PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball held red-hot Flagler to its worst shooting day of the season, but the Saints bridged the third and fourth quarters with a 13-2 run to fuel a 51-41 victory over the Braves on Saturday afternoon at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The setback snapped a three-game home win streak for the Braves (7-11, 6-6 PBC) who fell to 10-9 all-time in the series with the Saints. It was the 10^th win in the last 11 outings for Flagler (14-5, 10-3) who improved to 5-2 in true road games this season as well.

 

THE BASICS

Score: Flagler 51, UNC Pembroke 41 Records: UNC Pembroke 7-11, 6-6 PBC; Flagler 14-5, 10-3 PBC Location: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The Braves grabbed their first lead of the game, 5-4, on Alecia Hardy's 3-pointer just more than a minute into the contest, but Flagler reeled off 12-straight points over the next 6-1/2 minutes and eventually took a 16-7 lead into the second period.

2ND QUARTER

The Saints led by as many as 14 points after Tabitha Odabe's jumper at the 7:59 mark, but UNCP had whittled its deficit back to single digits, 21-13, after Tee Graham's fastbreak layup midway through the quarter. The Braves scored the final five points of the quarter – a 3-pointer by Graham and a jumper from Alecia Hardy – but still trailed by six points, 26-20, heading into the intermission.

3RD QUARTER

UNCP knotted the game at 26 apiece off a big 3-pointer from Melanie Horne two minutes into the third period, but Flagler hit a 3-pointer on the other end of the court, and then got a short jumper from Tabitha Odabe to grab a 33-28 advantage. The Black & Gold, however, would put together a late scoring surge, and took its second lead of the day, 37-36, on Danielle Heath's layup with eight ticks left.

4TH QUARTER

The Saints scored nine of the first 11 points in the fourth quarter and eventually took a 45-39 advantage on two free throws by Tabitha Odabe with 5:59 to play. Neither team would score a point for a good portion of the next six minutes of action. Flagler pushed its lead out to double-digits, 49-39, on two free throws from Kierra Crane with 36 seconds remaining. The Braves converted on just one of their 16 field goal attempts over the game's final eight minutes.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Melanie Horne scored a team-high 13 points on the afternoon, and pulled down eight rebounds to finish just shy of posting her third double-double in as many outings. + Tee Graham added 11 points, while also tallying three steals, two assists and four rebounds.   + Newcomer Danielle Heath grabbed a career-high seven boards.

NOTABLES

+ The Black & Gold has now held 10-straight opponents to sub-40 percent shooting. Flagler shot just 32 percent from the field on Saturday. + Flagler's 51 points was its second-lowest point total of the 2018-19 season. The 32.7 percent shooting performance by the Saints was their worst since registering a 31.3 percent shooting effort in a loss at North Georgia on Jan. 15, 2018. + The setback snapped a three-game home win streak for the Braves who fell to 5-5 at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court in 2018-19.

UP NEXT

The Braves will travel to Greenwood, S.C. on Wednesday for a midweek matchup against Peach Belt Conference-leading Lander (15-5, 12-2 PBC). Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. inside Horne Arena.

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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.