PEMBROKE- Purnell Swett implemented a full-court press in an attempt to cut Scotland's double-digit lead late in the fourth quarter.

They cut it close, but too many turnovers in the final minutes prevented them from getting closer.

The Lady Rams committed 18 costly turnovers which allowed the Lady Scots to pick up their first Southeastern Conference win, 51-41, Friday night.

Scotland moves to 9-4 with the win and 1-0 in SEC play. Purnell Swett drops to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in conference.

"We had to put the pressure on them down the stretch and it paid off with the two turnovers that we forced," Lady Scots coach David Johnson said about his team's performance late in the game. "When we do those kinds of things, it leads to lay-ups and easy baskets."

Following an 8-0 Lady Scots run in the first, the Lady Rams cut the lead to three (10-7) on a three-pointer from Kayla Lewis.



Despite getting within five points with less than a minute to play in the quarter on a long two from Lella Kenworthy, Purnell Swett trailed 17-9 at the end of the first.

"We just had too many turnovers tonight," said Purnell Swett coach Angela Faulkner. "We were able to get something going offensively late in the game, but we turned the ball over late and they (Scotland) took advantage."

The Lady Scots would go on a near five-minute drought in the second period, but the Lady Rams could only muster a pair of baskets during the stretch and trailed by four (17-13) with three minutes to play before halftime.

Brittany Dockery put an end to the drought with a three-point play with three minutes to play in the half.

Purnell Swett cut the lead to a basket, 20-18, thanks to five unanswered points in final two minutes of the second.

After the Lady Rams tied the game at 20 early in the third, Scotland would answer with back-to-back baskets, forcing Faulkner to call a quick time-out.

The breather only fueled the Lady Scots as they went on a 9-0 run capped off by another three-point play from Dockery.

"We wanted to come out and play hard and set the tempo for conference play," said Dockery, who finished with a game-high 16 points.

Purnell Swett would endure a three-minute scoring drought during the run before a three from Kenworthy cut the Lady Scots deficit to six (29-23) with just under three minutes to play in the third. The Lady Scots led by 11 (35-24) going into the fourth.

Kenworthy, who led the Lady Rams with 15 points, cut the lead to seven (37-30) midway through the fourth on a deep two.

A long two from Dockery put Scotland up nine (39-30) with 3:34 to play. She would follow up the basket with a big block on the other end.

Following a full time-out with 1:44 to play, Purnell Swett came out in a full-court press and forced Scotland into a couple of turnovers which led to a 3-pointer by Lewis, cutting the deficit to five (45-40) with just under 40 seconds to play.

"We had a good week of practice and we worked on some things," Johnson said. "We still need to find a way to bring what we did in practice into the games and make sure that we don't have that bring drought like we did late in the game."

The Lady Rams attempted to let the ball roll down the court, preventing the clock from starting, but once Lewis went to grab it, she couldn't get a handle and got called for traveling.

A lay-up from Dockery with less than 30 seconds left would put the final dagger in Purnell Swett's heart.

Ariel Ratcliff finished with nine points while Jonissa Monley and Tierra Pate each scored eight. For Monley, it was her first start of the season and something that Johnson hopes she can build off of.

"We decided to mix things up a little bit this week," Johnson said on his decision to start Monley. "Jonissa (Monley) started and played well. That along with having Tierra (Pate) back really helped us out."

Lewis just missed joining Kenworthy in double figures with nine points. Laura Bird finished with eight.