PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team hit on 12 of its final 17 shots from the midpoint of the third quarter through the final horn, but visiting Clayton State knocked down one of its 10 long balls with 37 seconds to play to take the lead for good in a 71-69 defeat of the Black & Gold on Saturday afternoon at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: UNC Pembroke 69, Clayton State 71
Records: UNC Pembroke (6-9, 4-7 PBC); Clayton State (8-8, 5-5 PBC)
Location: Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court
Series: Clayton State leads 18-9

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST QUARTER
-Both teams led by as many as four in a well-played opening period that saw the Braves and Lakers combine for a 42.4-percent shooting clip from the floor.
-Nine of Clayton State's Aysia Grimsley's 17 points came in the first 10 minutes of action, while both Nyla Allen and Aliyah Farmer scored six in the first quarter for UNCP.

SECOND QUARTER
-Clayton State started the second frame on a 9-0 run in 2:13 to extend its lead out to 29-19, which was the largest lead of the game for either side.
-The Braves battled back with an 11-4 run in the final 6:36 of the quarter to claw back within three at 35-32 as the teams trekked to the locker rooms.

THIRD QUARTER
-The guests led for the majority of the third stanza and by as many as seven with 4:21 to play in the quarter.
-Down five with under 70 seconds on the clock, UNCP made four trips to free-throw line and Ebone Stevens hit her only long ball of the game with seven ticks left to give the Black & Gold a 52-51 edge after three.
-After combining for just nine points in the first 5:39 of the frame, the teams scored a total of 29 points in the final 4:21 on 7-of-11 shooting.

FOURTH QUARTER
-An Alecia Hardy layup with 4:16 on the clock gave the Braves a 62-58 lead, which matched the largest advantage of the game for the home squad.
-The Lakers scored seven of the next nine points to turn their deficit into a one-point lead at 65-64 with under three minutes showing on the clock.
-UNCP regained the lead on an Allen layup at the 1:33 mark and a Stevens free throw with 50 seconds left before Clayton State's Takwana Bland buried one of her four 3-pointers with 37 ticks left to put the Lakers up 71-69.
-Out of a timeout, Hardy was tasked with the final Black & Gold shot, but her potential game-tying jumper from in the paint was off the mark and the Lakers held on for the two-point victory.

NOTABLES
-Halfway through the PBC slate, the Braves find themselves in a tie for eighth in the league race, while Clayton State solidified seventh place with Saturday's win. The top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament in March.
-Allen's game-high 22 points are one shy of her career high set earlier this season against Augusta. The senior was 7-of-9 from the floor and set career standards with eight free throws made and 10 attempts from the charity stripe. She also grabbed nine boards to come one shy of her sixth-career double-double.
-Redshirt-senior Kasey Drayton chipped in a UNCP career-high 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Jillian Ebron also set a new career mark with 11 points of her own.
-Clayton's States 10 made 3-pointers are the second most allowed by the Braves this season, but UNCP held the Lakers to just nine steals (14.2 average) and 16 points off turnovers (23.5 average).

UP NEXT
The Braves hit the road for a short, two-game road trip beginning with a Wednesday tilt at Francis Marion. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. on the front end of a women's-men's doubleheader at the Smith University Center in Florence. The Patriots (11-5, 8-3 PBC) had won three-straight overall and eight of their last nine before a 61-47 setback to Flagler on Saturday. Francis Marion, who is 18-7 at home all-time against UNCP, is currently in a tie for third in the league race.