HEMPSTEAD, New York – Senior guard
Kelva Atkins (Granville Central H.S./Stem, N.C.) and junior guard
Shatia Cole (Myrtle Beach H.S./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) each scored 18 points, but UNCW (6-11, 2-4) was unable to overcome a strong shooting effort by Hofstra University (12-5, 5-1) as the Pride earned a 71-57 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Seahawks at the Mack Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon.
The victory allowed the Pride to earn their fifth win in the last six games. Meanwhile, the Seahawks suffered their third loss in a row.
Led by seven points from sophomore forward
Elo Edeferioka (Warri, Nigeria), the Pride sprinted out to a 19-9 lead in the opening seven minutes of the first half. But, the Seahawks answered by scoring 14 of the 19 points to narrow the gap to 24-23 with 8:33 left on a traditional three-point play by junior guard
Shatia Cole (Myrtle Beach H.S./Myrtle Beach, S.C.).
The teams exchanged a three-point field goal before the Pride tallied 13 of the final 18 points to extend their advantage to 40-31 at the intermission.
After sophomore guard
Kelly Loftus (Mount Vernon H.S./Alexandria, Va.) scored five straight points to open the second half for the Pride, UNCW went on a 10-0 run over a two-minute span to trim the deficit to 45-41 with 15:16 remaining on a Cole three-point play.
The Seahawks closed the gap to 51-48 with 9:59 remaining before Hofstra went on an 18-5 run to increase the margin to 69-53 with 3:52 left on a traditional three-point play by freshman guard
Ashunae Durant (Bloomfield Tech H.S./Newark, N.J.). Â
Loftus led Hofstra to the victory by scoring 17 points after making 6 of 11 shots from the floor in addition to grabbing seven rebounds. Edeferioka added 16 points with seven rebounds while Durant contributed 14 points.
Atkins, who moved into 12th place on the Seahawks' career scoring list, made 6 of 19 shots from the floor en route to her game-high 18 points while adding five assists and four rebounds. Cole added a season-high 18 points, including 10 in the second half, with four rebounds.
The Seahawks return home to Trask Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 22 for a CAA contest against Elon University. Opening tip-off between the Seahawks and the Phoenix is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
