MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Women's Basketball team held off UNC Pembroke in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to preserve a 57-55 win in non-conference action on Tuesday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 57, UNC Pembroke 55
RECORDS | Chowan 5-4, UNC Pembroke 2-4
LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Helms Center)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Jada Lee led the trio of Hawks in double-figures with 17 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor. Lee added eight rebounds and two blocks on the night. Danielle Weldon tallied 12 points, while Olivia Gaither poured in 11 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter:
Chowan jumped out to an early lead as Olivia Gaither knocked down a three-pointer to start the scoring. Following a Braves' bucket, Danielle Weldon added back-to-back buckets on Gaither's assists to lead 7-2.
Jada Lee knocked down a jumper from the elbow to keep the scoring moving. After a Danielle Weldon jumper, the Braves even the score at 11-all before taking the lead for the remainder of the quarter.
A jumper by Jada Lee and Danielle Weldon cut into the deficit before trailing 24-16 at the buzzer.
Second Quarter:
UNC Pembroke swelled their lead to 30-16 before the Hawks went on an 18-3 run over the final 8:16 to regain the lead.
Mariah Coker started the rally with a three-pointer. Olivia Gaither followed suit with a triple to trim the deficit to 30-22. Coker knocked down another triple along with a jumper by Gaither to cut the deficit to 30-27.
A pair of freebies by Jada Lee trimmed the Braves' lead to one, 30-29. Jordan Pettaway connected from the stripe along with a layup by Kaylah Henderson gave the Hawks a 34-30 advantage.
UNCP hit a three-pointer before the halftime buzzer to trail, 34-33.
Third Quarter:
A quick 6-2 spurt by the Hawks with Jada Lee scoring four points during the stretch allowed the Hawks to lead 40-35.
UNC Pembroke would claw back to trim the deficit to one possession, 44-42, but another 6-2 run to end the quarter allowed the Hawks to lead 50-44.
Danielle Weldon posted a put-back and a layup, while Mariah Coker converted from the stripe.
Fourth Quarter:
The Braves would knot the contest at 51-all after a 7-1 run to start the quarter. Olivia Gaither gave the Hawks the lead with a triple off an assist from Jordan Pettaway.
UNCP continued to hang around trimming the Hawks' lead to one, 56-55 with just under a minute to play. The Braves had a chance to take the lead in the waning seconds of the contest but a steal by Jordan Pettaway and a free throw by Jada Lee allowed the Hawks to hold off the Braves for the victory.
UP NEXT
Chowan will take the rest of the week off for finals. The Hawks will return to the court on Thursday, December 13 as the Hawks host Fayetteville State in a CIAA Cross-divisional contest. Tip-off is at 5:30pm.
