Lady Braves beat the Fleet with efficient 1st half

PEMBROKE — Leading up to the season first-year UNC Pembroke women’s basketball coach Kendra Samuels-Eaton talked about the desire for the Lady Braves to play with more offensive efficiency at a faster tempo and put more points on the scoreboard than in years past.

For the first half of Saturday’s game against Erskine, UNCP showcased that they’re capable of doing just that.

The Lady Braves put together a solid first 20 minutes, particularly on the offensive end; while they struggled to continue that strong play into the second half, the early success was ultimately enough to carry the Braves to victory, beating the Flying Fleet 73-60 to open Conference Carolinas play.

“I thought we had a great first half,” Samuels-Eaton said. “I thought we executed the way we need to execute. I thought we did the things we worked on in practice. And then the second half came and I thought we did some things that we weren’t disciplined. We just threw everything out the window, from scout to playing our type of defense, and offensively I don’t think everything was flowing. But they tell me a win is a win, so I guess that’s a great thing and we’re 1-0 in Conference Carolinas, and so we’ll just continue to try to get better each and every day.”

UNCP (5-1, 1-0 Conference Carolinas) shot an astounding 76.5% in the opening quarter, making 13 of 17 attempts; all four misses were from outside the arc, where the team was 3-for-7, as UNCP was a perfect 10-for-10 on 2-point shots in the first 10 minutes.

The Braves assisted on 16 of their 21 first-half baskets, with eight first-half assists by Stella Mollica, who finished with 11 after her school-record-tying 13 assists on Wednesday.

“I thought we did the things that we talked about pregame,” Samuels-Eaton said. “I thought we were sharing the ball, I thought we weren’t turning the ball over, and just playing fluid.

Hannah Russell scored the first seven points of the contest, hitting three baskets and a free throw within the first 1:58 of the game. It was part of a 14-2 run to open the game, with Zaria Clark adding a pair of jumpers and Anastasia Sinclair hitting a triple with 6:18 left in the opening quarter.

“My teammates just kept giving me the ball, and they knew that I was on a roll so they just kept feeding me,” said Russell, who went on to score a season-high 20 points with nine rebounds for the Braves. “Which, I was finishing very good, especially because they weren’t very post-dominant, so I could definitely run on them in transition too, so that was really my game, for the first half at least.”

Erskine (1-3, 0-1 CC) used a 7-0 spurt to pull within five at 14-9, but UNCP went on another big run, a 20-5 stretch spanning the rest of the first quarter and through nearly the first two minutes of the second, to lead 34-14. Russell scored six more points in that run, while Natalie Evington hit a pair of 3s for the Braves.

Erskine settled in and cut the Braves’ lead to 40-27 with 3:42 left in the half. UNCP finished the half on a 9-2 run, sparked by a Sinclair 3 and finished off with two Russell baskets in the final 43 seconds before the intermission.

That 3 was part of a strong day for Sinclair, who scored 17 points with six rebounds and three assists.

“Just being able to play my game (is key),” Sinclair said. “I have a lot of great teammates that are looking for me and have confidence in me, so just doing what we need to do offensively and whoever scores scores, and it just happened to be me today.”

UNCP did play a less efficient brand of basketball in the second half. The Braves shot 22.0% (9-for-41) in the second half, with the Flying Fleet outscoring UNCP in both the third and fourth quarters.

“We weren’t really doing our stuff,” Russell said. “Coach always says ‘do our stuff,’ and I don’t think we were playing as a team as much in the second half as in the first.”

From a 22-point UNCP lead early in the third quarter, Erskine closed the gap to 60-46 with 1:46 left in the third. Malea Garrison hit a jumper and Russell hit a free throw in the closing seconds to give the Braves a 63-46 lead going to the fourth.

Erskine got within 12 at 65-53 with a 7-0 run, then after the Braves stretched their advantage to 18, the Flying Fleet used another 7-0 run to make it a 71-60 game with 2:14 to go. Sinclair hit two free throws with 1:41 remaining for a 13-point lead, which became the final margin as the Braves didn’t allow Erskine to score again.

Zaria Clark had a season scoring high with 16 points with nine rebounds and four steals. Local product Natalie Evington set a new career high with eight points.

“(Clark) has the ability to do great things every day, she just has to believe she can,” Samuels-Eaton said. “(Evington) was the daughter of Pembroke today, getting in her spots, shooting the ball, and being confident in her ability.”

Ahrianna Scott scored 14 points to lead Erskine and Albany Wilson had 11 points with six rebounds for the Flying Fleet.

UNCP plays Tuesday at Belmont Abbey, with whom the Braves tied for first in the Conference Carolinas preseason coaches poll; the game is also a rematch of the Conference Carolinas Tournament championship from each of the last two seasons, both won by the Braves. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. in Belmont.

“Belmont Abbey, I think that’s going to be a tough game for us, but for both sides,” Samuels-Eaton said. “I think they play a great 2-3 zone, and we’ve just got to be ready to play. That’s kind of been our rival the last few years, so we look to go in there and play our game together.”