PBC Tournament - Balanced AASU Attack Leads Lady Pirates Past UNC Pembroke

AIKEN, S.C.-- Junior forward Lacey Willis scored 16 points to lead five Armstrong Atlantic State University players in double figures and the Lady Pirates held off a second-half rally by UNC Pembroke for a 74-68 win, Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.

AASU, seeded seventh, improves to 18-10 and advances to face second-seeded Clayton State University at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. UNCP, the 10th seed, ends its season at 10-18.

Following Willis for AASU was senior forward Kaneetha Gordon with her 43rd career double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds). She now stands only 11 points shy of the school’s career scoring record, while moving into 25th place on the NCAA Division II career rebounding list with 1,122. Alandris Griffin, Jasmine Herron, and Dartayvia Thomas all added 10 points for the Lady Pirates.

Senior guard Victoria Willis paced UNCP with 19 points, while DeNeer Davis chipped in 14 points and Natalie Ray 12 points and 14 rebounds.

A jumper by Thomas gave AASU the lead for good at 13-11 with 12:44 left in the opening stanza. The lead would gradually grow to 12 points (37-25 and 39-27) before the Lady Pirates took a 39-29 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

However in the second stanza, six AASU turnovers would allow the Lady Braves to mount a 13-5 run that trimmed the lead to 53-50 following a three-pointer by Davis with 11:06 remaining.

AASU would stretch the lead back to 62-52 before UNCP mounted another rally. Willis and Davis combined for a 7-0 run that cut the Lady Pirate advantage to 62-59 with four minutes left.

UNCP would have an opportunity to tie the score, but Willis missed a three-pointer with 3:33 left and then AASU made eight of nine free throws in the final 1:09 to seal the victory.

Boxscore 

Game 1 - Armstrong Atlantic State vs. UNC Pembroke - Quotes

UNC-Pembroke Head Coach John Haskins:

“I was proud of the way we came back in the second half. We battled hard and competed and did a better job on the glass. We just weren’t aggressive enough in the first half attacking the basket.”

“We came out with more energy in the second half. Our problem, however, all season has been our inability to score on a consistent basis. Natalie (Ray) struggled in the first half, but came back for her normal performance in the second half with 12 points and 14 rebounds. We just did not do a good job attacking the post.”

Armstrong Atlantic Head Coach Roger Hodge:

“My hats off to UNC-Pembroke. John Haskins does such a good job. They made some good adjustments and made our life hard in the second half. They have got a solid team and this game was indicative of how our league has been all season long.”

“I am proud of our kids. In the second half, we did not play very well, but we hung on to beat a good basketball team. We’re very pleased and honored to live another day.”

“They decided they were going to play much more physical, especially in the interior and making it harder on us driving to the bucket. They mixed up their defense a little bit and they made a real effort to get the ball inside to Natalie Ray. She did great job and we had a tough time handling her.”

(On the quarterfinal match-up against Clayton State)
“Anytime you play Clayton State, you have to handle their pressure defensively and minimize your turnovers. Then on your own defensive end, you have to keep them off the boards and keep them out of the paint. They are a tremendously athletic team and they do what they do very well. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow, and it will take a great effort.”

Senior Forward Kaneetha Gordon:
(On the quarterfinal match-up against Clayton State)
“We have to play with heart, box out and do the things right to win the game. They put us out last season, so we have reason to beat them this season.”

Senior Guard Jasmine Herron:
(On the quarterfinal match-up against Clayton State)
“We need to take care of the ball because they will pressure us defensively. We also need to step our defensive effort.”