ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. – A big first quarter from Flagler as well as a 47-37 advantage in the rebounds column helped the Saints to a 70-66 victory over the UNC Pembroke women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Flagler Gymnasium.
The Braves (2-9, 2-8 PBC) fall to 4-8 all-time against the Saints when playing away from Pembroke, N.C. The Saints (5-7, 4-6 PBC) have now won two consecutive home contests for the first time since Feb. 1-8, 2020, when it registered a pair of 10+-point wins over Georgia College and Augusta.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: Flagler 70, UNC Pembroke 66
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (2-9, 2-8 PBC) Flagler (5-7, 4-6 PBC)
LOCATION: Flagler Gymnasium (St. Augustine, Fla.) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
| Flagler connected on six of its eight shooting attempts and jumped out to an early 14-1 lead halfway into that opening period. UNC Pembroke trimmed its deficit in half, 20-10 with two made free throws from Naomi Gilbert with 2:16 remaining in the quarter. The host shot nearly 56-percent in the stanza and limited UNCP to just 25-percent shooting from the field as the Saints held a 25-12 lead going into the second period. |
| 2ND QUARTER |
| The Braves drained back-to-back three-pointers from Courtney Smith and Alcenia Purnell to chip away at the scoring gap, 27-18 with 8:49 left in the half. UNCP canned 5-of-10 attempts from behind the arc during the stanza, while limiting the hosts to 1-of-8 from the 3-point line, but Flagler held a 41-31 advantage as the teams headed to the locker rooms. |
| 3RD QUARTER |
| The Saints padded their lead with a Sadie Russell layup 2-1/2 minutes into play, and took their largest lead of the afternoon, 46-31, with a trey from Tori Pearce at the six-minute mark. The Braves whittled their deficit back to single digits, 48-42, with layups from Courtney Smith and Gabby Smith with 3:25 on the clock. Both UNC Pembroke and Flagler shot 40-percent from the field, but the hosts held a 57-44 lead heading into the final stanza. |
| 4TH QUARTER |
| UNCP used a 12-5 scoring surge that trimmed the scoring margin to 62-56 that stretched to the five-minute mark. A trey from Courtney Smith, a jumper from Tiara Williams and a layup from Gabby Smith cut the Saints lead to 64-63, but Flagler drained two key free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory. |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Courtney Smith scored a career-best 17 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the three-point line.
+ Tiara Williams added 14 points and recorded her first double-double with 10 rebounds. Williams also dished out six assists.
+ Gabby Smith logged 10 points and pulled down six boards.
+ Alcenia Purnell also registered double-figure scoring with 10 points. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ The Braves shot 43.6-percent from the field and limited the Saints to 36.5-percent shooting. UNCP (33.3%) also shot better from the three-point line compared the Flagler (29.6%).
+ The Black & Gold used the transition game to its advantage picking up 17 fastbreak points.
+ UNC Pembroke shot better than 40-percent from the field in the final three periods. |
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| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will get a rematch with Flagler (5-7, 4-6 PBC) on Monday afternoon in Pembroke, N.C. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The event is closed and spectators will not be permitted. |
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| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow UNCP Women's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Women's Basketball on Facebook. |
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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. |
