Lady Pirates Hit School-Record 13 Threes In 83-80 OT Win Over UNCP

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Armstrong Atlantic State women's basketball squad kept its postseason hopes alive, overcoming an 18-point first-half deficit and burying a school-record 13 three-pointers in an 83-80 overtime win over UNC Pembroke on Wednesday in Savannah.

The Lady Pirates (9-16, 6-11 PBC) and the Lady Braves (13-13, 7-10 PBC) helped the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) raise awareness for breast cancer by making Wednesday night's game a "Pink Zone" contest. Local breast cancer survivors with ties to AASU were introduced before the game and the Mercer Middle School Choir sang a tribute song at halftime as a ribbon with names of people impacted by breast cancer was tied by members of the AASU Student Athlete Advisory Council on center court.

UNC Pembroke looked like they would walk away with an easy victory as they led, 37-19, with 1:48 remaining in the first half, but the Lady Pirates nailed three  three-pointers in the final minute to cut the Lady Brave lead to nine, 37-28, at halftime.

In the second half, AASU kept chipping away at the UNC Pembroke lead, finally taking a lead on Dartayvia Thomas' three with 5:09 left, putting the Lady Pirates up, 61-60. UNC Pembroke came back behind JaToya Kemp, who scored 12 straight points at the end of the second half to force overtime, her last basket coming with 11 seconds left and tying the score at 69-69. A chance for the Pirates to win in regulation went by the wayside as Dartayvia Thomas' shot was blocked by Briana Stanton.

The overtime period saw the lead change hands four times, but the final time came on senior Lauren Hall's bank-in three-pointer that put AASU up, 80-78, with 1:14 left in the extra frame - the three-pointer was the 13th of the game for the Lady Pirates, setting a new school single-game record and breaking the old mark of 12 set against GCSU on Feb. 16, 2005 and against Shaw on Nov. 25, 2006.

Back-to-back turnovers by Kemp allowed the Pirates to stretch the lead to five on three free throws. Kemp cut the lead to three, 83-80, with seven ticks left on the clock, and AASU committed a turnover on the inbounds pass, giving UNC Pembroke a last shot at sending the game into double overtime, but Kristen Hobbs' three-pointer was off the mark as time expired.

Kemp had a record-setting night for the Lady Braves, setting a new career high as well as putting up the most points scored by an AASU women's basketball opponent in Alumni Arena since the building opened in 1995 with 41 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Stanton added 14 poitns and DeDe Cotten chipped in 11 points for UNCP.

AASU placed four players in double figures, led by Portia Jones' career night of her own. The Savannah native hit 11-of-21 shots from the floor, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, for a career-high 28 points to go with 10 rebounds. Lauren Hall added 18 points, while Dartayvia Thomas notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, as did Arpine Amirkhanyan with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Pirates go into the final game of the regular season needing a win on Saturday, Feb. 27, against nationally-ranked Francis Marion to keep its chances of advancing to the 2010 PBC Championships alive. A win over the Lady Patriots, coupled with a UNC Pembroke loss to Flagler, would put AASU in as the No. 4 seed. A loss to FMU or a UNC Pembroke win on Saturday gives the Lady Braves the last spot.