RALEIGH, N.C. — The Averett University women's basketball team made history by clinching at least a share of the USA South Conference's East Division crown with its 64-56 conference road victory over Meredith College on Wednesday night in its regular season finale.

The title is the first conference or division title of any kind in the program's history for Averett (17-8, 13-3 USA South). Whether it will be a shared or outright division championship will be determined by Greensboro College's final result when the Pride play Mary Baldwin University on Saturday. Greensboro is currently 12-3 with one game remaining.

Averett sealed the win against Meredith (7-16, 7-8 USA South) by finishing the first half strong and pulling away in the third quarter. The Avenging Angels held a 19-13 advantage in the second quarter before the Cougars rallied to take a 26-20 lead by halftime. Junior Kiara Smith hit a 3-pointer with under a minute to play and senior Alixis Roccia drilled a shot from beyond the arc as time expired to give Averett momentum entering the locker room.

The Cougars' lead grew to double digits midway through the third quarter as Averett found success on the boards and in transition. Senior Amani Ajayi's steal and assist to freshman Camryn Lunsford gave Averett a 17-point lead, 49-32, and that grew to as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter before Meredith closed the gap to single digits in the final minutes.

Ajayi led Averett with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Ravyn Johnson added 13 points and nine boards, Lunsford had 11 points and Roccia finished with nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Smith chipped in seven points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Cougars, who dominated the glass 52-38 while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor.

With the win, Averett also matched its program record with 13 conference wins in a single season, which it set last season. The victory over Meredith was the Cougars' seventh consecutive conference win, which set a new program record.

The Cougars earned one of the top two seeds in the East, giving them a first round bye in the USA South Conference Tournament. Averett will host its quarterfinals game on Feb. 16 against an opponent to be decided after the first round games, which will be played on Feb. 13.