RALEIGH – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team shot better than 35-percent from the field, including a 55.5-percent shooting performance in the opening quarter, on the way to a 61-58 overtime victory against St. Augustine's on Sunday afternoon inside Emery Gymnasium.
 
The victory for the Braves (1-5) snapped a five game skid, and marked the third consecutive victory against St. Augustine's. The Falcons (1-4) have now dropped their last four contests, two of which were on their home court. 


 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 61, St. Augustine's 58 (OT) RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 1-5; St. Augustine's 1-4 LOCATION: Raleigh, N.C. (Emery Gymnasium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

St. Augustine's scored the first bucket of the contest with a trey from Lauren Banks just 42 seconds into the opening quarter. UNC Pembroke responded with a 9-0 scoring run to take a 9-3 lead that stretched to the 5-1/2 minute mark, and held a 16-12 lead heading into the second quarter.

2ND QUARTER

The Braves used back-to-back 3-pointers to take what would be their largest lead of the afternoon, 22-12 with nine minutes left in the half. The Falcons chipped away at their deficit, 24-20, with a fastbreak layup from Christionna Faison, but UNCP held a slight 28-26 lead as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

UNCP pushed its lead out to 40-32 with a jumper in the paint from Hannah Russell to cap off an 8-0 scoring advantage with 4:14 on the clock. SAU tied the score at 40 apiece with a fastbreak layup with one minute remaining in the frame. Hannah Russell connected on a pair of free throws with 50 seconds remaining, but Christionna Faison drained a three as the hosts took a 43-42 lead heading into the final stanza.

4TH QUARTER

St. Augustine's took their largest lead of the contest, 52-43, with a jumper in the paint from Dasmine Kasey with 6-1/2 minutes remaining in regulation. UNC Pembroke used a 6-0 run followed by a running layup from Hannah Russell to tie the score at 53 apiece with just over 2-1/2 minutes remaining. Zaria Clark put the Braves in front 55-54 with 45 ticks left, but the Falcons tied it up with one of two made free throws to send the game into overtime.

OVERTIME

The Black & Gold scored the first basket of overtime with a quick layup from Courtney Smith with 3:33 on the clock. The Braves limited the Falcons to just 1-for-6 shooting from the field, while UNCP knocked down all four attempts from the charity stripe to help fuel the outcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Malea Garrison came off the bench for a career-best 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting. Garrison also pulled down 2 rebounds, and logged a block and a steal in 18 minutes of work. + Hannah Russell also finished with 10 points highlighted by a 6-for-6 clip from the free throw line. Russell grabbed three boards in 27 minutes of action. + Zaria Clark nearly registered a double-double with a nine point and 10 rebound performance. The sophomore played 25 minutes and added an assist and a steal. + Courtney Smith also had nine points keyed by a 7-for-8 performance from the charity stripe. Smith added five rebounds, two assist, and a block and a steal.

NOTABLES

+ UNC Pembroke connected on 24-of-31 attempts (77.4%) from the free throw line. 11-for-14 of those attempts were in the fourth quarter and in overtime. + The Black & Gold used an impressive 34 points from its bench with double-digit performances from Malea Garrison and Hannah Russell. + UNCP pulled down 40 total rebounds, 14 of which were on the offensive glass. The Braves picked up 18 second chance points from those rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Braves will welcome rival Francis Marion (2-3, 1-0 CC) to Pembroke on Wednesday for the Battle of I-95. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

STAY CONNECTED

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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.