YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Young Harris shot better than 41 percent over the first three quarters and led for more than 37 minutes on the way to a 55-39 victory over the UNC Pembroke women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon inside the YHC Basketball Arena.
 
The Braves (6-6, 2-2 PBC) registered a 22-20 advantage in the paint, but connected on just one of their 17 perimeter attempts in the setback. It was the third-straight series victory at home for the Mountain Lions (7-4, 1-2) who improved to 4-1 inside YHC Basketball Arena this season with the result as well.

 

THE BASICS

Score: Young Harris 55, UNC Pembroke 39 Records: UNC Pembroke 6-6, 1-3 PBC; Young Harris 7-4, 1-2 PBC Location: Young Harris, Ga. (YHC Basketball Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Young Harris shot 53.3 percent from the field in the opening quarter and scored the game's first seven points before UNCP responded with a 9-2 run of their own that evened the score at the 3:43 mark. The Mountain Lions, however, closed out the period with a 7-2 run, including a 3-pointer from Kalen Surles with 49 ticks left, that gave them an 18-13 advantage heading to the second stanza.

2ND QUARTER

The Mountain Lions limited the Black & Gold to just 27.3 percent field goal shooting in the second period, and padded their lead out to double digits, 29-17, on a trey from Carly Winters with 2:42 left before the break. Courtney Smith's layup at the 1:32 mark trimmed the deficit to single digits, but Jada Griffin's bucket 37 seconds later allowed the hosts to take a 31-21 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

UNC Pembroke connected on half (6-for-12) of its attempts from the field in the third quarter and limited the hosts to just 25 percent shooting from the field. The Braves made it a one possession game, 37-34 off of a jumper by ShaNiya Lester jumper with 1:20 remaining, but Young Harris answered with consecutive buckets to stretch the lead back out to seven, 41-34, heading into the final period.

4TH QUARTER

Young Harris shot better than 40 percent and outscored the Black & Gold, 14-5, in the final quarter to provide the final.  The Braves scored their first points of the period on a 3-pointer from Melanie Horne with 6:43 left, and added its final points of the day on a jumper from Aliyah Farmer with 35 seconds remaining.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Aliyah Farmer scored a team-high eight points, while also adding three rebounds and one steal. + Melanie Horne and Jillian Ebron each pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.

NOTABLES

+ Young Harris held the lead for nearly 38 minutes (37:50) of action. + The Braves have now dropped three-straight road games in the series, but still lead the all-time series, 6-4. + UNCP shot just 1-for-17 from beyond the arc, and matched a season-low with 39 points.

UP NEXT

The Braves will continue a three-game road trip on Thursday when they travel to St. Augustine, Fla., to take on Flagler (2-7, 0-3 PBC). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. inside Flagler Gymnasium.

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.