DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Janessa Kelley's jumper with four seconds remaining helped lift Bethune-Cookman to a 62-58 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball victory over visiting Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday evening inside Richard V. Moore Gymnasium. Kayla White's free throws with 0.6 seconds left saw B-CU cap a 6-0 run over the last 2:31 of the contest as the Wildcats played their first home game since November 30.
 

FIRST QUARTER
Bethune-Cookman (5-11, 2-2 SWAC) opened the scoring with Kayla Clark winning the opening tipoff and quickly converting it into points with a jumper off the assist from Jordan Brooks. Coming off a career-high last weekend, junior guard Daimoni Dorsey followed with a fast-break layup, pushing B-CU to an early 4-0 advantage.
 
Stephanie Okowi put UAPB (2-12, 0-4 SWAC) on the board with a putback layup, but Brooks answered with a three-pointer, extending the Wildcats' lead to 7-2. The game's momentum shifted significantly midway through the quarter after B-CU built its largest lead of five points. UAPB's D'Arrah Allen orchestrated the Golden Lions' offense, collecting three assists while contributing six points from her point guard position. Allen's scoring burst – including a layup on the break and a floating jumper gliding into the paint, helped UAPB take its first lead, 14-13.
 
The Cats' Brooks converted one of two free throws with just 0.8 seconds remaining, giving B-CU a slim 19-18 edge heading into the second period.
 
SECOND QUARTER
UAPB used the three-ball and timely defense to outscore Bethune-Cookman 19-13 in the second quarter, taking a 37-32 lead into halftime.
 
The Golden Lions shot a blistering 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from the field in the quarter, including 75 percent (3-for-4) from three-point range. Allen led the charge with seven points on a 3 of 4 clip from the floor, while Jailah Pelly added six points on a pair of three-pointers.
 
Chanelle McDonald's fast-break jumper put the Wildcats up 21-18, but UAPB responded quickly. The lead changed hands several times early-on before the Golden Lions took control midway through the period. Pelly knocked down back-to-back three-pointers, pushing UAPB ahead, 28-23. Okowi followed with a floater in transition to give the Golden Lions their largest lead of the half at 33-25.
 
UAPB recorded seven assists on the Golden Lions eight made field goals in the period.
 
THIRD QUARTER
Bethune-Cookman mounted a late rally in the third quarter, closing what had been a nine-point deficit.
 
The Golden Lions appeared to be in control early, building their largest lead of nine points when Briontanay Marshall connected on a pull-up jumper with 6:02 remaining to make it 43-34.
 
However, late dramatics changed the complexity of the game in the final minutes.
 
After Jordan Brooks hit a pull-up jumper to cut the Cats deficit to five at 48-43, a sequence of events in the last second proved crucial. UAPB's Allen was assessed a technical foul after a foul on Kelly driving to the basket, leading to four consecutive free throws for the hosts. Brooks converted the technical foul free throws, followed by Kelley hitting two more, bringing B-CU within a single point at 48-47 to end the quarter.
 
Clark provided a spark with a three-pointer at the 2:01 mark that kept the Wildcats within striking distance – marking the first three-pointer of the Miami, Florida senior's career with the Maroon and Gold.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
The Wildcats trailed for much of the fourth quarter before Kelley's game-winning shot capped off a back-and-forth final period. After Asianae Nicholson grabbed the offensive board with four seconds left, she found Kelley, who knocked down the decisive basket to give B-CU a 60-58 lead. Kayla White then sealed the win by hitting two free throws with one second remaining after UAPB was forced into a five-second call trying to inbound the ball. The Golden Lions subsequently fouled White, leading to her free throws in the dying moments.
 
The Golden Lions held the momentum early, opening the period with Pelly's layup to take a 50-47 lead.
 
UAPB appeared to take control when Boyd's layup off the assist of Pelly was true, allowing the visitors a 56-53 lead with 4:05 left on the clock. However, Nicholson answered immediately with a layup of her own on the other end.
 
The Golden Lions pushed their advantage to 58-56 on a fast-break layup by Okowi – one of her six (6) made baskets on the night, with 2:31 left. But in the end, Ohio native Nicholson tied the game at 58-all on a layup with 50 seconds remaining, setting up Kelley's late-game heroics.
                                

Allen led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 13 points and 8 assists, while Boyd and Okowi each amassed 12 points. Okowi also grabbed nine rebounds for the Golden Lions. Pelly finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals to round out the double-digit scorers for the Golden Lions in the contest.
 
For Bethune-Cookman, it was Clark registering her second double-double of the season behind 14 points and 10 rebounds, adding two blocks and two assists as well in the win. She ended the night shooting 6 of 13 from the field. Brooks also touched double figures with 11 points (2 of 3 from shooting long range) and two assists. Nicholson and White also handed out three assists apiece in the game.
 
The Wildcats bench played a big role in the win, outscoring UAPB's reserves 17-4, with six points each from White and Shomari Phillips, respectively.
 

The Cats host Mississippi Valley State to Moore Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 18, for the opening game of a men's and women's SWAC doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
 

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