GREENSBORO, N.C. — A late fourth quarter run by Greensboro College and turnovers proved to be costly as the Averett University women's basketball team dropped an 83-67 decision to the Pride on the road Thursday evening at Hanes Gymnasium in Greensboro, N.C.
After leading 59-54 to open the fourth quarter the Pride benefited from a 29-8 run to close out the final nine minutes of regulation to knock off the Cougars.
Greensboro (9-1, 4-0 USA South) managed to tie the game at 37-37 before halftime, however the Cougars used a 7-4 run to take a 44-41 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
Averett (3-4, 1-1 USA South) would hang on to that lead until the 2:15 mark of the third quarter when Greensboro tied the game at 50 all. Baskets by juniors
Brooke Carthon and
Samantha Tecson as well as a 3-pointer by junior
Kiara Smith put Averett back up 57-52, however the Pride cut the deficit back to three heading into the fourth quarter.
Averett (3-3, 1-0 USA South) jumped out to an early 11-5 lead to start Thursday nights conference showdown, but a 10-2 run by the Pride saw the Cougars lead lost 15-13 with 2:40 remaining in the opening quarter.
After taking a 22-20 lead into the start of the second quarter, Greensboro benefited from an early 5-0 run to extend their lead to 27-20 with 8:38 remaining in the opening half.
The Cougars chipped away at the Pride's seven-point advantage throughout the final eight minutes of play with the help of early foul trouble by Greensboro to pull within 35-31 with 2:42 left in the first half.
Carthon led all scores with 18 points on the night, while seniors
Alixis Roccia and
Amani Ajayi finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Junior
Ravyn Johnson collected a game-high 14 rebounds, while Carthon added 10 boards of her own.
Averett finished the game shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the 3-point arc as the Cougars ended with a 50-38 rebounding advantage.
The Cougars return back to action this coming Saturday, December 15 when they host Methodist University with tip-off set for 2 p.m.