ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — The Averett University women's basketball team was unable to overcome an early 29-12 run from N.C. Wesleyan College to open the first quarter in the team's 87-74 USA South Conference road loss Saturday afternoon. 
 
The Battling Bishops jumped out to an early 16-2 advantage on the Cougars early in the first quarter before ending the opening frame with a 29-12 lead and taking a 51-32 advantage into halftime.
 
N.C. Wesleyan (7-9, 5-2 USA South) would lead through Saturday's contest; however, Averett (9-6, 5-2 USA South) battled back late in the third quarter to cut the Battling Bishops' lead to 68-53 heading into the final quarter. 
 
The Battling Bishops increased their lead back to 20 points early in the final quarter of play, but the Cougars used baskets by senior Alixis Roccia and freshman Caitlin Reed in the final minutes to cut back into N.C. Wesleyan's lead.
 
Junior Brooke Carthon paced all scorers with 24 points, matching her second-highest point total of her career and inching further closer to the 1,000-point plateau for her career. Freshman Camryn Lunsford added a career-high 13 points, while senior Amani Ajayi and junior Kiara Smith finished with a team-high eight rebounds. 
 
Kayla Johnson led all N.C. Wesleyan scores with 17 points while,  Javana Jones collected 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. 
 
Averett returns back to the hardwood on Monday as it travels to Pfieffer University for a 6 p.m. USA South showdown.