AUGUSTA, Ga. – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team scored 18 points off turnovers and dominated Southern Wesleyan on the glass to key a 56-44 victory over the Warriors in the opening game of the Augusta-hosted PBC/Conference Carolinas Challenge on Friday evening in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
 
The Braves (1-0) opened the season with a victory for the fourth-straight year and improved to 10-6 in season openers under head coach John Haskins. Southern Wesleyan (0-1) has now dropped three of its last four season-opening contests.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 56, Southern Wesleyan 44 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 1-0; Southern Wesleyan 0-1 LOCATION: Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The Braves shot nearly 42 percent from the field in the opening quarter, but the Warriors committed just one turnover to keep themselves in the game. Tiana Sherman broke a nearly two-minute scoring drought with a layup at the 3:40 mark that gave Southern Wesleyan a 10-8 advantage, but  pair of free throws from Aliyah Farmer on the other end of the court sparked the Braves on a 6-0 run that was capped on a layup by Farmer more than two minutes later. Southern Wesleyan, however, would close out the period on a 6-0 run of its own to retake the lead, 16-14.

2ND QUARTER

The Warriors went scoreless for more than four minutes in the second quarter, and the Braves took advantage by stringing together six-straight points to forge a 26-20 advantage with 1:50 left before the intermission. Southern Wesleyan broke its scoring drought on a layup from Iva Krstevska at the 1:17 mark, but a Melanie Horne 3-pointer on the ensuing possession helped UNCP keep the momentum. The Black & Gold would eventually lug a 31-25 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

Southern Wesleyan limited the Braves to just one point through the first six minutes of the third quarter, but the Braves maintained their advantage and eventually took a 37-31 lead on a running layup from Deja McCain at the 2:37 mark. The Warriors made it a two-point game on a pair of free throws from Breanna Richardson with 89 seconds left, but the Black & Gold scored three of the final four points to take a two-possession lead, 40-36, into the final quarter.

4TH QUARTER

Breanna Richardson's 3-pointer 29 seconds into the fourth quarter brought Southern Wesleyan to within a point, 40-39, but the Braves scored six-straight points after that to pull away for good. Denisha Hall's running jumper with 3:36 left to play made it a 49-44 contest, but the Black & Gold scored the game's final seven points to provide the final.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Melanie Horne scored a team-best 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including a 3-of-4 success rate in the second quarter alone. + Newcomer Deja McCain, a transfer from North Carolina Central, came off the bench to score 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while also pulling down a game-best six rebounds. It was the most points for McCain since her sophomore season in Durham. + Aliyah Farmer scored 10 points as well on 3-of-5 shooting, while also totaling a game-best six rebounds. + UNCP went 12-of-15 (80.0 percent)from the free throw line, including a 6-for-6 performance from the charity stripe in the first half. + The Braves shot 41.3 percent (12-of-29) in the first half, but just 32.1 percent (9-of-28) in the second half. They finished with 36.8 percent shooting for the game. + UNCP out-rebounded the Warriors, 46-30, while also out-scoring SWU 32-20 in the paint. + Both teams committed 13 turnovers, but the Black & Gold registered an 18-8 advantage on points off turnovers.

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

UNCP will wrap up its portion of play in the Augusta-hosted PBC/Conference Carolinas Challenge on Saturday when they take on Barton inside the Christenberry Fieldhouse. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.

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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.