PEMBROKE — Before the season, the league’s coaches picked The University of North Carolina at Pembroke women’s basketball team to win the Conference Carolinas championship — an acknowledgement that a mostly-returning team that finished fourth a season ago had high expectations.

Once the season started, the Braves gave the early appearance of a team that had faceplanted out of the gate. But after losing its first five games, UNCP has won 15 of its 17 contests since and sits second in the conference standings entering Wednesday’s 5 p.m. home game against Southern Wesleyan.

”People were still learning; we had a lot of new people come in,” redshirt-junior guard Courtney Smith said. “I think once we hit conference, everybody was bought into the program and it just shows where our hard work is right now.”

While the Braves (15-7, 12-2 CC) have a similar look to last year’s team, which finished 19-10 overall and 17-7 in conference play, a few new faces have helped the Braves’ success this winter; the biggest additions have been guard Kalaya Hall (9.4 points, 3.9 rebounds per game) and forward Malea Garrison (3.6 points, 3.0 rebounds), both transfers from Queens.

“Kalaya brings a competitiveness, and Malea does in the way she plays, she really plays hard, she’s always going after the ball and competing after the ball,” said John Haskins, in his 19th season as UNCP’s women’s head coach. “I think they’ll continue to get better; they’re learning a new system and a new coach too, so I think think it’s taken them a little time.”

Another factor in the team’s turnaround, Haskins said, is the emergence of both Hannah Russell (7.3 points, 3.4 rebounds) and Lillian Flantos (3.9 points, 3.2 rebounds) in the post.

“It’s kind of Lillian one night, Hannah one night, but we’re getting more out of the five position where we were getting very little early in the season,” Haskins said. “That combination has been better and I think we’re scoring, getting some easier buckets around the basket.”

Three of the Braves’ first five losses came by four points or less. Three straight narrow victories — overtime wins over St. Augustine’s and Emmanuel and a 69-66 win against Francis Marion — began the turnaround. After a nonconference loss at Lenoir-Rhyne, UNCP earned another close win with a 73-71 decision at King, then won games a little more comfortably in the next three to finish the 2022 calendar year with a winning record overall, 7-6, and a 4-1 league mark.

The momentum continued into January, an 8-1 month, with the eight wins coming by an average margin of 21.6 points.

UNCP’s defense is its strength, ranking fourth nationally in NCAA Division II in field-goal percentage defense (33.4%) and 12th in scoring defense (54.8 points per game); over the last six games, the Braves have allowed just 43.5 points per game.

“That’s where it starts,” Haskins said. “It’s our defense that’s going to kind of be consistent for 40 minutes. … I think we’ve got to bring the defense and rebounding every night to have a chance to win.”

While it’s unlikely anyone would describe the Braves offense as explosive, improvement on that end of the floor has also factored in the Braves’ recent success. After scoring just 52.0 points per game in their first five games, the Braves have averaged 66.0 per contest over their last nine.

“I think (we’re) just being more confident, since everyone’s learning in a new system,” said sophomore forward Zaria Clark. “So just being more confident in what you can take and read off the defense.”

Different Braves have taken turns leading the way offensively from night to night; statistical leaders for the season include Smith (12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists), Clark (10.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists), Hall, Russell and Kelci Adams (6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds). Haskins lists all of these players, along with Alcenia Purnell and Aniah McManus, as team leaders.

That balance, on and off the floor, is appropriate for a team that touts its chemistry as a strength, and one that much of the core has played together for two or three years.

“When we compete on the court, we might get into some fights, but at the end of the day we’re all teammates and we’re all trying to have the same goal,” Clark said.

As the Braves look to sustain their recent success over the final six games of the regular season, they’ve got their goals still in front of them — but the focus will be on the next game up.

“I think taking it one game at a time, that’s the best thing we can do this season,” Smith said. “Instead of looking ahead, ‘hey I want to be right here before playoffs’; I think us taking it one game at a time will benefit us as well.”

The Lady Braves program has never qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but has put themselves in contention for a berth this season, currently ranking ninth in the Southeast Regional rankings; eight teams will qualify. Haskins looks to the Conference Carolinas Tournament — with an automatic NCAA bid for its champion — as the team’s best opportunity to qualify.

“If we can continue to progress and win games and put ourselves where we’re automatically in the semifinals, that would be a great position to be in, where we’ve got to win two games to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Haskins said. “I think when we’re playing well, we’re capable of beating anybody in the league.”