PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team converted on half of its field goal attempts in the second half, scored more than half of its points in the paint and limited Augusta to just nine points in both the second and third quarters to key a 71-55 victory over the Jaguars on Saturday afternoon at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

The victory snapped a six game losing streak for the Braves (7-9, 2-6 PBC) who picked up their first win in Pembroke since mid-December as well. The Jaguars (7-8, 4-3 PBC) have now dropped three out of their last four contests, as well as their last three away from home.

 

THE BASICS

Score: UNC Pembroke 71, Augusta 55 Records: UNC Pembroke 7-9, 2-6 PBC; Augusta 7-8, 4-3 PBC Location: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

UNC Pembroke took a 13-6 lead off of a 3-pointer from Courtney Smith at the 6:20 mark. Augusta clawed back and eventually knotted the score up at 17 apiece on a made free throw with 1:17 left, but Melanie Horne's 3-ball 16 seconds later put the hosts back on top, 20-17, heading into the second period.

2ND QUARTER

The Black & Gold limited the Jaguars to just 4-for-18 field goal shooting and took its largest lead of the half, 33-24, on a free throw from Melanie Horne with 3:33 remaining in the half. Both teams suffered cold-shooting spells for three minutes before Augusta's Kennedi Manning sank a jumper with 1:50 remaining to pull the visitors to within seven points, 33-26. Danielle Heath's jumper in the paint with 41 ticks remaining gave the Braves a nine-point advantage heading into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

Both teams suffered through another cold-shooting spell before Courtney Smith broke the silence with a fast break layup to push the Braves lead out to 41-30 with 4:50 remaining in the quarter. UNCP connected on 50 percent of their shots and outscored the Jaguars 13-5 in the final minutes to take a 54-35 lead heading into the final stanza.

4TH QUARTER

UNCP took their largest lead of the afternoon, 59-37, on a layup from Deja McCain just one minute into action. Augusta used a 16-4 run to trim its deficit back to 63-53 with four minutes to play, but the hosts outscored the Jaguars, 8-2, over the final four minutes.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Melanie Horne scored a team-high 17 points and added seven rebounds. + Deja McCain added a career-high 13 points, while also logging seven rebounds. + Alcenia Purnell recorded 11 points, highlighted by a perfect 6-for-6 day from the charity stripe. She also had four assists and two blocks.

NOTABLES

+ The 71 points marked a season-high for the Braves who shot 40 percent or better from the field for the sixth time in 2019-20. + The home team has now won the last seven meetings in the series. + The Braves held the lead for nearly 38 minutes (37:46) on Saturday.

UP NEXT

The Braves will open a two-game road trip on Wednesday when they travel to USC Aiken (10-6, 5-3 PBC). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.

STAY CONNECTED

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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.