WILMINGTON, North Carolina – In the movie "The Three Amigos," the characters
Dusty Bottoms,
Lucky Day and
Ned Nederlander had to take on El Guapo to save the day.
In Sunday afternoon's Colonial Athletic Association game, the UNCW women's basketball team had its own version of The Three Amigos as junior guard
Shatia Cole (Myrtle Beach H.S./Myrtle Beach, S.C.), sophomore guard
Brie Mobley (Winter Haven H.S./Winter Haven, Fla.) and senior guard
Kelva Atkins (Granville Central H.S./Stem, N.C.) led the Seahawks (8-11, 4-4) to a 71-63 come-from-behind victory over Towson University (8-12, 4-4) at Trask Coliseum.
Cole, Mobley and Atkins combined to score 58 of the Seahawks' 71 points, including 33 points after the intermission, as UNCW overcame a 13-point deficit in the first half to earn its sixth consecutive home victory.
After falling behind by a 37-30 margin at the intermission, the Seahawks sprinted out of the gates in the first five minutes of the second half by going on a 17-1 run that gave UNCW a 47-38 advantage. Cole led the charge by scoring seven points during the run while Mobley contributed six points.
The Tigers closed the gap to 51-46 by scoring 8 of the next 10 points, including six points from senior forward
LaTorri Hines-Allen (Montclair H.S./Montclair, N.J.), before UNCW went on a 12-2 run over a five-minute span to build its largest advantage at 63-48 with 4:24 remaining on a three-point field goal by Cole.
Led by a pair of three-point field goals by senior guard
Ciara Webb (Patterson H.S./Baltimore, Md.), Towson used a nine-point surge to narrow the deficit to 63-57 with 2:15 remaining. But, a jumper by Cole and strong free throw shooting by the Seahawks in the final two minutes secured the victory.
Hines-Allen and senior forward
Camille Alberson (Arlington H.S./Arlington, Tenn.) each scored 10 points in the first half as Towson shot 53.8 percent from the field en route to building its first half advantage. The Tigers surged out to a 23-10 cushion in the first 9:19 of the game before UNCW closed to within 31-30 with 2:57 remaining.
Cole scored 17 of her season-high 25 points in the second half to lead UNCW to the victory. She made 8 of 14 shots from the floor and 7 of 8 free throws while contributing six assists and six rebounds. Mobley matched her season high with 20 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field while Atkins contributed 13 points with a team-high nine rebounds.
Hines-Allen posted her CAA-leading 10th "double double" of the season to pace Towson, scoring 21 points with a game-high 11 rebounds. Alberson and Webb each added 10 points for the Tigers, who have lost three of their last five games.
The Seahawks will head to the College of William & Mary on Thursday, Jan. 29 to face the Tribe in a CAA contest at Kaplan Arena. Opening tip-off between the Seahawks and the Tribe is slated for 7:00 p.m.
