CHARLOTTE, N.C. (January 27, 2024) – North Alabama Women's Basketball earned its second-straight Atlantic Sun Conference win of the season with a 75-71 victory over Queens on the road in Charlotte, N.C.

The win marked UNA's fourth in conference play, as the Lions' record improved to 8-12 overall and 4-3 in the league. Queens moved to 6-14 on the year — still looking for its first ASUN win this season.

The UNA offense came out firing, shooting over 50 percent en route to an early 15-point lead after one quarter of play. The Royals settled in after the first and outscored the Lions 14-11 in the second period, but UNA still maintained the lead at the half.

The second half proved to be a shootout, as both teams combined for 96 points and UNA fended off a Queens comeback attempt. Despite a 31-point fourth quarter from the Royals, the Lions held on to a one-possession lead in the closing moments.

After scoring her 1,000th career point last time out against Kennesaw State, senior guard Alexis Callins picked up where she left off with 23 points against Queens to lead the team. Graduate forward Allie Craig Cruce and freshman guard Veronaye Charlton finished second and third in scoring with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER: The Lions got off to a quick start, going on a 7-0 run to force an early Queens' timeout. Scores from Cruce, freshman guard Katie Criswell, Callins and Charlton ignited the fast start for UNA, with North Alabama scoring the first 10 points before a Queens' score. The Royals scored only five points in the opening period, thanks to the UNA defense holding Queens to 13.3 percent from the field. The Lions shot 57.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep as six different scorers made it a 20-5 lead at the end of the first.

SECOND QUARTER: UNA continued to maintain their momentum in the second period as the hosts fought to improve from the first-quarter struggles. Queens shot better from the field, but seven turnovers forced by the Lions made it an uphill battle. UNA went into halftime with a 31-19 lead.

THIRD QUARTER: Much like the first, the third quarter started with an early run as UNA ran off eight straight to come out of the gates firing. The Lions extended their lead to their largest of the game at 20 when Charlton hit her first three at the 5:46 mark. Queens would make a 7-0 run shortly after to cut the lead to 14, but six points in the final two minutes gave the Lions a 14-point lead heading to the final period. North Alabama finished the quarter 54.5 percent from the field for the second 50 percent shooting quarter of the game.

FOURTH QUARTER: An eventful fourth saw the Royals mount a comeback to make it a contest late. Trailing by as many as 19 in the period, Queens later cut the deficit to two points, going on a 15-8 run in the final two minutes. North Alabama's points came almost exclusively from the free-throw line in the closing moments as Charlton, Cruce, Criswell and sophomore guard Alyssa Clutter all hit at least one shot to fend off the rally. Only holding a two-point lead, UNA hit their first field goal in over two minutes when guard Rhema Pegues hit a layup from the assist of sophomore forward India Howard to all but clinch the close win. Queens scored 31 points in the final quarter, but the Lions showed their resilience by escaping Charlotte with a 75-71 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 

• 5 – Today's game marks the fifth time this season UNA has held an opponent to under 10 points in a quarter, as the Lions limited Queens to just five points in the opening frame. The lowest of the season was the opening quarter of the season opener against UT Southern at four points. The other opponents were Bellarmine, Arkansas State and UT Martin.

• 9 – It was block party in Charlotte, with the Lions making the Royals work for every shot throughout the game. North Alabama finished the game with nine blocks in the contest, which is a season-high and the most since the six blocks UNA tallied against Chattanooga. UNA also blocked 10 shots last season against Queens.

·         10% – UNA held Queens to only one made three in the game, the lowest against any opponent all season. The Royals shot 1-10 behind the arc for just 10 percent, which is the lowest since UNA held Bellarmine to 0-8 from three back on Jan. 5, 2023.

·         8 – The Lions had the advantage in three-point shooting to the tune of making eight more threes than Queens. This is tied for the third-highest margin in three-point shooting behind 10 against Fisk and nine against Tennessee Southern. UNA also hit eight more threes than Kennesaw State, making 10 to KSU's two.

·         16 – Second in the ASUN in team assists, UNA finished with a game-high 16 assists in the contest. Charlton led with five, while conference leader and senior guard Sara Wohlgemuth finished with three.

COMING UP NEXT

UNA Women's Basketball returns to Florence on Thursday, Feb. 1 to face the visiting North Florida Ospreys in CB&S Bank Arena. The ASUN matchup will tip off at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.