ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — The Averett University women's basketball team pulled out a 65-62 comeback win in the final seconds of its conference opener against N.C. Wesleyan College on Sunday afternoon.
 
N.C. Wesleyan (3-4, 1-1 USA South) led the entire first half and the majority of the second half as Averett (2-3, 1-0 USA South) tried to inch its way to the lead with no avail until late in the second period. The Cougars went on a 13-2 run in only two minutes giving Averett its first lead with 3:18 left on the clock. Junior guard Jessica Myers stole the ball from N.C. Wesleyan in two consecutive possessions, which led to four quick fast-break points to put the Cougars in front 58-57. Myers finished with six points, four steals and two assists.
 
Freshman center Jonna Koski made a layup later on to give the Cougars a one-point lead with 1:21 remaining in regulation, but just 15 seconds later N.C. Wesleyan's Kenyata Harris answered with 3-pointer to put the Battling Bishops up 62-60. Trailing by one after a made free throw from Myers, freshman guard Frida Lundquist sank two free throws with 27 seconds left in the game to give the Cougars a 63-62 advantage. With a missed jumper from Harris, N.C. Wesleyan was forced to foul, and sophomore forward Brianna Taylor also hit two free throws to secure the come-from-behind win.
 
Koski finished with 16 points — matching her career high — and seven rebounds, and the Cougars got 11 points, three steals and three rebounds from Lundquist, who also matched her career-best scoring output.
 
Facing as much as a 15-point deficit in the first half, Averett closed the gap late in the period when sophomore forward Alexis Sollars ignited a spark for the Cougars draining her first 3-pointer of the season. She sank another shot from behind the arc just before the buzzard to tie her career-high of two 3-pointers and send the Cougars into the break trailing the Battling Bishops by four.
 
Eight of Sollars' 12 points came in the last five-and-a-half minutes of the first half. She added six rebounds and two assists for Averett.
 
The Cougars return home on Saturday to play Randolph College at 2 p.m.