PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Jaguar women's basketball team fell early to the UNC Pembroke Braves and dropped their first Peach Belt Conference road game of 2015 season 59-33 Saturday afternoon in the English E. Jones Center.

The Jags (2-8, 1-2 PBC) started Joshlyn Belcher, Camille Gee, Kariel Hutt, Sabrina Montgomery, and Kayla Roberts. UNC Pembroke's Jazmine Kemp and GRU's Camille Gee exchanged layups, but the Braves (3-8, 1-3 PBC) took the advantage after the opening minutes. Gee made two free throws and got the Jags within one until Kamille Horne nailed a trey at 12:58 mark to spark the UNCP offense to an 18-point lead.

The Jags went into halftime down 27-9, led by Tavia Sykes' early seven points. UNCP owned the paint, scoring a quick 18 points to GRU's six underneath the rim. Avae Hardy hit a three pointer to open the second half and boost the Braves to a seven-point run.

They built a 27-point lead before Sykes hit a jumper with 6:57 left in the game to end the streak. She ended the day with a team-high nine points off the bench.

From there, GRU would try to stay in the paint on offense, after hitting only two of 11 three pointers with four minutes to go in the game. The Braves closed out the contest with a 59-33 victory – shooting 38.6 percent from the field to GRU's 23.7. The Jags posted a 14.3 three-point percentage, their worst of the season, but did best the Braves at the free-throw line with a 68.4 percentage to 63.6.

Neither team had any player score in double figures, but an even spread of scoring and 10 more rebounds gave the Braves the edge at home.

The Jags play another PBC match at Francis Marion Monday, Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m. in Florence, S.C. LIVE STATS LIVE VIDEO

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