Out-Of-Sync Lady Braves Ousted By Chowan, 60-47

MURFREESBORO – A combination of 20 turnovers and a sub-40 shooting percentage from the field allowed non-conference opponent Chowan to oust UNCP, 60-47, on the road in women’s college basketball action on Tuesday evening in the Helms Center.

JaToya Kemp led the Lady Braves (3-4) in shooting with 19 points while Briana Stanton collected 10 points. Kemp, Stanton, Domonique Washington and Anya Knower shared a team-best five rebounds. Knower tallied a team-high four blocks, while Washington registered four steals.

 Ransheda Jennings, Talaya Lynch and Brittany Nicholson collected double-digit scoring nights with 17, 11 and 10 points, respectively for Chowan (2-4). Lynch grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and shared a team-high three steals with Courtney Knight. Jennings and Najah Harris each collected three assists for the Hawks.

The Lady Braves faced the Hawks’ full court press from the opening whistle, but proceeded to break the press and take an 8-point lead at the 13:18 mark. UNCP struggled as quick telepathic passes were easily intercepted by the Hawks. Chowan used 10 turnovers by the Black and Gold to take a 32-24 lead into the half.

UNCP never regained the lead as the Hawks pushed their lead out to 13 points at the 5:53 mark and never let the Black and Gold within seven points the rest of the way out. The Lady Braves struggled from the field, hitting just 16 of their 41 attempts from the field, including a 0-for-10 performance from the perimeter. The visitors also converted just 15 of their 27 free throw attempts. The Hawks took advantage of the poor shooting and were able to land 13-of-18 from the foul line despite connecting on just 22-of-63 from the field. UNCP out-rebounded Chowan 37-36 but lost the turnover battle, allowing Chowan to score 20 points off as many turnovers.

“Our defense was poor and it let us down which allowed Chowan inside and allowed them to score more than 30 points in the paint.” said UNCP head coach John Haskins. “We struggled in shooting inside the paint and, even though JaToya (Kemp) was 7-of-7 from the field, she got into foul trouble early and that hurt our chances of going inside.”

UNCP returns to the English E. Jones Center on Thursday for a non-conference matchup against St. Andrews (0-5). Tip-off has been slated for 6 p.m. Admission prices are $6 for adults and $2 for children 18 years of age and younger. UNCP students are admitted free with a valid Braves Card.