker room, 28-24.

In the final stanza, UNCP extended its lead to 16 points with a trey by Mitchell to give UNCP a 14-2 run, but Livingstone began chipping away at the lead and took the lead at the 4:50 mark. The final five minutes had the score pacing back-and-forth, and using Mitchell's three-pointer with 00:46 on the clock the Braves down by one, the Blue Bears held off the charge and finished the game with the two-point win.

Precious Roberts finished the game with 20 points, while Cierra York was one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Blue Bears captured 12 steals and scored 16 points off UNCP's 19 turnovers, but the Braves proved dominate in the paint with 18 points and 11 on second chance opportunities.

UNCP will return to action on Sunday with a 2 p.m. tipoff against regional foe Wingate (2-3) inside the English E. Jones Center.