NCWC women win second straight, down Peace 63-59

Rocky Mount, NC - Freshman T'Keya Holloway scored a career-high 13 points on Thursday night, leading her North Carolina Wesleyan women's basketball squad to a hard-fought 63-59 USA South victory over Peace College in Everett Gymnasium. Holloway (pictured) also grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots for the Bishops, who have now won two straight. Wesleyan currently stands at 3-5 overall, 2-0 in league action.

It did not look good for the Bishops at first as Peace (4-6, 1-3 USAC) opened the game with a 9-2 run.  The Pacers led 22-14 with 8:39 remaining, but the ensuing 11-2 run by Wesleyan gave the Bishops their first lead of the game at 25-24 with just over five minutes left in the period.  Holloway and sophomore Desiree' Driver keyed the run with nine points during the three-minute span.

The two teams traded baskets to close out the half with Peace holding a slim 31-29 advantage.

The second half featured four ties and nine lead changes. Wesleyan held an eight-point lead on two occasions, the final coming at the 5:27 mark at 57-49.  Peace, however, put together a 10-4 run that saw the Pacers pull to within two at 61-59 with 1:13 left in regulation. PC's Christy Freeman capped the run with three free throws after getting fouled behind the arc.

Peace's defense held on NCWC's next possession, but a Freeman three-pointer with 27 seconds remaining hit off the front of the iron. Sophomore Gretchen Tobias proceeded to haul in the most important of her career-high 14 rebounds, which forced the Pacers to foul.  Junior Nicole Williams then calmly knocked down both free throw attempts for the final margin of victory.

In addition to Holloway, Driver turned in another impressive game for the Bishops with a season-high 17 points, while Essence Chambers added 11.  Angel Smith scored nine points off the bench for the second straight game.

For Peace, LeAnne Horne poured in a game-high 18 points, and Freeman finished with 14 to go along with five assists.

The difference in the game came at the free throw line where Wesleyan knocked down 26-of-34 attempts on the night.  The Bishops also held a 43-29 rebounding advantage.

Wesleyan returns to action next Wednesday versus Salem College. Game time is slated for 5:30 p.m. in Everett Gymnasium.