WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia – For the second straight game, the trio of 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 way for the UNCW women's basketball team.

However, the terrific trio and the rest of their Seahawk teammates were unable to overcome a strong start to the second half by host William & Mary (9-11, 3-6) as the Tribe overcame an early deficit to post a 67-62 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Seahawks (8-12, 4-5) at Kaplan Arena on Thursday evening.

Freshman guard Jenna Green (Centreville H.S./Clifton, Va.) scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the second half to lead William & Mary, which rallied from a 12-point deficit to earn its first home win since Nov. 29.

After rallying to take a three-point lead at the end of the first half, the Tribe surged ahead in the opening nine minutes of the second stanza by going on a 20-8 run to increase their advantage to 54-39 with 11:33 remaining. Sophomore forward Alexandra Masaquel ('Iolani School/Honolulu, Hawaii) led the charge by scoring 8 of her 10 points.

But, Atkins and Cole each scored four points to ignite a 9-0 run by UNCW, trimming the deficit to 58-54 with 6:46 left.

William & Mary upped its advantage to 61-51 with 3:12 remaining in regulation before a 10-0 spurt by the Seahawks narrowed the margin to 61-60 on a Mobley jumper with 36 seconds remaining. Mobley scored 6 of her 16 points during the run.  

However, the Tribe secured the victory by making six straight free throws over the final 30 seconds.

Led by 11 points from Atkins, the Seahawks jumped out to a 27-15 lead in the first 13 minutes of the game. But, the Tribe answered by scoring 19 of the final 23 points to take a 34-31 advantage into the intermission.   

While Green led the Tribe with 16 points, senior forward Jazmen Boone (Princess Anne H.S./Virginia Beach, Va.) added 13 points with 10 rebounds. Masaquel made five of eight shots from the floor and also contributed seven rebounds.

Cole scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Seahawks by making 7 of 18 field goal attempts, including a 4-for-9 effort from three-point range. Atkins posted her third "double double" of the season with 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds while Mobley added 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field.

The Seahawks will return home on Sunday, Feb. 1 to face Drexel in a CAA contest at 1:00 p.m. at Trask Coliseum.