NEWARK, Del. – After building a 16-point lead early in the second quarter, UNCW women's basketball went cold offensively in the third, falling to Delaware, 72-67, in Coastal Athletic Association action at Bob Carpenter Center on Friday night.

UNCW slipped to 12-11 overall and 6-4 in the CAA, while Delaware improved to 6-14 and 3-7 in the league.

Four Seahawks finished in double figures. Jania Hall led the Seahawks with 17 points and needs just 16 for 1,000 in her career. Ali Zelaya added 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Tia Dobson finished with 11 points and four assists and Taylor Henderson chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.

After the game started with UNCW shooting an administrative technical free throw, the Seahawks dominated Delaware in the first quarter, building an 8-0 lead in just over two minutes of play. UNCW extended the lead to 18-6 with 4:44 left in the opening quarter, and Hall hit a buzzer-beater to put UNCW up 28-14 heading into the second. 

In the opening quarter, the Seahawks shot 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point distance. Zelaya led the way with eight points, shooting 3-of-3 from the field, while Kate Hollifield added six points on a pair of 3-pointers.

Graduate guard Evan Miller broke the program's 14-year career games played record in the first quarter. Miller entered the game with 5:15 left in the quarter to surpass the record of 126 games held by Treasure Johnson and Martha White (both played at UNCW from 2007-11). Miller also moved into the program's top five for career minutes played, passing Tracy Morgan's (2000-04) total of 3,144 minutes.

Delaware outscored UNCW in the second quarter, 16-11, to cut the deficit to single digits at the half, 39-30. The Seahawks held a 12-4 advantage in bench points and a 14-7 edge in points off turnovers. UNCW shot 52% in the opening half while holding the Blue Hens to 40% from the field. Dobson led the Seahawks with nine points at the half, while Zelaya and Hall had eight. 

The Blue Hens continued to trim into the Seahawks' lead in the third, getting within five points at the midway point, forcing head coach Nicole Woods to take a timeout. Delaware exploded on an 8-0 run after the timeout to take its first lead, 50-47, with 3:20 left in the third quarter and a 58-51 lead into the fourth. The Blue Hens held the Seahawks without a field goal for the final 6:11 of the third quarter.

After trailing by 13 with 5:30 left, UNCW cut the deficit to seven (68-61) with 3:51 to play. The Seahawks came within five points (72-67) in the final seconds, but could not get any closer. Delaware outscored UNCW in the second half, 42-28. The Blue Hens finished with a 36-20 advantage in points in the paint and forced 20 turnovers.

UP NEXT

UNCW travels to Philadelphia on Sunday for a battle against Drexel at 1 p.m. The Seahawks are looking to snap a 25-game winless streak against the Dragons since 2011. Drexel has won 34 of the 42 all-time meetings. UNCW has not beaten Drexel in Philadelphia since 2010.