DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University women's basketball only led Ferrum College for 49.4 seconds, but it came at the most crucial time as the Cougars held off the Panthers for a 64-61 conference win on Saturday afternoon at the Grant Center.

Averett (12-7, 9-2 USA South) trailed the entire game and was down 59-53 with 5:02 to play in the fourth quarter. Through the first three quarters, anytime the Cougars made a push, Ferrum (10-9, 8-2 USA South) had an answer — until the end. Averett's 10-0 run seized control in the final five minutes to give the Cougars a valuable victory in terms of the top of the USA South Conference East Division standings. The win puts Averett in second place, ahead of Ferrum and just behind Greensboro College (13-5, 8-1 USA South).

The Cougars only hit one field goal in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, but Averett was able to get to the foul line and knock down free throws, especially with under two minutes to play. Down one, Averett sophomore Ravyn Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 49.4 seconds remaining to give the Cougars their first lead of the game, 60-59.

At the other end, sophomore Brooke Carthon came away with a steal, ripping away the ball from Ferrum's Zarkia Mattox, who was going toward the basket. Carthon was fouled with 23.4 seconds and hit one of two free throws to give Averett a 61-59 lead. Following a Ferrum timeout, Averett senior Samm Chandler picked off a pass into the post and was fouled with 11.7 seconds to go. She calmly knocked down both ensuing free throws to extend the Cougars' lead to four.

With three of its top players fouled out of the game, Ferrum still gave itself a chance. The Panthers hit a shot to get back within 63-61 with 7.1 seconds. Chandler was fouled and hit one of two free throws, and Ferrum's heave from just inside halfcourt at the buzzer was errant to preserve the Averett win.

Carthon led the Cougars with 16 points, while Chandler added 14 points and seven rebounds. Junior Alixis Roccia also had a strong performance, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Johnson led the team with 12 rebounds to go with five points and three blocks.

Roccia scored five points in the first quarter to help Averett stay close to Ferrum, which used a 9-0 run early on to take control. The Panthers' lead grew to as many as 12 points early in the second quarter as they eventually took a 34-28 advantage into halftime.

Averett pulled within one possession of Ferrum several times in the second half before finally breaking through late.

The Cougars return to the court on Sunday when they play host to conference newcomer Pfeiffer University at 1 p.m. in the Grant Center.