PHILADELPHIA, – UNCW women's basketball had its late comeback attempt fell short at Drexel, 68-55, in Coastal Athletic Association action at Daskalakis Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon. 

UNCW fell to 12-12 on the season and 6-5 in the CAA, while Drexel, the 2024 CAA Champions, improved to 12-9 overall and 8-3 in the league. The Dragons extended their home record to 10-1 and outrebounded UNCW 41-22.

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Henderson paced the Seahawks with 16 points, including 12 in the second half. Ali Zelaya reached double figures for the ninth consecutive game with 14 points, four rebounds and four blocks. 

The Seahawks got off to a promising start by scoring the first four points in a little over a minute of action to begin the contest. However, the Dragons woke up and outscored UNCW 22-7 to end the quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

Drexel built its lead to 20 points with just over five minutes to play in the opening half, but UNCW finished the half strong by making four of their last five field goals to cut the Dragons' lead to 41-27 at the break. 

The Dragons shot 50% from the field in the first half, including 43% from beyond the arc with six three-pointers. Drexel outrebounded UNCW 22-11 in the half, including 10-3 on the offensive glass, and held a 16-7 advantage in bench points. UNCW went 44% from the field in the opening half on 27 attempts. Tia Dobson and Jania Hall led the Seahawks with seven points, while Zelaya added six and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Both teams cooled off from the floor in the third quarter as Drexel remained in front by 15 heading into the final 10 minutes of play. Henderson scored seven of the Seahawks' 12 points in the quarter.

UNCW threw a barrage of punches to start the fourth quarter, embarking on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 56-49 with 6:04 to play. However, the Seahawks couldn't get any closer as the Dragons pulled away down the stretch. 

The Seahawks held Amaris Baker, the CAA's leading scorer, to just seven points on 13 shot attempts. Four Dragons finished in double figures as Chloe Hodges led the way for Drexel with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists.

UP NEXT

UNCW returns to Trask Coliseum for Alumni Night against Elon on Friday at 7 p.m. Elon leads the all-time series, 16-9. The Seahawks are 5-7 against the Phoenix in games played in Wilmington.