PEMBROKE – Visiting Francis Marion closed the first quarter on a 17-4 run and never looked back in a 65-50 defeat of the UNC Pembroke women's basketball team on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court, but the Braves clinched a spot in the upcoming Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament thanks to Georgia College's 73-45 road win over Young Harris.

The Braves (10-15, 8-13 PBC) saw a two-game winning streak come to an end with the setback on Wednesday, but will be making back-to-back appearances in the league tourney for the first time since 2010-11 and 2011-12. UNCP will be the No. 8-seed and head to Dahlonega, Georgia for a quarterfinal matchup with No. 1-seed North Georgia on Feb. 28. Francis Marion (15-11, 12-9 PBC) had lost five of their last six before Wednesday's victory and will be the No. 6 or No. 7-seed in the PBC Tournament.

Nyla Allen scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-18 shooting for the Braves, who failed to make a 3-pointer in a game for the first time this season (0-for-6). Alecia Hardy tacked on nine points, including a 7-for-12 mark from the charity stripe, while Jillian Ebron hauled in a game-best nine rebounds in 18 minutes.

Khai Chandler poured in a game-best 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting for Francis Marion, who led for over 36 minutes and shot 41 percent from the field. Shaunice Fulmore chipped in 16 points and Tatyana McClaney added 14 for the guests.

With the score knotted at 4-4 and under 6:30 to play in the opening quarter, the Patriots rattled off a 17-4 run in just over five minutes to lead 21-6 before Allen's third basket of the period brought the Braves to within 21-8 after one. UNCP pulled as close as 10 with just over five minutes to play in the second quarter, but Francis Marion scored nine of the next 10 points to go up by 18.

Francis Marion built its largest lead of the game thanks to an 18-3 run in the third before the Braves outscored the guests 19-9 in the final period.

The Braves wrap up the regular season Saturday when Flagler makes the long trip up I-95 for a 1:30 p.m. tip at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. UNCP will honor four seniors on Saturday before they play their final game in Pembroke.