DURHAM, N.C. — Junior guard Rodneysha Martin scored a game-high 24 points, sophomore forward Paulina Afriyie recorded her eighth double-double and freshman guard Kieche White hit all four of her free throw attempts in the final 12 seconds to lead the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team to a 78-77 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win over Howard University on Monday evening in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
 
The Eagles were trailing by one point with under four-minutes to go before going on a decisive 6-0 run. The rally featured a go-ahead give-and-go layup by junior Caira Benton from classmate Jayla Calhoun, which was then followed by a step-back jumper from Martin. Calhoun's baseline basket at the 2:35 mark finished the surge to put NCCU ahead 72-67.
 
The Bison cut the deficit to three points on five occasions down the stretch, but the Eagles had the answer each time. A reverse layup by Benton was the first response. White had the rebuttal each of the other four times from the charity stripe making 6-of-8 free throws in the final 20 seconds, including both tries with 11.5 and 4.7 seconds on the clock. The visitors hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make the final margin just one point.
 
NCCU (7-19 Overall, 5-8 MEAC) snapped a four-game losing streak and moved back over .500 at home (6-5). Howard (10-16, 6-7) suffered its third straight loss. The victory was the first for the Eagles over the Bison in program history (1-10).
 
Martin swished four of her seven tries (57.1%) from long range on the way to 24 points, just two points shy of her career high. Afriyie, who as 11-for-14 from the free throw line, bucketed 19 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Afriyie's eighth double-double along with seven boards by freshman Alyssa Thompson helped NCCU to a 46-43 rebounding edge after being outrebounded by 16 16 in a 69-54 loss to Howard in Washington, D.C., last month. White totaled 13 points and handed out five assists for a second straight contest.
 
Fans witnesses seven ties and 13 lead changes. Howard held a narrow 36-35 edge at halftime that grew to a game-high eight points, 43-35, with a 7-0 start in the second half. NCCU fought back, outscoring the Bison 26-16 for the remainder of the period to secure a 61-59 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Martin (11 points) and White (9 points) accounted for 20 of those points to set up the dramatic finish.
 
Benton scored all eight of her points in the second half, junior Dominique Adams provided five rebounds and three assists, and sophomore Jada Blow made two of the Eagles' eight 3-pointers.
 
Sophomore Ayonna Williams led four double-digit scorers for Howard with 16 points and she distributed seven assists. Sophomore Jayla Myles tacked on a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
 
NCCU next plays at South Carolina State University on Saturday at 2 p.m.