DAHLONEGA – In the First Round of the 2025 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship, the No. 6 and top-seeded University of North Georgia (UNG) women's basketball team ran away with a 78-64 victory over eighth-seeded UNC Pembroke Friday evening at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center.

UNG's 14-point victory was the largest margin by any team in the opening round of the Southeast regional on Friday.

Despite shooting 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from deep in the game, the Nighthawks went 26-for-42 (61.9 percent) on two-point attempts to run away with the game after the first quarter.

The Braves kept things close in the first quarter of the game and led 22-21 in front of a home crowd that was not on their side. Things shifted in the second quarter however as UNG out-scored UNC Pembroke 17-7 in the frame to take a 38-29 lead into halftime. 

In the third quarter, the lead eventually blossomed to double figures thanks to a three pointer from graduate forward Emily Trushel to make it 54-42 Nighthawks with 2:24 to play in the third quarter. The Braves would never get closer than 11 points for the rest of the game as UNG put the game on ice after taking a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter at one point. 

Trushel was second on the team in scoring after dropping 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting with a 3-for-7 mark from downtown. She added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in yet another, spectacular, all-around performance.

Graduate guard Carolin Martin was simply dominant on Friday after posting a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double to lead all scorers and rebounders in the game. The outing marked the 2025 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Southeast Region Player of the Year's 14th 20-point outing of the season. 14 rebounds marked a new career-high for Martin as well as she helped her team score 14 second chance points and 52 points in the paint with six boards on the offensive end of the floor.

Freshman guard Averie Jones set the new program record (passing Martin) for points in an NCAA Tournament debut by a freshman with 15 points and five rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting against the Braves.

Senior point guard Ansley Hall had nine points while tying a game-high with four assists as well. 

The win marked the sixth First Round win in the NCAA Tournament for UNG under head coach Buffie Burson who now holds a 13-7 record in NCAA Tournament games in her coaching career.

After advancing past UNC Pembroke, Burson and the Nighthawks now look to keep things going in the Regional Semifinal against Peach Belt Conference rival and fifth-seeded Columbus State (CSU) which snuck past fourth-seeded Francis Marion 89-83 in overtime in the final game of the day on Friday.

The Cougars and Nighthawks split the regular-season series 1-1 as both teams won on the road against their respective opponents. While CSU ended UNG's 13-game win streak to start the season with a 77-64 win in Dahlonega, the Nighthawks got revenge in February with a 72-70 win in Columbus, Ga. to set the table for the program's fifth PBC regular-season title. 

Tip-off on Saturday in the Regional Semifinals takes place from Lynn Cottrell Arena at 7:30 p.m.