AUGUSTA, Ga. – Barton scored 21 points off of 20 turnovers by the UNC Pembroke basketball team and used a 9-2 run in the fourth quarter to run past the Braves, 76-72, on Saturday afternoon at the Augusta-hosted PBC/Conference Carolinas Challenge in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
 
The setback marked the first loss of the season for the Braves (1-1) who registered a 56-44 victory over Southern Wesleyan in the opening game of the round-robin tournament on Friday. Saturday's triumph, coupled with Friday evening's 43-point victory over Augusta, left the Bulldogs (2-0) as the only unbeaten team at the PBC/Conference Carolinas Challenge.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Barton 76, UNC Pembroke 72 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 1-1; Barton 2-0 LOCATION: Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Barton went 0-for-5 from the field and committed five turnovers in the first 3-1/2 minutes and the Braves took advantage by taking an 8-0 lead on Melanie Horne's 3-pointer at the 7:03 mark. The Bulldogs used a 9-2 run to climb back into the game, but the Braves scored the final three points of the period, including back-to-back buckets from Tee Graham, to take a 13-9 lead into the second quarter.

2ND QUARTER

Brianna Baham gave the Braves a 15-11 lead with a pair of free throws just 56 seconds into the second period, but Barton responded with six-straight points to grab its first lead of the contest. A back-and-forth game for much of the remainder of the half, UNCP took a 31-29 advantage on a 3-pointer from Melanie Horne with 64 seconds left and eventually lugged a 32-31 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

The Bulldogs strung together an 8-0 scoring spurt midway through the third quarter and eventually led by nine points, 47-38, after a running layup from Dinah Neal at the 4:22 mark. UNCP whittled its deficit back to four points, 52-48, on Aliyah Farmer's jumper with 1:34 left in the period, but Kianna Wynn scored the next three points and cushioned BC's lead out to 55-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

4TH QUARTER

The Braves scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to knot the score up at 55 apiece, and eventually retook the lead, 62-59, on Ieshia Love's 3-pointer at the 5:37 mark. Akira Wiggins' jumper with 4:08 left to play ignited the Bulldogs on a 9-2 run that fueled a 70-64 lead with 2:10 to play, but the Braves hung around and used a 3-pointer from Brianna Baham to make it a 2-point game, 72-70, with 22 seconds remaining.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Melanie Horne led all scorers with a career-best 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Braves. Horne scored 14 of her points in the opening half. + Junior Tee Graham finished her day with 14 points, her best offensive day since registering 15 points at Georgia College on Feb. 3, 2018. + Senior Brianna Baham came off the bench to score 13 points in as many minutes for the Black & Gold. Baham added two rebounds and a pair of assists as well. + UNCP shot 49 percent (25-for-51) against the Bulldogs, including a 12-for-24 success rate in the first half. The Braves also canned 15 of their 18 attempts (83.3 percent) from the free throw line as well. + Despite falling on the wrong end of a 26-20 rebounding disparity, the Braves outscored the Bulldogs 14-4 in the paint.

NOTABLES

+ Friday's matchup between the Braves and Southern Wesleyan was the first meeting between the two squads. The Warriors transitioned from the NAIA level to NCAA Division II, as well as Conference Carolinas, in time for the 2016-17 athletic season. + The teams combined to shoot 6-of-50 (12 percent) from the perimeter in Friday's contest, including a 4-for-34 (11.8 percent) clip by the Warriors.

UP NEXT

+ Saturday's matchup was the first time in nearly 20 years that UNCP has played Barton in women's basketball. The Braves opened the series with a 73-46 win over the Bulldogs on Nov. 24, 1998. + The Braves are shooting 81.8 percent (27-for-33) at the free throw line through two games of the 2018-19 campaign. UNCP shot just 69.6 percent from the charity stripe through the first two games of the 2017-18 campaign.

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JOIN THE BRAVES CLUB

Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Women's Basketball program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu.