PEMBROKE– The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team connected on nine of their last 10 free throws in the final period and took the lead for good on Aliyah Farmer's jumper with 31 seconds left to secure a key 58-54 Peach Belt Conference victory over Flagler on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
 
It was the fourth victory in the last six outings for the Braves (10-11, 5-8 PBC) who snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with Flagler (5-14, 3-10) as well. It was the 11^th-straight road loss for the Saints who have not won away from St. Augustine, Fla., since mid-November.




 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 58, Flagler 54 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 10-11, 5-8 PBC; Flagler 5-14, 3-10 PBC LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Flagler took what would turn out to be its largest lead of the night, 5-2, off of a jumper from Jazzy Mathis with 6:56 on the clock, but UNC Pembroke shot better than 46 percent from the field in the opening quarter and eventually took a 16-11 lead into the second period.

2ND QUARTER

UNCP padded its lead out to eight points, 25-17, following a fast break layup from Courtney Smith with 3:50 remaining in the first half. However, Flagler held the hosts scoreless the remainder of the half and eventually made it a one-possession game, 25-23, heading to the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

The Black & Gold scored the first 14 points of the second half and took their largest lead of the night, 39-23, on a fast break layup from Courtney Smith just four minutes into the third period. The hosts defense limited the Saints to just 3-for-11 shooting in the stanza, and UNCP took a 43-31 advantage into the fourth quarter.

4TH QUARTER

Flagler trimmed its deficit back to 47-46, off of a layup from Rayven Wade with 4:20 remaining in regulation and took just their second lead of the night thanks to a jumper from N'Mya Pierce a minute later. Aliyah Farmer gave the Black & Gold the the lead for good, however, on a jumper with 31 ticks remaining. The Braves connected on five of their last six free throws to add security points.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ ShaNiya Lester and Courtney Smith both registered 11 points to lead the Braves. Lester flirted with a double-double by pulling down nine rebounds as well. + Alcenia Purnell and Aliyah Farmer added 10 points apiece. Farmer tallied eight boards, while Purnell had three assists.

NOTABLES

+ The Black & Gold forced 17 Flagler turnovers and converted those into 19 points. + UNCP was 16-of-17 (94.1%) from the free throw line on Wednesday, and has now made good on 31 of its last 32 attempts from the charity stripe, including a 10-of-11 showing at Clayton State on Saturday. + Wednesday's win marked the 299th career coaching victory for John Haskins – all of which have come coaching the basketball programs in Pembroke. The enthusiastic mentor logged 105 wins at the reins of the men's program from 1992-02, and has led the women's team to 194 wins since taking over as head coach in 2004-05.

UP NEXT

The Braves will open up a three-game road trip on Saturday when they travel to Dahlonega, Ga., to take on North Georgia (18-3, 11-2 PBC). Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. inside the UNG 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.