SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Pushing the top-ranked team in Conference Carolinas past their limits, the Converse University women basketball team, co-champions of the Northwest Division, (12-15, 8-9 Conference Carolinas) defeated the UNC Pembroke Braves, East Division champions (20-7, 14-4 Conference Carolinas), in double overtime by a final score of 73-65. It is the first time in program history Converse has defeated the Braves.
The senior-day victory secures the most victories in a season in the program's NCAA era, dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Senior guard Alisa Davenport led the Valkyries in scoring with 22 points, her career high in scoring. Eighteen of her points came from the six three pointers she made over the course of the 50-minute, double-overtime game. It doubled the Valkyries' previous season-high for three-point shots made in game. She also posted six rebounds. Junior guard Elisa Solé Sanchez posted the second-highest scoring on the team with 12 points. Fellow junior guard Zariah Washington posted a team-high 10 rebounds.
Converse set the tone early by winning the opening tip-off against Conference Carolinas' top team. Graduate guard Jordan Brown turned that opening possession into the games' first points, giving Converse an early lead. The Valkyries and Braves would trade that lead back and forth over their next couple of possessions with Converse leading 7-6 after two minutes had elapsed. The teams then both went cold from the field as it would take almost two-and-a-half minutes for Washington to sink the next basket, putting Converse up by three points, 9-6. Pembroke pulled the game within one again before a three pointer from Brown again pushed the lead to three points. A jump shot with under 10 seconds again made it a one-point game, with Converse leading the Braves 11-10.
A layup and a three pointer allowed UNC Pembroke to take a four-point lead early in the second quarter. With just under eight to play in the first half, Davenport sank another three-point shot, cutting the lead to a single point. The teams again traded scoreless possessions until senior guard Jennifer Damoah once again reclaimed the lead for Converse. Following that basket, the UNC Pembroke lead swelled to five points before the Valkyries methodically cut it back to one point on multiple occasions, including once by a layup from junior center Mary-Grace Durham, playing in her final home game as a Valkyrie. A turnover with just five seconds remaining in the first half allowed Solé Sanchez to hit a buzzer-beating floating jump shot to send Converse into halftime up one point, 26-25.
It was the Valkyries' turn to open a quarter on a run as Brown and Davenport each sank a three pointer to grow the Converse lead to seven points, their largest to that point in the game. Following a pair of free throws from the Braves, another three pointer from Davenport gave Converse the points right back plus an additional point, ballooning the lead to eight, 35-27. But proving why they are the top-ranked team in Conference Carolinas, the Braves posted eight consecutive points to bring the game even, 35-25. Over the final two minutes of the quarter, the Braves sank two field goals while Converse managed one and a free throw, giving the Braves a one-point, 39-38 heading heading into the final quarter of regulation.
Durham opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a layup, giving her six points, one more than her season total going into the game. The teams again went back and forth until Damoah pushed the lead back to three points with a jump shot with five-and-a-half to play. Pembroke sank a layup and a three pointer pushing the lead to two points, which Davenport immediately negated with a pair of free throws. Following a jump shot from the Braves, Solé Sanchez sank a clutch three with 50 seconds remaining regulation, giving Converse a one point lead, who doubled the one-point lead 25 seconds later with a free throw. The lead would be short lived as a layup tied the game at 52 points a piece, where it would be at the end of the fourth quarter as a potential game-winning buzzer beater from the Braves bounced off the glass, sending the teams to overtime.
Winning the tip-off again, the Valkyries posted the first points of overtime with a free throw and layup from Solé Sanchez, pushing the lead to three points. Not to be outdone, the Braves sank a three point shot and a layup, giving them a one-point advantage with 1:46 remaining in the overtime period. Following a UNC Pebroke three pointer, Davenport buried a clutch three pointer, retying the game with just over a minute to play. Again trading baskets, the Braves found themselves with a chance to seal the game down one point shooting a pair of free throws with only two seconds left on the clock. The Braves made one basket from the charity stripe, sending the game to a second overtime period. The teams were deadlocked 61-61
Converse started with the first point of the period, winning their third tip-off of the game and sinking a free throw to open the extra period. But back-to-back two point shots put the Braves up a trio, which redshirt senior center Sydney Wilson cut to a single point once again with a layup. Davenport separated the Valkyries with a three pointer, her sixth of the game, pushing the lead to 67-65, past the point they would need to solidify the win. UNC Pembroke missed their final four shots over the final two minutes as Converse knocked off the Braves for the first time in school history, 73-65.
The Valkyries return to the court one final time for the regular season as they head to Due West to matchup with the Erskine Flying Fleet on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 P.M.
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