FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville State shot better than 35% in two quarters and grabbed nearly 10 more rebounds on the way to a 55-47 victory over the UNC Pembroke women’s basketball team on Wednesday evening inside the Felton J. Capel Arena.

The setback for the Braves (1-2) marked the second straight loss to Fayetteville State when playing away from Pembroke. The Broncos have now won their last two outings, but are 15-20 all-time when playing against the Black & Gold.

Zaria Clark knotted the score at three apiece just under the five-minute mark of the first quarter with a jumper in the paint. Fayetteville State outscored UNC Pembroke 12-2 for the rest of the quarter and limited the Braves to just 1-for-11 shooting from the field to hold a 15-5 lead heading into the second period.

UNCP used a 12-3 scoring surge capped off with a trey from Courtney Smith to cut the Braves deficit back to 18-17 halfway through the second quarter. The Black & Gold knocked down 50% of their shots during the frame, but the Broncos held a 29-23 lead as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

The hosts extended their lead back out to double-digits, 39-26, after Aniylah Bryant canned a three with 3:32 left in the third stanza. The Braves outscored Fayetteville State 8-5 in the final minutes, but the Broncos held a 44-34 lead heading into the final period.

Fayetteville State took its largest lead of the night, 51-34, off of a fastbreak layup from Aniylah Bryant with 7:41 left in regulation. UNCP used an old-fashioned three-point play from Jadin Gladden to trim the Braves deficit to 54-47 with just over a minute left in play, but UNC Pembroke missed its last two jumpers as Fayetteville State held on for the outcome.

Courtney Smith scored a team-best 10 points in 30 minutes of action. Smith was a perfect 2-for-2 from the 3-point line and pulled down four rebounds.

Zaria Clark established a new career-high with eight points. Clark matched a career-best six rebounds while also recording two steals and one assist.

Gabby Smith added seven points and grabbed five rebounds.

Fayetteville State forced 24 UNC Pembroke turnovers and converted those into 19 points.

FSU held a 43-39 advantage in rebounds, however, UNCP outscored the Broncos 26-18 with points in the paint.

The Braves picked up 20 points from its bench highlighted from an eight-point performance from Zaria Clark and a four-point outing from Hannah Russell.

The Braves will lift the lid on their 2021-22 Conference Carolinas schedule on Saturday when they welcome Erskine (0-2, 0-0 CC) to Pembroke. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.