Box Score

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Senior forward Jonissa Monley set a season best with 16 rebounds and cashed in 17 points for her fifth double-double of the season, powering the UNC Pembroke women's basketball team past Peach Belt Conference (PBC) foe Montevallo 76-56 at Trustmark Arena Monday evening.

The triumph is the fourth in the last five games for the Braves (9-4, 4-2 PBC), who improve to 7-1 all-time over Montevallo and a perfect 4-0 at Trustmark Arena. The setback is the sixth consecutive for the Falcons (3-9, 0-5 PBC), who remain one of two teams without a league win.

UNCP proved dominant from the opening tip, jumping out to 16-4 lead in the first quarter behind four 3-pointers, including a pair from sophomore Avery Locklear. Knotted at 2-2, Locklear found the bottom of the net on three-straight possessions to extend the advantage to 10-2 and the guests never trailed again.

Up by 10 (16-6) at the end of the first quarter, the Black & Gold lead swelled to 12 on a Monley jumper with 8:47 on the clock in the second, but Montevallo answered with a 13-4 run to claw within three with under five to play in the half. The Braves closed the period with six of the final eight points to haul a 30-23 lead into the locker rooms.

The hosts found themselves down just six at the 3:13 mark of the third stanza, but UNCP hit on a trio of long balls and a jumper on its final four possessions of the quarter to go up by 17 and didn't allow Montevallo to pull any closer than 13 in the fourth en route to victory.

Monley becomes just the fourth PBC player to record at least five double-doubles this season and now leads the Braves in points (11.0) and rebounds (8.6) per game. Her rebounding average is good for seventh-best in the league.

Monday was the second-consecutive contest the Braves have put at least four players in double-figure scoring after having five last time out. Locklear tied a career best with four long balls and canned 14 points, while Ebone Stevens also converted on four from deep for 12 points. Jasmine Huntley added 10 points, the eighth time this season she's gone for at least that many.

As a team, the Braves knocked down a season-best 10 3-pointers and shot at a 40.6-percent clip from the floor, compared to Montevallo's 31.7-percent mark. The Falcons shot just 13.6 percent from behind the arc, the third-consecutive game the UNCP defense has held the opponent to under 14 percent shooting from deep. Monday marked the fifth game in a row UNCP has outrebounded the opposition and the ninth time this season in 13 tilts.

After a rare Wednesday off, the Braves return home Saturday to host Young Harris in a PBC affair. Tipoff is slated for 1:30 on the front end of a women's-men's doubleheader at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The Mountain Lions (6-5, 2-2 PBC) are 3-3 away from home this season and are 1-2 against UNCP all-time.