BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior forward Paulina Afriyie scored 21 of her game-high 25 points in the second half and junior guard Kieche White poured in 17 of her 19 points in the same timeframe as the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team ended non-conference play with a 61-59 comeback win at Long Island University Saturday afternoon.
 
The Eagles (3-10) trailed by 16 points at halftime before dominating the second half, 42-24, for their first road win of the season.
 
The Sharks (1-10) had three chances in the last few seconds to either tie or win the contest, but were unable to make the needed shots in those final moments. The Eagles played tight defense as sophomore Brandy Thomas missed a potential go-ahead 3-point attempt and classmate Kiara Bell missed a quick jumper off the ensuing offensive rebound before junior Mia Perkins corralled LIU's 31st offensive board. NCCU was whistled for a shooting foul on the subsequent last-second shot attempt by Perkins, but she missed both ends of her free throw attempts with just 0.7 of a second left on the clock.
 
Afriyie, who is from Bronx, New York, was playing in her first collegiate game in New York City and she delivered by matching her career-high point total with 25 points, scorching the nets by making 10 of her 14 field goal attempts and five of her six free throw tries. She just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds.
 
White made all three of her 3-pointers in the second half on the way to her 19 points. She also contributed four assists and four steals. Sophomore Kiyana Brown led NCCU's reserves with a career-high 12 points, six rebounds, three steals and one block. Junior Zaria Atkins handed out six assists.
 
The Eagles grabbed a quick 5-2 lead before missing their final eight field goal attempts of the first quarter. NCCU also committed eight turnovers in the period as LIU went on an 11-0 run over the final seven minutes to double-up the Eagles, 18-9, after 10 minutes of play.
 
NCCU shot 16.7-percent in the opening quarter and only increased its shooting percentage to 25-percent in the second quarter. The Sharks shot nearly 20-pecent better than the Eagles in that stanza as they increased their lead to 16 points, 35-19, at halftime.
 
Brown accounted for eight of NCCU's 19 points at the midway intermission to give the maroon and gray a chance in the second half.
 
The Eagles found their form coming out of the locker room on fire, making seven of their first 10 shots in the half. NCCU completely erased the deficit and moved in front, 40-37, by starting the third quarter on a 21-2 run. Afriyie scored 10 points in that instrumental rally, including the final six points.
 
The two teams traded points for the rest of the period and were tied 42-42 heading into the final quarter. Afriyie made a layup to start the scoring in the fourth quarter and NCCU never relinquished the lead from that point. White swished two consecutive 3-point tries to keep the momentum on the side of the visitors. Afriyie and White scored all 19 of NCCU's points in the fourth quarter with 11 and eight points, respectively, outscoring LIU's whole team over the final 10 minutes.
 
The Eagles shot 58.6-percent and held the Sharks to 19.4-percent accuracy from the floor in the second half.
 
NC Central will begin Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play in its next game when the Eagles host Florida A&M University on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m.