Lady Braves Dismantle NC Wesleyan
PEMBROKE – Forcing more turnovers than North Carolina Wesleyan points, UNCP dominated the Battling Bishops picking up steals on 14-of-31 turnovers. NCWC’s women did not stand a chance against the Lady Braves who racked up a total of 82 points to the Battling Bishops’ 26.
Pacing the Lady Braves (3-3) were a trio of key players - Briana Stanton, Talena Faison and Sa'da Ray - who each pumped in 13 points for the Black and Gold. Stanton picked up a pair of blocks for UNCP, shot 6-of-7 from the field and brought down four rebounds. Faison was 6-of-9 from the field and tallied one rebound and one block. Ray was 3-of-9 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line while also bringing down eight rebounds for the Lady Braves and registering a steal.
The Battling Bishops of NCWC (0-4) were led by Samantha Urquhart who brought in eight points. Urquhart was 4-of-6 shooting from the line and registered 10 rebounds. The 26 points scored by the visitors was the lowest the Bishops have recorded since their 27-point loss against Rutgers University-Newark on Saturday.
“It’s always nice to win a game,” said UNCP head coach John Haskins. “It gave us a chance to work on some things and it is always a good feeling to get a win back. We have a tough game coming up this weekend, it being our first conference game and hopefully this win can give us some momentum against Chowan and then against Clayton State.”
Coming out of halftime, the Lady Braves were spurred by Casey Siddens who sunk a trey just eight seconds into the second half. UNCP would follow Siddens’ lead to put away a 18-0 run in just less than seven minutes against the Bishops, leading with a 54-point cushion after a layup by Illya Hunt. With 1:14 left in the game, a jumper by freshman Jasmine Hairston would give UNCP their largest lead (56) and the final basket.
UNCP asserted their dominance from the get-go with Faison putting away a layup just eight seconds into the game. Stanton followed her lead, putting away two points of her own, and the Lady Braves would never trail, leading the Bishops with a hefty 33 points before taking to the locker room for halftime.
The Black and Gold will have another chance to pick up a “W” at home when they face Chowan on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in the English E. Jones Center.
