UPPER MARLBORO, Maryland – After battling Elon to a pair of high-scoring victories during the regular season, the fifth-seeded UNCW women's basketball team found itself entangled with a low-scoring affair in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Basketball Championship on Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately, it was the fourth-seeded Phoenix who ended on the right side of the final score as Elon earned its first-ever CAA Tournament win with a 60-48 decision over the Seahawks at the Show Place Arena.
The Seahawks, who finished the regular season by winning six of their final seven games, end the year with a 14-16 record while Elon (19-11) advances to play against top-seeded James Madison in the semifinals on Saturday, Mar. 14 at 1:00 p.m.
The Seahawks overcame an early 9-4 deficit by scoring 10 consecutive points to claim a 14-9 advantage with 11:55 remaining on a lay-up by sophomore guard
Naqaiyyah Teague (Malcolm X. Shabazz H.S./Newark, N.J.).
But, the Phoenix ended the first half by scoring 15 of the final 21 points to take a 24-21 lead into the intermission.
Elon continued to build its advantage in the first 10 minutes of the second half, outscoring the Seahawks by a 19-6 count for a commanding 43-27 lead with 9:54 left. The Seahawks narrowed the margin to five points with 5:51 remaining, but a strong effort at the foul line allowed the Phoenix to hold off UNCW.
Junior guard
Josepha Mbouma (Watkins Mill H.S./Montgomery Village, Md.) led the Phoenix to the victory by scoring a game-high 15 points. Making her sixth start of the season, she converted four of six shots from the floor and all six of her free throw attempts. Freshman guard
Shay Burnett (Southern Alamance H.S./Graham, N.C.), a CAA All-Rookie selection, added 10 points with seven rebounds.
Sophomore guard
Brie Mobley (Winter Haven H.S./Winter Haven, Fla.), who earned second team All-CAA notice after a tremendous finish to the regular season, paced UNCW with a game-high 15 points with six rebounds while junior guard
Shatia Cole (Myrtle Beach H.S./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) tallied 12 points with six rebounds.
Senior guard
Kelva Atkins (Granville Central H.S./Stem, N.C.), who received first team All-CAA recognition by the league's head coaches, was limited to eight points in her final appearance for the Seahawks. However, she ends her career as the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,329 points and also became the second player in school history to post back-to-back 500-point campaigns.
Atkins and senior forward
Sarah Myatt (Southern Alamance H.S./Burlington, N.C.) played in their final games against Elon. A transfer from Queens University of Charlotte, Myatt appeared in 28 games for the Seahawks with seven starts.
