Rocky Mount, NC - The women's basketball team of North Carolina Wesleyan celebrated 2009 Parent's Day and Senior Day in style on Saturday evening by turning a 78-71 victory over Ferrum College. Essence Chambers, the Bishops' lone senior, made her last game in Everett Gymnasium a memorable one with a game-high 26 points, six assists, and six steals. Chambers (pictured left with Coach John Brackett) also had a solid game on Friday, netting 18 points in Wesleyan's 57-55 last-second loss to Averett University.

The Panthers (17-8, 13-5 USAC) held an early 6-5 lead at the 17:12 mark of the first half.  Just seconds later, Bishop freshman Meredith Mills knocked down a short jumper to give NCWC a 7-6 lead that they would not relinquish.

Wesleyan's ensuing 14-4 run gave the Bishops a double-figure lead, and a trio of first half three-pointers by Jessica Jones helped NCWC forge a 42-23 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Bishops led by as many as 21 on two occasions only to see Ferrum put together a late run to pull within eight at 69-61 with 4:21 remaining. The Panthers, however, would get no closer than the final score as Wesleyan knocked down five of its last seven attempts at the charity stripe to secure the victory. 

In addition to Chambers' performance, sophomore Gretchen Tobias had 16 points and Jones finished with 13. Mills and fellow freshman Angel Smith dominated the boards with a combined 21 rebounds, while as a team, the Bishops turned 21 Panther turnovers into 28 points.

Previously on Friday, Wesleyan had dropped a last-second heartbreaker to Averett. The Bishops, who overcame an 11-point second half deficit, took a 51-49 lead with 5:37 left in regulation.  Two lead changes and two ties later, the two squads found themselves tied 55-55 with 23 seconds remaining.

NCWC had a chance to steal the win, but a costly offensive foul gave the Cougars the ball with seven ticks left on the clock. AU's Liz Martin proceeded to drive the length of the floor and put up a running one-handed prayer that found the bottom of the net as time expired.

Smith had a career-high 15 points, while T'Keya Holloway turned in double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Mills added eight points and five assists.

The Bishops (6-19, 4-14 USAC) will now enter next week's USA South  Conference Tournament as the league's #8 seed. Wesleyan will travel to Greensboro College on Tuesday night for a First Round match-up with the top-seeded Pride. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.
 

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