PEMBROKE– The UNC Pembroke nearly rallied all the way back from a late six-point deficit, but Melanie Horne's last-ditch 3-pointer glanced off the front of the rim to help Georgia College escape with a 59-58 win over the Braves on Saturday at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
The setback marked the third-straight loss for the Braves (7-14, 6-9 PBC) who fell to 5-6 at home this season as well. It was the fourth-straight win for the Bobcats (10-11, 8-7) who were victimized by a buzzer-beater by the Braves earlier this season in Milledgeville, Ga.


 

THE BASICS

Score: Georgia College 59, UNC Pembroke 58  Records: UNC Pembroke 7-14, 6-9 PBC; Georgia College 10-11, 8-7 PBC Location: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

UNC Pembroke opened the game with eight-straight points and took its largest lead of the day, 8-0, on a jumper by Tee Graham just more than 4-1/2 minutes in. The Bobcats registered their first bucket on a 3-pointer by Keyonna Wesley at the 3:48 mark, but eventually scored the last five points of the period to cut their deficit back to one point, 13-12, heading into the second stanza

2ND QUARTER

The hot shooting for the Braves continued into the second period as Alecia Hardy canned the first six points of the quarter to stretch the lead back out to six points, 18-12. Jasmine McSwain broke a two-minute silence by both teams on a trey from the corner to make it a one-possession game, and then knotted the game up at 22 apiece just more than two minutes later on another 3-pointer. The Braves, however, would use two late free throws from Tee Graham to lug a 28-25 advantage into the intermission.

3RD QUARTER

Georgia College took their first lead of the afternoon on two free throws by Kenyatta Storms 90 seconds into the third quarter, but then rattled off 10-straight points to grab its largest lead of the day, 42-32, four minutes later. The Braves got eight-straight points from Danielle Heath to trim their deficit back to a single possession, 42-40, at the 2:11 mark, Jasmine McSwain added a 3-pointer for the Bobcats to give them a 45-40 edge heading into the final quarter.

4TH QUARTER

Danielle Heath's old fashioned 3-point play with 5:21 remaining gave the game its fourth tie score, but the Bobcats answered with a 6-0 scoring spurt and grabbed a 57-51 lead with 1:30 to play. UNCP got to within one point, 59-58, after Avery Locklear's jumper with 13 seconds left, and then forced a turnover by the Bobcats to set itself up for dramatics. Melanie Horne fell just short on a contested shot from the top of the key, and Alecia Hardy was unable to get another shot off before the buzzer sounded.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Freshman Danielle Heath led all scorers with a career high 18 points in 21 minutes of action. Heath just missed a double-double by grabbing eight rebounds as well. + Tee Graham produced 15 points on the afternoon, while also adding seven rebounds and a trio of steals as well. + Melanie Horne pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and just missed her fourth double-double in the last five games with eight points.

NOTABLES

+ Georgia College has now captured four of the last five matchups with the Braves at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. + The Braves got 22 points from its bench on Saturday, including 18 by Danielle Heath. + The Black & Gold held Georgia College to just 31.5% shooting from the field on Saturday. The Bobcats are the 16thteam that the Braves have held to sub 40-percent shooting in the 2018-19 season.  + UNC Pembroke shot 40.4 percent from the field on Saturday – its best shooting performance since turning in 59.6 percent shooting in a 94-73 victory over Georgia Southwestern.

UP NEXT

The Braves will close out a two-game home stand on Wednesday when they take on Augusta (5-16, 4-11 PBC) on Semi-Pro 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.