PEMBROKE — The UNC Pembroke women’s basketball team will make a quick trip home on Saturday when the Braves suit up to take on Peach Belt Conference rival North Georgia in a 1:30 p.m. tilt at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The event is closed and spectators will not be admitted.

Fans follow the action for free via a live video stream on the UNCP Sports Network with Jon Gross handling the play-by-play duties. The matchup can also be followed via a live statistics link provided by UNCP.

Saturday’s men’s game has been postponed in accordance with game interruption guidelines and COVID-19 testing protocols established by the NCAA and the Peach Belt Conference.

The Braves (1-5, 1-4 PBC) dropped their second-straight contest on Wednesday when they ran into a buzzsaw on the way to a 91-53 loss at third-ranked and Peach Belt Conference-leading Lander. The Bearcats shot nearly 59 percent in the second and third quarters combined, and used 10 3-pointers, as well as a dominating effort on the boards, to provide the result.

UNCP has split its previous two home games this season, but both contests were decided in dramatic fashion. The Braves fell victim to a late rally by visiting Columbus State on January 9 and eventually fell in overtime, 75-71. Two weeks later, the Braves overcame a 6-point deficit early in the fourth quarter and ran past Georgia College, 53-50, to pick up their first win of the season.

Newcomer Gabby Smith has provided a lion’s share of the offensive highlights for the Braves this season, and will tote a team-best 12.5 points per game scoring average into the weekend. Smith has turned in double-digit scoring numbers in all five of her outings in 2020-21, and paces UNCP in rebounding (5.8 rpg) as well.

North Georgia has a slight lead, 14-11, in the all-time series with the Braves, but the Nighthawks have won six of the last seven matchups with the Braves and will ride a three-game series win streak into Saturday. North Georgia is just 3-8 all-time at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court, but have come away with wins in two of its last three trips to Robeson County.

The 15th-ranked Nighthawks (9-1, 6-1 PBC) ran their win streak out to four games with a 25-point (73-48) home win over Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday. North Georgia got 29 points from its bench in the triumph, while also limiting the Hurricanes to just 7-for-30 (.233) shooting in the second half.

North Georgia will bring the Peach Belt Conference’s top scoring offense (76.8 ppg) into Pembroke on Saturday, while also showcasing the league’s second-best scoring defense (58.7 ppg/allowed) as well. The Nighthawks have put up 81 or more points in four contests already this season, and have topped opponents by an average of 18.1 points per game. UNG’s lone setback this season was a 69-63 overtime road loss to then-No. 6 Lander.

Senior Julianne Sutton ranks ninth among the league’s top scorers with 14.5 points per game, but the Nighthawks boast two of the PBC’s top-22 scorers in their starting lineup as well. Sutton has canned nearly 54 percent of her field goal attempts in 2020-21, and nearly averages a double-double with 9.6 rebounds an outing (4th PBC) as well. On the perimeter, UNG will look for the services of junior Josie Earnhardt who is the league’s top perimeter threat.

The Nighthawks have averaged a more human-like 63.5 points per game in their last two road outings, including the loss to the nationally-ranked Bearcats on January 23 that saw them score a season-low 63 points (58 in regulation). North Georgia, however, counters any bad shooting nights with the PBC’s fourth-best turnover margin (+2.3) and best assist/turnover ratio (1.17).