CHARLESTON, South Carolina – If one of the goals for a basketball team is to be playing its best at the end of the season, UNCW is certainly heading in the right direction.
The Seahawks used a combined 43-point performance from sophomore guard
Brie Mobley (Winter Haven H.S./Winter Haven, Fla.) and senior guard
Kelva Atkins (Granville Central H.S./Stem, N.C.) to earn their fifth win in the last six games, a 76-65 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the College of Charleston at TD Arena on Sunday night.
With the win, UNCW improved to 13-15 overall and 9-8 in the CAA while moving into sole possession of fifth place in the league ledger. The Cougars, who were playing their final home game this season, dropped to 5-23 overall and 3-14 in league play.
Atkins made 10 of 15 shots from the floor and was 2-for-3 from the free throw line to score a game-high 23 points while contributing five assists and two steals. Coming off a school-record 46-point effort against Delaware, Mobley added a 20-point performance against the Cougars after an 8-for-18 showing from the field. She also made four of free throws with three assists.
Led by seven points from junior forward
Jacqueline Luna-Castro (Boise, Idaho), the Cougars took an early 11-8 lead in the opening six-plus minutes of the game. But, UNCW answered by going on a 26-10 run over the next 12 minutes to claim a 36-21 advantage with 2:11 left in the opening stanza.
The two teams traded a pair of field goals before Luna-Castro scored with 23 seconds remaining to trim the Cougars' deficit to 40-27 at the intermission.
Charleston narrowed the gap to 40-33 in the first three minutes of the second half before a 15-6 run by the Seahawks extended the margin to 55-39 with 11:03 left on a jumper by Mobley.
UNCW continued to extend its cushion and led by as many as 21 points with five minutes remaining. But, Charleston tried to make a comeback by scoring 15 of the next 17 points before three free throws by the Seahawks in the final 58 seconds secured the victory.
While Mobley and Atkins led the Seahawks' effort against Charleston, senior forward
Sarah Myatt (Southern Alamance H.S./Burlington, N.C.) came off the bench to add 13 points with eight rebounds. Sophomore forward
Naqaiyyah Teague (Malcolm X. Shabazz H.S./Newark, N.J.) nearly posted a "double double" by scoring eight points with a team-high 11 rebounds.
Luna Castro led the Cougars in the loss by scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds for her second "double double" of the season. Sophomore forward
Breanna Bolden (South River H.S./Edgewater, Md.) scored a team-high 21 points with six rebounds.
The Seahawks will return home on Wednesday night to host Hofstra in the regular season finale for both teams. Opening tip-off from Trask Coliseum is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be available on the Seahawk Digital Network.
