WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNCW women's basketball fell to Towson, 70-69, in heartbreaking fashion in Trask Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. Kate Hollifield scored eight of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter. Hollifield matched her career-high in points and shot 80% from beyond the arc with four three-pointers in the game.
In her second career start, freshman Tia Dobson tallied a career-high 11 points with five rebounds and three steals. Dobson scored the Seahawks' first four points in the opening quarter. UNCW forced six turnovers and kept Towson scoreless over the last six and half minutes of the quarter to gain a 12-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
UNCW extended its lead to 29-18 over the first five minutes of the second quarter. The spark was highlighted by three three-point field goals from the right wing as the Seahawks received two from Hollifield and one courtesy of Jania Hall. UNCW led by as many as 13 and shot 50% from beyond the arc in the quarter. Towson rallied back with a 6-0 run over the final 90 seconds of the first half, but the Seahawks held on to a 33-26 lead at the break. The Seahawks held the Tigers to shooting 13% from three-point range on eight attempts after the first 20 minutes of play. The Seahawks also had a 9-3 advantage in assists. Dobson, Henderson, and Hollifield paced the Seahawks with six points at halftime, while Hall added five.
Towson shortened the Seahawks' lead to three early in the third quarter. Hollifield responded with her third triple of the game to put the Seahawks up 36-30. Dobson's offensive presence continued in the quarter, highlighted by a coast-to-coast layup and a three-pointer from the top of the key that propelled the Seahawks into another gear. Moments later, Isis Fitch converted a three-point play and Hall scored back-to-back field goals to put the Seahawks up 52-43 with two minutes left in the third. UNCW had an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
UNCW started the fourth quarter with a two-minute scoring drought, allowing Towson to trim the lead to 54-50. UNCW responded to the challenge with an offensive outburst from Hollifield. She brought the crowd to life by scoring eight consecutive points for the Seahawks, including a three-point play, a driving left-handed layup, and her fourth triple of the game to put the Seahawks up 63-54 with five minutes to play.
Towson clawed its way back, making it a one-possession game 67-64 with 1:51 to go. Taylor Henderson responded with a basket on the other end of the floor, knocking down a 17-footer to up the Seahawks' lead to five. The Tigers came within one point (69-68) with 30 seconds left. After getting a stop on the defensive end, Towson took its first lead of the game since it was 9-6 in the first quarter on India Johnston's game-winner with 1.8 seconds left. Towson led for just over three minutes in the contest en route to their first conference win of the season, while the Seahawks fell to 1-1 in CAA play. Hall and Henderson each scored 10 points in the loss.
UP NEXT
UNCW travels to Boston for its first CAA road test against Northeastern at Cabot Center on Sunday at 2 p.m. Northeastern won both regular season matchups a season ago and ended the Seahawks' season in the first round of the CAA tournament, 66-60.
