PEMBROKE — The University of North Carolina at Pembroke women’s basketball team led Fayetteville State by six points after three quarters despite a 3-for-14 mark from beyond the arc over the first 30 minutes.
But the Braves got hot from three in the fourth quarter, extended their lead to as big as 11 and then held on in the final seconds to secure a 63-60 win over the Broncos.
“It got us some separation, and that was the difference in the game because we didn’t keep that separation at the end,” UNCP coach John Haskins said. “I think we’ve got good shooters, we’ve got five or six kids that I feel confident shooting the three.”
The 4-for-5 stretch of 3-point shooting in the final period started on the period’s first possession for the Braves (2-1), when Tee Graham hit a three for the team’s largest lead to that point, a 46-37 advantage. Tiara Williams hit one on the next possession, then two trips later Melanie Horne hit a triple. That put the Braves up 52-42, and the lead grew to as large as 56-45 with 5:10 to go.
After an 11-2 run by Fayetteville State (0-3) pulled the Broncos to within a pair at 58-56, Graham hit another three to take a 61-56 lead with 43 seconds left. After Aliyah Farmer and Alcenia Purcell each went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, FSU missed a potential game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Graham said the difference in this Braves team’s play in the fourth quarter compared to last year’s edition is the energy they bring to the floor.
“The fourth quarter was big for us, getting that lead. Coming out of halftime, our thing has been that energy and spreading the lead,” she said. “Last year, after halftime we’d come back and it was just dead. We’re trying to change the program this year, coming out with some authority.”
Graham led the Braves with 11 points and had four assists and five rebounds. Farmer had 10 points off the bench with five rebounds. Shaniya Lester had nine points and Horne had seven points and seven rebounds.
The Braves got 27 points from their bench, with 10 players scoring in the game.
“We don’t really have starters — we have eight or nine players that could start,” Haskins said. “I think we’ve got more depth and a little bit more scoring coming off the bench. I think we’ve got a good rotation where sometimes it’s hard to find the minutes, but we can play 10 kids.”
Alyssa Thompson led the Broncos with 13 points. Katisha Hyman had 12 points and Aminata Johnson had 11 points and eight rebounds.
UNCP held FSU to 36.1 percent from the floor and 15.4 percent from three (2-for-13). The Broncos scored 12, 15 and 10 points in the first three quarters.
“I thought for the most part, our defense was solid when it needed to be,” Haskins said. “We just need to space the floor better and make better decisions with the basketball late in the game, and stay in attacking mode.”
Fayetteville State, who is coming off a 21-8 season last year, was picked second in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association; beating the Broncos marks a quality early-season win for the Braves, looking to improve off last year’s 8-20 mark.
“(Fayetteville State has) got a lot of new pieces,” Haskins said. “They’ve got eight transfer kids on their team, and when you’re trying to mesh those players it takes time. They’ll be a good basketball team; they’ve just got to get used to playing together.”
In a back-and-forth first quarter, the lead changed hands five times and UNCP led 15-12 at the end of the period, propelled by a 7-0 run late in the period. After four more lead changes in the second quarter, the Braves led 29-27 at halftime.
The Braves maintained the lead throughout the third, with the margin fluctuating between two and seven points, and led 43-37 going to the fourth.
UNCP returns to action Saturday at Lenoir-Rhyne, with a 5 p.m. tipoff in Hickory, before traveling to Wingate Wednesday and St. Augustine’s on Nov. 23 before they return home to face Chowan on Nov. 30 at 2 p.m.
