CONWAY, S.C. – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team shot better than 51 percent in the second half, but Coastal Carolina got 45 points from its bench and built a big first half lead to slip past the Braves, 67-59, in an exhibition contest on Friday evening at the HTC Center.
 
The Braves (0-1) outdid their NCAA Division I counterparts across the board in shooting metrics, but the Chanticleers (2-1) pulled down 41 rebounds, including 20 on the offensive side, en route to 18 second chance points.





 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Coastal Carolina 67, UNC Pembroke 59 RECORDS:  UNC Pembroke 0-1, Coastal Carolina 2-1 LOCATION: Conway, S.C. (HTC Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Coastal Carolina took an early 5-2 advantage off of a layup from Tiarra Davis, but freshman Kelci Adams drained a three to knot the score at five apiece just 2-1/2 minutes into action. The hosts scored the next seven points, but a trey from Naomi Gilbert with 16 ticks left closed out the quarter with the Chanticleers leading 12-8.

2ND QUARTER

UNCP took its first lead of the evening, 13-12, on a layup from Alcenia Purnell with 8:47 remaining in the half, but Coastal Carolina used a 15-4 scoring surge that pushed their lead back out to 27-17 with just under five minutes left in the period. The Braves trimmed their deficit back to 31-19 with a running layup from Diamond Fedrick, but the Chanticleers took a 38-20 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

The hosts took their largest lead of the evening, 40-20, after two free throws from Janeen Camp just 20 seconds into the half. UNC Pembroke put together an 8-0 run, fueled by Alcenia Purnell and Tiara Williams, to whittle the deficit back to 43-34 at the four minute mark. Coastal Carolina outscored UNCP 8-4 in the final minutes to extend their lead back out to 53-38 heading into the final stanza.

4TH QUARTER

The Braves used back-to-back 3-pointers from Kelci Adams and Gabby Smith to cut the lead down to 64-57 with just over three minutes left to play. However, Coastal Carolina's Tiarra Davis knocked down a shot from behind the arc with 36 seconds remaining to seal the outcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Alcenia Purnell scored a team-high 15 points and added three rebounds. + Naomi Gilbert logged a career-high 11 points. Gilbert recorded three rebounds, three assists and one steal. + Tiara Williams added 10 points in 13 minutes of action.

NOTABLES

+ The Black & Gold connected on 42 percent of its shots from the field, including 51.9 percent in the second half.  + UNCP limited Coastal Carolina to just 4-for-21 (19%) from the 3-point line.  + The Braves outscored the hosts 39-29 in the second half.

UP NEXT

The Braves return to action tomorrow when they face Coastal Carolina (2-1) in an exhibition contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the HTC Center.

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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.