Pembroke, NC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the UNC Pembroke Braves on the road on Saturday afternoon in a 78-69 final score.

The Warriors shot 44.6% from the field and were 33.3% from beyond the arc in the conference loss.  Makayla Raines led the team as she shot 11-18 from the field and totaled 29 points for the Warriors.  Raines was followed by Savanna Nicholson (16 points) and Emily Gamon (10 points).  Gamon went on to have two of the Warriors five assists.

Southern Wesleyan pulled down 22 rebounds in the game with DeYana Hayes having five.  Both Danielle Earley and Jordan Race had four rebounds.  Hayes went on to block two shots made by the Braves.  The Warriors stole the ball away from UNC Pembroke four times during the game.

Game Vitals

Final: UNC Pembroke 78, Southern Wesleyan 69

Records: Southern Wesleyan (6-18 / CC 4-12) UNC Pembroke (10-12 / CC 10-5)

How It Happened

Peyton Looky knocked down an early three pointer to put the Warriors on top early in the first quarter.  However, the Braves answered with back-to-back baskets by Tiana Spann and Bre'Asia Washington.  The Warriors continued to challenge as DeYana Hayes wove past the defense and laid the ball up into the basket.  With just under five minutes left in the quarter, Makayla Raines put up a mid-range jump shot to allow the Warriors to maintain the lead.  Back-to-back baskets by Spann allowed the Braves to take a three point lead over the Warriors. The Warriors were not done as in the final seconds of the quarter Emily Gamon passed the ball under the basket to Savanna Nicholson.  Nicholson laid the ball up to keep the Warriors within one point of the Braves.

The Warriors pressed on as Emily Gamon put up a floater to give the Warriors the lead.  Camille Kerridge sent the ball out beyond the arc to Natalie Evington.  Evington hit a three pointer to give the Braves a two point advantage.  However, the Warriors tied the game up on the next play as Makayla Raines put up a mid-range shot.  The Braves regained the advantage as Grace Ikenegbu laid the ball up into the basket.  A layup out of the hands of Gamon kept the Warriors within four.  Southern Wesleyan continued to challenge UNC Pembroke as Raines and Gamon got up more layups for the Warriors.  With just over five minutes on the clock, Raines hit a mid-range to give Southern Wesleyan a 25-23 point lead.  A three pointer by Kerridge allowed the Braves to regain the lead.  In the final minute of the quarter, Savanna Nicholson put up a shot from beyond the arc to tie the game up once again.  However, in the final seconds Shaymiah Bailey laid the ball and was fouled in the process to earn an and-one basket to give the Braves a 37-34 point victory going into the locker room.

An early foul allowed Tiana Spann to take some free throw shots to start the third quarter.  Spann then laid the ball up into the basket to extend the Braves lead to seven.  Keziyah Sanders hit a mid-range for the Braves.  The Warriors were not done as Savanna Nicholson wove around the defense and laid the ball up into the basket.  However, back-to-back three pointers out of the hands of Natalie Evington allowed UNC Pembroke to take a 49-36 point advantage over Southern Wesleyan.  The Warriors answered as Nicholson hit a three of her own with just over four minutes left in the quarter.  Emily Gamon and Makayla Raines got up mid-range shots for the Warriors to end the third quarter.

UNC Pembroke picked up a foul to start the fourth quarter and send Peyton Looky to the charity stripe.  Looky hit one of her free throw shots to keep the Warriors within eight points of the Braves.  Tiana Spann laid the ball up into the basket to extend UNC Pembroke's lead back to ten.  The Warriors continued to challenge as Makayla Raines wove around the defense and laid the ball up into the basket.  With just under six minutes left in the game, Danielle Earley passed the ball out beyond the arc to Savanna Nicholson.  Nicholson knocked down another three pointer to keep the Warriors within nine points of the Braves.  The Warriors battled on as Raines got up several more shots, but the Braves would not let up as they claimed the game in a 78-69 final score.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will remain on the road on February 18 as they travel up to Bristol, TN to take on the King Tornado.  They will then return to Central, SC on February 21 to host the Belmont Abbey Crusaders.  The Warriors will travel to Florence, SC on February 23 to take on the Francis Marion Patriots.