Women's Basketball | 3/3/2023 10:01:00 PM

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Third-seeded Paine College knocked off Carolina University Friday afternoon 68-63 in the semifinal contest.

Head coach Kisha Lucette's team was led by Jada Brooks' team-high 17 points on seven-of-17 shooting. She also dished out four assists in the contest. Adewunmi Atiba tallied 14 points and six rebounds while Kyra McCrary accounted for nine markers. Alexandria Caples and Ashley Rubio netted eight points apiece in the win.

The Lady Lions canned 26-of-76 hots from the floor and netted 13 free throws in the victory. The squad dished out 10 assists.

Defensively, the team was outstanding, registering 16 steals. Deavin Pitt and McCrary had a team-high four apiece while Myah Beasley and Jada Mullinex totaled three steals apiece.

Trailing 35-28 at the break, Lucette's team trimmed the deficit in the third quarter, outscoring the higher seed 18-14.

In the final 10 minutes of action, PC outscored the Bruins 22-14 for the five-point victory.

Keys to the victory were in points off turnovers and second-chance points. The Lady Lions tallied 17 points off miscues while only allowing five points off turnovers. The 20 offensive rebounds led to 16 second-chance points. Additionally, the non-starters scored 29 points while the Bruins' bench only scored four in the win.  

The Lady Lions will take on top-seeded Columbia International Saturday at 1 p.m.