GREENWOOD, S.C. – League-leading Lander scored 40 points on 31 turnovers by the UNC Pembroke women's basketball team and stayed perfect in Peach Belt Conference play with a 76-59 victory over the Braves on Wednesday evening inside Finis Horne Arena.
 
The result marked the fourth loss in the last five road outings for UNCP (10-13, 5-10 PBC) who fell to 4-10 away from Pembroke in 2019-20. The Bearcats (20-3, 15-0 PBC) stretched their win streak out to 16 games and improved to 12-1 in Greenwood this season as well.


 

THE BASICS

SCORE: #21 Lander 76, UNC Pembroke 59 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 10-13, 5-10 PBC; #21 Lander 20-3, 15-0 PBC LOCATION: Greenwood, S.C. (Finis Horne Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Lander pushed its lead out to five points, 10-5, on a 3-pointer from Jessica Harris at the 6:02 mark, but the Braves used a five-point swing to tie the score up 2-1/2 minutes later. Lander answered with four-straight points, but Jillian Ebron's shot at the buzzer cut UNCP's deficit to two points heading into the second period.

2ND QUARTER

The Braves trailed by just three points, 19-16, after Aliyah Farmer's jumper just 45 seconds into the quarter, but the Bearcats put together an 18-0 run and eventually stretched their lead out to 37-16 with 4:40 left in the half. Tiara Williams broke the silence for UNCP with a layup 30 ticks later, but the hosts took a 44-24 lead as the teams into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

UNC Pembroke scored the first nine points of the second half and cut its deficit back to 44-33 with 7:15 left in the quarter. The Braves shot better than 55 percent in the period and outscored the Bearcats 18-15, but the hosts held a hefty 59-42 advantage going into the final stanza.

4TH QUARTER

Lander took its largest lead of the night, 68-43, off of a layup from Amiaya Melvins with 7:32 left to play. The hosts limited UNCP to just 4-for-14 shooting from the field in the final period to fuel the outcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ ShaNiya Lester scored a team-high 13 points highlighted by a 6-for-7 clip from the field. + Alcenia Purnell added 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and one block. + Jillian Ebron recorded nine points and pulled down a team-high five boards.

NOTABLES

+ UNCP shot 43.2 percent from the field compared to a 42.4 percent success rate for Lander. The Bearcats connected on 11 perimeter shots, however, compared to just three for the Black & Gold. + The Braves connected on 18-of-22 (.818) free throws on Wednesday, and fell to 8-4 this season when registering 10 or more made free throws. + The Braves have now come away empty on their last eight trips to Greenwood, S.C. The Braves are now 8-22 on the road in the series.

UP NEXT

The Braves will close out their three-game road trip on Saturday when they travel to Georgia to face Augusta (7-15, 4-10 PBC). Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Christenberry Fieldhouse.

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.