Rocky Mount, N.C. - Behind the stellar play of junior Samantha Urquhart, North Carolina Wesleyan earned its third straight USA South victory on Wednesday night with a 77-67 win over Methodist University in Everett Gymnasium. Urquhart led all players with a season-high 23 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. With the win, Wesleyan climbs above the .500 mark at 7-6 overall and evens its league record at 4-4.

It was a back-and-forth game early as the two squads fought through a pair of lead changes and five ties. The Monarchs (7-8, 4-4 USA South) evenually pulled away for their largest lead, 27-20, with 6:13 remaining, but the Bishops countered with a 8-1 run to knot the score. An Emily Huneycutt free throw gave MU a slim 36-35 advantage at the break.

Wesleyan came out on fire in the second half, out-scoring Methodist 14-4 over the first five minutes of the period for a 49-40 lead. The pivotal stretch was capped by back-to-back treys by sophomores Kourtney Salisbury and Monet Edwards.

The Monarchs, however, battled back with a 17-6 rally of their own to go up 57-55 at the 8:10 mark. The Bishops then turned to Urquhart, who completed the first of two old-fashioned three-point plays to put Wesleyan back on top 58-57. NCWC would not trail again as Urquhart and sophomore Tiffany Bell knocked down huge shots from downtown to spark a 15-2 run that allowed the Bishops to pull away for the 10-point victory.

Bell joined Urquhart in double figures with 11 points and narrowly missed a double-double of her own with nine boards. Shelby Jackson chipped in 10 points, while fellow freshman NaTaih Davis was big off the bench with eight points and six rebounds. Additionally, Salisbury and Bell dished out five assists apiece.

For Methodist, Christina Schrader and T.T. Taylor had 17 and 13 points, respectively. Jackie Lyles pulled down a game-high 13 boards.

The Bishops led nearly every statistical category, including out-shooting the Monarchs 41 percent to 36 percent and out-rebounding MU 54-43. Wesleyan also netted six treys on the night compared to three for Methodist.

Wesleyan continues USA South play on Saturday at Ferrum. Tip-off is slated for 2:00pm.