MURFREESBORO, N.C. – Demetria Bland's career-high night led the Chowan Women's Basketball team to their first Conference Carolinas victory of the season in dramatic fashion at home on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

FINAL |Chowan 76, North Greenville 75

RECORDS | Chowan 1-3 (1-0), North Greenville 1-2 (0-1)

LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Helms Center)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Demetria Bland recorded the fifth most points in program history with a 30 point outing on 11-21 shooting in 35 minutes of action.  Bland knocked down four three pointers.  18 of Bland's points came in the first half.

Monique Jones missed another double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, eight of those boards were offensive.  Mariah Coker chipped in with 10 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter:

Monique Jones started the scoring for the Hawks with a putback layup.  Demetria Bland started her scoring with a jumper to even the score at 4-all before a quick 7-0 run by North Greenville allowed the Crusaders to lead 11-4.

Mariah Coker led a rally to even the score at 11-all and force a timeout knocking down a three pointer.  Demetria Bland added a jumper in transition after a steal and added another bucket after a steal by Coker.

Emaree Hinton went 1-2 from the line and Mariah Coker knocked down a jumper prior to the Crusaders rallying with a 9-0 run.  Demetria Bland hit a triple at the buzzer to trail 20-17.

Second Quarter:

The Hawks would regain the lead 25-23 for the time being as Icez Barnett hit a jumper and Demetria Bland and Keibra Hopkins connected from deep.  NGU answered with a three pointer to take the lead back.

Demetria Bland did all she could in the quarter to keep the contest close as the Crusaders pushed their lead to eight, 37-29.  Bland scored six points down the stretch for the Hawks to cut the deficit to 37-31 at the break.

Third Quarter:

Chowan came out of the locker room to outscore NGU 10-5 early in the quarter to cut the deficit to one, 42-41.  Teylahana Green connected from the floor along with a three pointer by Demetria Bland and five points by Monique Jones including an and-one.

The Hawks regained the lead midway through the quarter as Mariah Coker hit a jumper and Demetria Bland converted from the stripe, 46-44.

Monique Jones, Icez Barnett, and Emaree Hinton produced a bucket to give the Hawks a 53-50 advantage with 1:38 remaining in the quarter.

NGU countered with a 7-3 run to end the quarter and lead 57-56.  Demetria Bland hit a three during the run.

Fourth Quarter:

The back-and-forth contest continued into the final stanza with a jumper by Jahkeria Bagby and a bucket by Emaree Hinton and Demetria Bland to keep the lead in favor of the Hawks, 65-64.

Jahkeria Bagby added three points to her total but the Crusaders continued to match the Hawks until a bucket by Monique Jones and Olivia Gaither gave the Hawks a four point advantage, 72-68.

NGU pulled even with less than a minute to play, 72-all, after the Crusaders were able to grab three offensive boards.  Jahkeria Bagby recorded a layup after a timeout to give the Hawks the lead, 74-72.

Teylahna Green grabbed the defensive board with eight ticks left on the clock to force the Crusaders to foul.  Mariah Coker connected from the stripe to push the lead to 76-72.

The drama would not stop there as the Crusaders hit a three pointer with three seconds left.  Mariah Coker missed both free throws that would have sealed the game.  The last ditch heave by NGU would fall harmlessly to the floor.

UP NEXT

Chowan hosts Mount Olive in a Conference Carolinas contest on Tuesday, November 26.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm.