DANVILLE, Va. – The Averett University women's basketball team fell short to conference rival Greensboro College in the final seconds of the game to suffer a 77-74 loss at the Grant Center on Friday afternoon.
 
Sophomore shooting guard Samm Chandler converted on a fast-break lay-up to tie the game at 74 with 14.6 seconds left in regulation, but after a quick in-bound, Greensboro's Alexis Hite took one dribble on the left wing and knocked down a 3-pointer with 8.6 seconds on the clock to put the Pride up by three points. Following a timeout, Averett took two quick attempts from the behind the arc to knot the game, but neither budged.       
 
Averett (5-5, 0-2 USA South) forced three early turnovers to help build a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game and stretched its lead to 14-3 midway through the first quarter with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Joelle Deese. Greensboro (7-5, 3-0 USA South) slowly gained momentum towards the end of the first frame, and Hite, who was 6-for-10 from long range, drilled a triple in the second quarter to kickstart a 12-2 run. The shot gave the Pride its first lead of the game at 25-24 with 5:59 to go in the first half.
 
After Averett trailed 34-30 at the break, the Pride kept creeping away, shooting 51 percent from the floor in the second half, but senior guard Jessica Myers scored seven straight points to help keep the Cougars in the game early in the third quarter. Myers led all scorers with a career-high of 30 points, marking the 11th time in program history that a player scored 30 or more points in a game. The last time it happened was last season when Chandler scored 31 points, also against Greensboro. A dominate force on defense, Myers also added eight rebounds and four steals.
 
She tied the game twice, but Averett didn't pass the Pride until the fourth quarter when junior guard DaQuila Washington hit a three on a feed from Chandler to put the Cougars up 59-57 at the 7:07 mark. Later on, Washington came up big again with two back-to-back steals as one turned into a lay-up for Chandler on the opposite end to give the Cougars a 66-65 lead with just under four minutes to play. Averett finished with 17 steals compared to Greensboro's four. With 51 seconds remaining, the Cougars found themselves behind only 74-72 after Washington knocked down a free throw, but the Pride eventually walked away with the win.
 
Chandler registered a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to go with five assists and three steals while Deese chipped in 12 points and three steals.
 
Greensboro's Hite led the Pride with 26 points.
 
Averett returns to action at the Grant Center on Sunday, Jan. 10, to play conference foe Ferrum College for the second time this season at 2 p.m.