PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team shot nearly 88 percent from the free throw line and used a pair of key 3-pointers in the overtime period to turn back visiting Francis Marion, 76-69, on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The triumph snapped a five-game series losing streak for the Braves (7-10, 6-5 PBC) who had not beaten Francis Marion since a 75-63 home triumph on Jan. 13, 2016. It was the fifth-straight road loss for the Patriots (8-8, 5-7) who have not won in an opponent's arena since December 17.



 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 76, Francis Marion 69  RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 7-10, 6-5 PBC; Francis Marion 8-8, 5-7 PBC LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Francis Marion took its largest lead of the game, 15-8, on two free throws from Kiana Adderton at the 1:44 mark, but the Braves scored the next seven points – including five from the charity stripe – to knot the game back up 87 seconds later. Adderton's buzzer-beating trey gave the visitors an 18-15 lead heading to the second period.

2ND QUARTER

UNC Pembroke took advantage of a cold-shooting spell from Francis Marion and opened the quarter on a 12-0 run before eventually staking claim to a 27-18 advantage midway through the period. Tatyana McClaney's jumper with 4:40 left in the half would cut the Patriots deficit back to 27-20, but the Black & Gold scored seven of the next eight points and took their largest lead of the night, 34-21, on a pair of free throws from Naomi Gilbert with 2-1/2 minutes left before the break. The Braves trotted into the locker room with a 39-28 lead.

3RD QUARTER

UNCP held a 43-32 advantage after Alecia Hardy's jumper with just less than six minutes left, but a running layup from Kiana Adderton with 2:24 remaining cut the Patriots deficit back to single digits, 48-42. The Braves would pick up key points from the free throw line to stretch their lead back out to double digits, 55-44, and heading into the final period of regulation.

4TH QUARTER

UNCP led by nine points, 57-48, after Tee Graham's jumper with 6:59 to play, but the Patriots hung around and eventually scored the last seven points in regulation to send the game to overtime. Melanie Horne's desperation shot in the final milliseconds caught nothing but the bottom of the net, but was waved off by officials.

OVERTIME

Melanie Horne and Tee Graham both knocked down key 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the extra period, and the Patriots missed their final six field goal attempts to provide the final. The Black & Gold took the lead on Graham's trey with 2:18 left and never looked back, eventually padding their cushion out to eight points with 32 ticks left.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Tee Graham scored a career- and game-high 23 points, and fell just shy of her second career double-double with nine rebounds as well. Graham also posted a game-high six assists as well. + Melanie Horne picked up her second career double-double in as many outings, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 boards. + Newcomer Danielle Heath scored a critical five points in five minutes of play in overtime.

NOTABLES

+ The Black & Gold has now held nine-straight opponents to sub-40 percent shooting. Francis Marion shot 33.3 percent from the field, including a 1-for-8 (.125) clip in overtime. + The triumph snapped a five-game series losing streak for the Braves who had not beaten Francis Marion since a 75-63 home triumph on Jan. 13, 2016. + UNC Pembroke capitalized from the charity stripe cashing in on 21 out of 24 attempts (87.5%) on the night. It is the third time this season that the Braves have registered 20 or more made free throws. + The Braves have now won three of their last four PBC contests, with all three wins coming at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

UP NEXT

The Braves will be back in action on Saturday when they welcome Flagler (13-5, 9-3 PBC) on Alumni Day at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 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.