DANVILLE, Va. — Senior Samm Chandler hit the go-ahead free throw with four seconds to play as Averett University women's basketball held on for an 82-81 victory over N.C. Wesleyan College on Saturday during Senior Day at the Grant Center.

The win not only gave Averett (17-8, 13-3 USA South) a win in its regular season finale for its senior class, it also set the program single-season record for conference wins. Yet, it didn't come easy.

Averett's double-digit lead in the third quarter evaporated as N.C. Wesleyan (12-13, 9-7 USA South) battled back to get within two, 65-63, on Kayla Johnson's back-to-back 3-pointers with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter. The Cougars were able to fend off the Bishops several times, and sophomore Ravyn Johnson's layup with 59.3 seconds to play gave Averett an 80-76 advantage.

The Cougars' defense forced a backcourt violation on N.C. Wesleyan's next possession, then hit one of two free throws to extend their lead to five with 39.7 seconds left. The Bishops pulled with three, 81-78, on a layup with 24.8 seconds remaining. An untimely turnover gave the ball back to N.C. Wesleyan, setting up a game-tying 3-pointer by Kayla Johnson with 13.7 seconds on the clock.

Tied 81-81, Averett had a jumpshot attempt blocked out of bounds with 5.5 seconds to go, which set up an inbounds play on the baseline. Senior Alixis Roccia found Chandler cutting to the basket, and Chandler was fouled on a layup attempt with 4.0 seconds remaining.

Chandler missed the first free throw, but calmly drained the second one to put the Cougars ahead by one. Without any timeouts remaining, N.C. Wesleyan had to bring the ball up the court and put up an errant shot after the buzzer sounded.

Chandler finished with 27 points and eight rebounds.

N.C. Wesleyan led by one at the end of the first quarter before Averett used a dominant second quarter to take a 45-33 lead at halftime. The Cougars' led by as many as 15 points early in the third before the Bishops made their run to get within striking distance.

Junior Amani Ajayi finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Roccia set a career-high with eight assists to go with 12 points. Sophomore Brooke Carthon added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars, who also got a career-best four assists from senior Hailey Chandler.

Prior to the game, Averett honored its senior class of Hailey Chandler, Samm Chandler and Roccia, as well as senior team manager Aquayla Swann.

Averett will be the No. 3 seed in the USA South East Division. The Cougars will host East Division No. 6 seed Meredith College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Grant Center during the first round of the USA South Conference Tournament.