MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State scored 22 points off of 26 turnovers by the UNC Pembroke women's basketball team, and held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Braves on the way to a 58-52 victory on Saturday afternoon at The Loch.
 
The setback snapped a two-game win streak for the Braves (6-11, 5-6 PBC) who fell to 5-9 all-time on the road against the Lakers. The triumph put an end to a two-game losing streak for Clayton State (11-6, 7-4 PBC) who improved to 6-3 at home in 2018-19.


 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Clayton State 58, UNC Pembroke 52  RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 6-11, 5-6 PBC; Clayton State 11-6, 7-4 PBC) LOCATION: Morrow, Ga. (The Loch)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The Lakers scored eight-straight points and eventually took a 14-5 lead on Valencia Johnson's jumper with 3:30 left in the period, but UNCP closed the opening period with eight-straight points of their own to make it a 16-15 contest heading to the second quarter.

2ND QUARTER

Both teams endured a nearly two-minute scoring drought, but Clayton State led by as many as seven points, 27-20, after an old-fashioned 3-pointer with 2:05 left before the intermission. The Braves, however, would score seven of the final nine points of the half, and trailed by one possession, 29-27, heading into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

The Braves registered their first bucket of the second half on ShaNiya Lester's layup at the 7:31 mark, and Clayton State eventually took advantage of the cold shooting by the Braves to spark an 8-0 run. Naomi Gilbert stopped the bleeding for UNC Pembroke on a fastbreak layup, with just less than four minutes remaining, but the Braves still trailed by seven points heading to the final stanza.

4TH QUARTER

Clayton State took its largest lead of the afternoon, 53-40, on a made free throw by Brittany Williams with 4:23 remaining, but the hosts went 1-for-4 from the field and turned the ball over three times. That opened the door for UNCP who whittled its deficit all the way down to five points, 57-52, after a 3-pointer by Brianna Baham with 18 seconds remaining.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Melanie Horne recorded her first career double-double, scoring a career high 22-points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Horne also tallied three steals and two blocks.  + Aliyah Farmer and Naomi Gilbert both added five points on the afternoon. Farmer registered five rebounds and two steals as well, while Gilbert added two rebounds.

NOTABLES

+ The Braves are now 1-5 this season in games decided by two or less possessions. That record includes a 56-55 victory at Georgia College that came via a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Tee Graham. + UNCP has registered at least one block in all 17 games this season, and two or more blocks in 16 of those outings. The Black & Gold recorded three swats on Saturday against the Lakers. + The Black & Gold has now held eight-straight opponents to sub-40 percent shooting. Wingate (42.9) was the last team to shoot 40 percent or better against the Braves back on Dec. 30, 2018. + Clayton State led for nearly 38-1/2 minutes on Saturday. UNCP led 3-2 after Melanie Horne's trey with 8:21 left in the first period, but Madison Newby gave the hosts the lead for good on a pair of free throws 32 seconds later.

UP NEXT

The Braves will open up a two-game home stand on Wednesday when they take on I-95 rival Francis Marion (8-7, 5-6 PBC) on Military Appreciation Night at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 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.