WASHINGTON, D.C. – No. 10 UNCW women's basketball fell to seventh-seeded Delaware, 71-55, in the second round of the Credit Union 1 Coastal Athletic Association Championship at CareFirst Arena on Thursday night.

In a game that featured 11 ties and nine lead changes, Delaware outscored the Seahawks 22-8 in the final quarter. The Blue Hens improved to 13-16 on the season, while UNCW ended the season with a 14-18 overall record, winning nine more games than last season. The Seahawks also tallied eight conference wins, matching their total from the past four seasons.

Ali Zelaya, the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, ended her collegiate career with her 11th double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Henderson reached double figures with 10 points and four boards. 

In her final collegiate game, Jania Hall, the 2024 CAA Sixth Player of the Year, finished with nine points and 1,053 for her career. Evan Miller, the program's all-time leader with 136 games played, tallied two points to end her career with 971. Miller also finished her career fourth all-time in program history in minutes played (3,378), seventh in three-pointers made (124), and 10th in field goal attempts (993).

Both teams started slow, making just two of their first 11 attempts. Delaware held a 13-10 lead in the final seconds of the first quarter, but Hall answered with an off-balanced buzzer-beating three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 13.

The Blue Hens scored the first four points of the second quarter, but UNCW scored six straight points to retake the lead with 5:36 left in the half. Delaware rallied back, outscoring the Seahawks 10-4 in the last half of the quarter to take a 27-23 lead into the break.

UNCW shot 8-of-30 (27%) from the field in the opening half, while the Blue Hens went 11-of-33 (33%). Seven Seahawks scored in the first half, led by six points from Kate Hollifield. 

The Seahawks scored seven straight points to begin the third quarter, getting two buckets from Henderson and a three-pointer from Zelaya to regain the lead. Shortly after, Delaware countered for the game's ninth lead change and led 39-36 at the media timeout during the midway point of the third. 

UNCW tied the game for the tenth time, 42-42, with 2:29 in the third after Corrie McLaughlin converted a three-point play at the charity stripe, but the Hens held a slim 49-47 lead heading into the fourth. Henderson scored eight points in the quarter for UNCW.

Delaware flipped the script, starting the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run for its largest lead (56-47), forcing head coach Nicole Woods to call a timeout with 7:22 left to play.

The Blue Hens closed the book on the Seahawks' season, upping the lead to as many as 18 in the fourth. Delaware forced 20 turnovers in the game and shot 8-for-12 from the field in the final quarter.