Box Score

PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball squad outscored visiting Lander 33-25 in the second half, including a dagger 3-pointer from Ebone Stevens with just 22 ticks on the clock to topple Peach Belt Conference (PBC) East Division foe Lander 63-60 Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The win is the fifth-consecutive for the Braves (12-4, 7-2 PBC), who move into sole possession of first place in the PBC East Division. It's the first time in program history the Black & Gold has started league play with at least seven wins in their first nine outings. Lander (10-6, 4-3 PBC) falls for just the second time in their last six games and drop a game to UNCP for just the third time since the 2009-10 season (14-3).
 
Down five coming out of the locker rooms, the Braves whittled away at the deficit, finally pulling ahead on a 8-0 run that was sparked by a Brianna Baham 3-pointer at the 5:10 mark of the third. When Jonissa Monley hit a jumper with 4:05 on the clock, the Black & Gold found themselves out front for the first time since late in the opening period.
 
Lander regained the lead at the start of the final stanza, but Monley put the hosts back out front at the 2:12 mark and the Braves never surrendered the advantage. The Bearcats pulled to within one on a pair of freebies with 47 seconds to play, but Stevens' found a sweet spot in the left corner on a pass from Airico Williams and buried the long range shot to push the lead back to four. The guests missed a trio of 3-pointers and a free throw in the final 17 seconds to put the icing on the UNCP victory.
 
Four Braves canned double-digit points, led by a dominating performance from Monley, pacing the squad with a season-high 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting, just one point off her career best. The senior hauled in 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the campaign, one of just six PBC players with at least six. Monley tied career standards with a 10-for-12 performance at the charity stripe and tacked on four blocks and an assist.
 
Baham poured in 14 points, playing all 40 minutes with the absence of point guard Jasmine Huntley. Only eight Braves saw the floor in the win, with just six playing over 11 minutes. It's the third-consecutive double-digit outing for Baham and five in the last six games. Stevens added 11 points and Nyla Allen cashed in 10, also grabbing a game-best and season-high 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
 
The Black & Gold shot 45 percent from the floor (20-of-44), while holding Lander to just 29-percent shooting (21-for-73), including 9-of-42 from behind the arc. The Braves outrebounded the guests 45-36, highlighted by a 38-19 advantage on the defensive end. UNCP led for 12:31 of a game that saw four ties and nine lead changes.
 
The Braves will hit the road Saturday for an important interdivision league battle with USC Aiken. The Pacers (10-8, 6-3 PBC) sit second in the East race, just one game behind the Black & Gold. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The Pacers had won six straight before falling 61-59 to Armstrong State Wednesday night.