only YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Sarah Woghiren and Niaya White combined for 23 points as the Young Harris College women's basketball team led from start to finish in their 55-39 Peach Belt Conference victory over the University of North Carolina at Pembroke Saturday (Jan. 4) afternoon at the YHC Basketball Arena.

The Mountain Lions, who won six games all of last season, improved to 7-4 overall and to 1-2 in the Peach Belt, while the Braves fell to 6-6 and 1-3.Young Harris continues the homestand Wednesday (Jan. 8) when they host Clayton State University in a 5:30 p.m. PBC affair.

Young Harris opened the game with a 7-0 spurt on a three-pointer by Carly Winters and back-to-back jumpers by White before UNCP rallied to tie the score at 7 on an old-fashioned three-point play from Courtney Smith with 4:36 left in the first quarter.UNC Pembroke would tie the game two other times, but the Mountain Lions took the lead for good at 13-11 on a Woghiren putback with 1:40 left in the period.

The Mountain Lions took control of the game in the second quarter as they put together an 11-2 run to open up a 12-point lead (29-17) after Winters sank a three-pointer with 2:42 left before halftime. Young Harris led 31-21 at the half, but the Braves battled back to within three points (37-34) after Shaniya Lester hit a jumper with 1:21 left in the third quarter. YHC responded with eight unanswered points to push its lead back to double digits - 11 points (45-34) - after a Jada Griffin layup with 8:08 to play.

UNCP would only get as close as eight points the rest of the way and the Mountain Lions would expand their lead to as many as 18 points (55-37) on a Samantha Russell baseline jumper with 45 seconds left.

Woghiren led the Mountain Lions with 12 points, while White added 11. Winters contributed nine points, while Russell and Bria Clemmons added eight each. Winters corralled eight rebounds while Haylie Shope pulled down seven as the Mountain Lions outrebounded UNCP 42-33. 

Aliyah Farmer led the Braves with eight points, while Melanie Horne and Smith added seven.