AMERICUS, Ga. -- The Georgia Southwestern women's basketball team used a huge 26-point third quarter to overtake the lead as they defeated UNC Pembroke 60-55 in a Peach Belt Conference match Saturday afternoon inside the Storm Dome. 

Down by 10 points going into halftime, the Lady Hurricanes stormed out in the second half and never looked back as they picked up their first home conference win this season. GSW also turned in one of their best nights from the line as they went 13-of-16, shooting 81.3 percent from the free throw. 

How It Happened: Dominique Jeffery and Tamecia Blue pushed the Lady Hurricanes to a 7-3 lead just two minutes into the opening quarter as GSW was ahead. Both squads went on a scoring drought for three minutes until UNCP was able to tie the game at 7 with 4:52 remaining in the first. After trading free throws, Madison Johnson drained a three to get some separation but the Braves quickly returned the favor, scoring on back-to-back possessions as they took a 13-12 lead going into the second quarter. 

Seconds into the second quarter, the Braves drained another one from deep but Kya Cochran responded with a three of her own but that didn't stop UNCP. They drained four three pointers during the second quarter and held GSW to seven points as they took a 29-19 lead going into halftime. 

The Lady Hurricanes opened up the third quarter with a 11-0 run as a three by Jeffery gave GSW a 30-29 lead with 4:50 remaining in the third. UNCP answered with a three of their own but a layup by Kayla Smith quickly tied the game. Johnson scored on back-to-back possessions as GSW was trying to get a hold of the led but Jeffery drained another three to get some cushion. GSW (6-10, 2-8 PBC) took a 45-40 lead going into the final 10 minutes. 

GSW held the lead throughout the whole fourth as they took 12-point lead, 55-43, with 5:31 remaining in the game. However, UNCP (8-10, 3-7 PBC) never settled, they fought back to tie the game at 55 with 2:21 remaining but they still couldn't recover. GSW went on to get their second PBC win of the season.

The Lady Hurricanes finished with a slightly better field goal percentage than UNCP as they shot 40.8 percent from the field as the Braves shot 40.4 percent. UNCP took a 37-26 rebound advantage but GSW turned 21 turnovers into 18 points on the opposite end of the court.

Who Stood Out: Jeffery finished one rebound shy of her first double-double as she grabbed nine boards with a team-high 21 points. Johnson finished with 14 points and four boards while Blue dished out six assists and had four steals to match with her 11 points. 

Brave's Shaniya Lester and Alcenia Purnell finished with 12 points each as Lester also led with six rebounds. 

Up Next: The Lady Hurricanes invite PBC foe Columbus State to town on Wednesday, Jan. 29 for a 5:30 p.m. game.