Black and Gold Fall on Senior Night
Avery Locklear looks to make a defensive stop on Senior Night against Flagler (Photo by Stefanie Smith)
The UNCP women’s basketball team rallied early but could not overcome a strong second half from the Flagler Saints in a 65-83 loss on Feb. 17 at the English E. Jones Center.
Before the game, the Lady Braves honored their four seniors: Chandrica Fuller, Crystal Hicks, Rachel Temple and Mary Robinson.
All of the seniors started for the Lady Braves. Robinson notched 12 points and eight rebounds while Hicks added a 3-pointer for the hosts.
Jonissa Monley registered the 21st double-digit scoring performance of her career with 16 points and five rebounds to lead UNCP (9-15, 4-13 PBC) .
Avery Locklear and Airico Williams contributed 15 and 13 points respectively.
A slow start put the Lady Braves in a 6-0 hole to start the first quarter. Consecutive scores from Monley and Robinson helped ignite a 13-4 run for UNCP.
The run shifted the momentum and put UNCP up 13-10 heading into the second stanza.
The Black and Gold came out cold again in the second period, allowing the Saints to mount a 14-0 run.
The Lady Braves found a rhythm on offense and stopped the bleeding, but went into the locker rooms down 29-39.
The teams matched strides in the third quarter, scoring 19 points apiece in the period.
Heading into the final quarter down 48-58, the Lady Braves looked to their veterans for help in closing the deficit.
Despite strong offensive performances from Monley, Robinson and Williams in the last 10 minutes, the Saints outscored the Lady Braves 25-17 to seal the victory.
Teosha Ray led the Saints (12-12, 8-9) with 20 points and seven rebounds.
With one game remaining in her two-year career with UNCP, Robinson has amassed 311 points and 259 rebounds for the Lady Braves.
Fuller stands at 293 points despite being plagued by injury throughout her career.
Hicks totaled 36 points, and Temple finished with nine in her one season as a player with UNCP.
