Lady Braves Rally Late, Hold Off Montevallo

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Visiting UNCP committed a season-low eight turnovers and used a pair of Montevallo miscues, as well as clutch free throw shooting, down the stretch to pick up a key 63-59 Peach Belt Conference victory Friday evening at UM’s Banktrust Arena.

JaToya Kemp scored a game-best 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and pulled down eight rebounds to lead UNCP (11-8, 5-5 PBC) to its fourth-consecutive league victory and second-straight away from home. Briana Stanton registered a double-double with 11 points and a team-best 10 rebounds, while Chevoya Jackson booked 10 points for the Lady Braves as well.

Alicia Lewis keyed a 20-point effort with 6-of-14 accuracy from beyond the perimeter to lead Montevallo (10-8, 3-5) who was sent reeling to its third-straight setback. Carrie Parrott and Shan Jones each scored nine points for the hosts as well.

“We had a good game tonight,” said UNCP head coach John Haskins. “It was back and forth a lot, but we had some nice plays down the stretch. The difference tonight, though, was that we only had eight turnovers. We are all very excited about this win.”

Montevallo used a 9-0 scoring spurt midway through the second period to take a 44-38 advantage with 11:43 remaining, but UNCP answered with a 9-0 run of its own with just more than two minutes left and took a 57-54 lead on Kemp’s short jumper with 40 seconds left. The Falcons twice got the game to within one possession, but the Lady Braves canned 6-of-7 attempts from the charity stripe down the stretch to hold the hosts at arm’s length. A crucial offensive foul  by UM’s Alex Sanabria with eight seconds left keyed the victory as well.

Both sides shot less than 35 percent in an opening half that featured five ties and four lead changes. UNCP took a 5-point lead on Marquena Delk’s trey at the 8:43 mark, but a 13-2 run by Montevallo over the next four minutes helped the Falcons take a 6-point advantage. The Lady Braves scored the half’s final 10 points, however, to take a 29-25 lead into the break.

UNCP will be back in action again on Sunday when the Black and Gold travels to Milledgeville, Ga., for a PBC Western Division showdown with Georgia College (13-5, 6-2). Tip off is set for 1:30 p.m. at the GCSU’s Centennial Center.