DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University women's basketball battled back from a double-digit deficit late, but Greensboro College held on in the final minutes for a 68-62 conference victory on Saturday afternoon at the Grant Center.

Down by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, Averett (15-8, 11-3 USA South) made its run in the fourth quarter. After getting within seven several times, the Cougars used a 10-0 spurt to take a 57-56 lead on sophomore Brooke Carthon's jumper with 3:13 to play.

Greensboro (15-6, 10-2 USA South) answered with a pair of baskets to retake the lead before junior Alixis Roccia tied it with a 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining to set up a thrilling finish.

The Pride went ahead 62-60 on a pair of free throws with 46.3 seconds left. Averett hit one of two free throws at the other end to get within one. Greensboro hit one of two free throws on consecutive possessions to extend its lead to 64-61. Averett was fouled at the other end, and after hitting the first free throw, the Cougars unsuccessfully tried to intentionally miss the second to get the rebound with 6.3 seconds remaining.

Greensboro hit its four final free throws in the final seconds to secure the valuable conference win as the season nears its end and both teams are contending for the USA South East Division crown along with Ferrum College.

Averett and Greensboro battled through a tight first two quarters. Neither team had more than a two-possession lead before the Pride finished the second quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 31-22 advantage into halftime.

???????Carthon led the Cougars with 15 points and nine rebounds, while senior Samm Chandler added 13 points and 10 boards. Sophomore Ravyn Johnson had a team-high 13 rebounds to go with eight points. Junior Amani Ajayi also had 10 rebounds with seven points and Roccia chipped in eight points.

???????Averett returns to action on the road at conference foe Salem College on Sunday at 1 p.m.