PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke women's basketball team fired on all cylinders, shooting an impressive 41.4 percent from the field while limiting Francis Marion to just 18.7 percent in the final period, to help secure a 69-66 victory over the Patriots on Wednesday evening at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. 
 
The victory for the Braves (2-5, 1-1 CC) marked the first home victory of the season, as well the second consecutive home victory in the series with Francis Marion. The Patriots (2-5, 1-1 CC) have now dropped their last two outings and were limited to their second-worst shooting performance of the season. 



 

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Pembroke 69, Francis Marion 66 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 2-5, 1-1 CC; Francis Marion 2-5, 1-1 CC LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Francis Marion took an early 9-5 lead with an old-fashioned three-point play from Kiana Lee, but a Kelci Adams 3-pointer cut the UNC Pembroke deficit back to 11-8 with 4-1/2 minutes remining in the opening period. UNCP went closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run and used a fastbreak trey from Kelly Luck to hold a 17-11 lead heading into the second quarter.

2ND QUARTER

The Patriots put together a 9-0 scoring surge to push their lead out to 28-20 with five minutes remaining in the half. The Braves shot nearly 42 percent from the field during the frame and knotted the score at 30 with a jumper in the paint from Hannah Russell with 50 seconds remaining, but a fastbreak layup from Kiana Lee sent the teams to the locker rooms with FMU hold a slight 32-30 advantage.

3RD QUARTER

UNCP opened the half on a 5-2 scoring run and tied the score at 35 apiece with a made free throw from Lillian Flantos. Francis Marion connected on 50 percent of its shot from the field pushed its lead out to 47-39 with just under two minutes remaining, and used a three ball from Alexis Sexton with nine seconds remaining to hold a 52-44 lead heading into the final stanza.

4TH QUARTER

The hosts canned a pair of 3-pointers from Kalaya Hall and Courtney Smith to tie the score at 53 apeice with just under seven minutes left in regulation. Kalaya Hall drained another three to spark the offense on a 10-1 scoring surge that stretched to the 2:31 mark that put UNC Pembroke out in front 65-59. Francis Marion's Jada Richards connected on a layup for make it a one possession game, but the UNCP defense forced FMU into a last second shot that didn't fall.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Courtney Smith scored a game and career-best 23 points highlighted by a 3-for-6 clip from the perimeter. The redshirt junior was also 4-for-6 from the charity stripe in 30 minutes of action. + Kalaya Hall established a new career-best with a 14-point outing on 5-for-8 shooting. Eight of the redshirt junior's points came in the fourth quarter.  + Sophomore Zaria Clark logged her fifth career double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, eight of which were on the defensive glass. Clark was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added five assists and two steals.

NOTABLES

+ UNC Pembroke shot a season-best 41.1 percent from the field during Wednesday's contest. The Braves also shot a season-high 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.  + The Black & Gold forced 18 Francis Marion turnovers and converted those into 22 points.  + UNCP saw success in transition picked up 14 fastbreak points. + The Braves have now captured the last two meetings at home against the Patriots. + UNCP limited FMU to just 18.7-percent shooting in the final period.

UP NEXT

The Braves will be back in action on Saturday when they welcome Emmanuel (1-3 1-0 CC) to Pembroke for Sneakerhead Day. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

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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.