PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team shot 32.7-percent from the field, but Fayetteville State forced 19 turnovers and converted those into 13 points to fend off the Braves 48-44 on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
The setback for the Braves (0-3) marked the first loss in six outings when playing at home against FSU. The Broncos (1-2) picked up their first win of the season and shot a season-best 40-percent from the perimeter.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: Fayetteville State 48, UNC Pembroke 44
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 0-3; Fayetteville State 1-2
LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
| Fayetteville State took an early 5-1 lead, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Courtney Smith gave UNC Pembroke a 7-5 lead with 6:13 left in the opening quarter. Imani Elliott canned a trey to put FSU back in front, 10-9 with 3:30 on the clock, and the Broncos closed out the quarter on a 5-2 run to hold a 15-11 lead. |
| 2ND QUARTER |
| Both teams struggled offensively going 1-for-8 from the field before a Kalaya Hall three ball broke the silence halfway through the period to trim the UNCP deficit back to 17-13. UNCP limited FSU to just 1-for-10 shooting from the field, and used a bucket from Hannah Russell to whittle the lead down to 18-17 with 3-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. |
| 3RD QUARTER |
| Imani Elliot knocked down a trey from the top of the key to push the Broncos lead out to 26-22 with 6:20 on the clock. UNC Pembroke shot 54.5-percent from the field and closed out the period on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 34-30 lead heading into the final stanza. |
| 4TH QUARTER |
| An 8-0 run put Fayetteville State back out in front 41-35 capped off with a Rasheka Simmons 3-pointer. Aminata Johnson sparked the offense with an old-fashioned three-point play followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from Kalaya Hall to knot the score at 41 apiece with 2:11 remaining in regulation. Aminata Johnson's running layup with 33 ticks remaining cut the score to 45-44, but FSU went 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the final seconds and got the defensive rebound on a last second UNCP 3-pointer. |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Kalaya Hall finished with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting. Hall also pulled down four boards and logged a steal and an assist.
+ Hannah Russell also recorded 10 points with a 5-for-10 clip from the field.
+ Zaria Clark added eight points highlighted with a 4-for-6 performance from the free throw line. The sophomore also tallied six rebounds, five assists, and four steals in 35 minutes of action. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ The Black & Gold picked up 16 points from inside the paint, while Fayetteville State logged 14 points in the paint. The performance marked the third-straight game UNCP has scored more points inside the paint compared to their opponents.
+ The Broncos, who were shooting just 1-for-28 from the 3-point line coming into Wednesday's contest, shot 40-percent from deep going 4-for-10.
+ The Braves were just 8-for-18 (44.4%) from the free throw line, while the Broncos were 18-for-31 (58.1%) from the charity stripe. |
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| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will hit the road for a non-conference contest against Newberry (0-3) on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Eleazer Arena. |
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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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| BACK THE BRAVES |
| 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. |
