GREENVILLE, N.C. – UNCW put forth a valiant effort to erase an 11-point deficit in the second quarter, but the Seahawks came up short against East Carolina, 71-56, in women's basketball action at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Jania Hall led the Seahawks with 13 points and six assists, bringing her career points total to 875.

Taylor Henderson added nine points, while Isis Fitch and Corrie McLaughlin each chipped in with eight points. McLaughlin tied her season-high for points in the contest in 26 minutes of action off the bench.

East Carolina got off to a hot start, grabbing an early 11-point lead en route to a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Pirates shot 9-of-18 from the field and recorded 12 points in the paint in the opening quarter. Henderson had a team-high seven points for UNCW in the quarter.

UNCW ramped up the intensity on both ends of the floor to outscore East Carolina 23-12 in the second quarter. Trailing 29-18 with 7:40 left in the quarter, the Seahawks went on an emphatic 18-3 run to end the half, highlighted by the scoring from Hall and McLaughlin.

Down by three (32-29) with 2:00 left in the first half, Ali Zelaya became the eighth different UNCW player to score in the game, cutting the deficit to one. On the next possession, Henderson came up with a steal and found Hall in transition. Hall went to the foul line and made a pair of free throws to give UNCW its first lead, 33-32, with 1:36 left in the first half. Moments later, Hall responded with a three-point bucket with 32 seconds left to put the Seahawks up 36-32 at the break.

East Carolina stormed back to start the third quarter on a 13-2 run, which propelled the Pirates to an eight-point lead heading into the final quarter. Amiya Joyner led the way for East Carolina with a game-high 30 points and 16 rebounds. Jayla Hearp finished with 16 points.

UP NEXT

UNCW returns to Trask Coliseum on Sunday, Dec. 29 for a 1 p.m. game against Longwood. UNCW leads the all-time series, 3-1, since 2004. Three of the four games in the series have been decided by six points or less. Longwood won the last meeting back in 2019, 59-58. The Lancers return to Trask Coliseum for the first time since 2018. The Seahawks won a low-scoring affair that day, 35-33. The game will be streamed on FloCollege with 95.9 The Breeze carrying the audio stream. Links can be found at UNCWSports.com/coverage.