CAA Women’s Basketball Recap – Feb. 13
Ben Kane
Drexel 68, Elon 59
Box Score
A 27-point effort from Amaris Baker lifted Drexel (15-8, 8-4 CAA) to a 68-59 victory over Elon (11-13, 6-6 CAA). Deja Evans chipped in 14 points and a team-high seven boards to help secure the Dragons’ seventh win in their last eight games. The Phoenix’s Tamia Watkins registered 16 points, four rebounds and four assists in the setback.
The Dragons grew their lead to as many as nine in the opening quarter as Baker connected on two of the team’s four triples to take a 15-6 lead. The Phoenix battled back to within four, 19-15, early in the second stanza as Laila Anderson scored four straight points, including a transition layup with 6:12 to play. Drexel took a nine-point edge, 31-22, into the intermission after Evans sank a putback with 23 seconds left.
Baker took over the third quarter, scoring 10 of the team’s 22 points in the frame to bump the Dragons’ lead into double figures. Elon slashed its deficit down to as few as six after opening the final frame with 10 unanswered points, part of a larger 14-2 run capped off by a Taylor Watkins finish off the glass. It was as close as the Phoenix would get as the Dragons kept the visitors at bay down the stretch.
Stony Brook 68, Monmouth 60
Box Score
In a game that saw eight ties and 13 lead changes, Stony Brook (14-10, 9-2 CAA) emerged victorious with a 68-60 win on the road over Monmouth (15-8, 8-4 CAA). Janay Brantley logged 21 points and five rebounds in the win. Diaka Berete went 5-of-6 from distance en route to a 17-point, four-steal performance. Sandra Frau-Garcia went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe to finish with 15 points, six boards and four assists. The triumph marked the Seawolves’ ninth win in their last 10 games.
Stony Brook closed out the opening quarter with an 11-3 run, including Diaka Berete’s third triple of the frame, to secure a 17-11 lead. Gigi Gamble helped the Hawks battle back with a 3-pointer and a pair of made free throws, part of a 9-0 spree to put the home team ahead by one, 26-25, with 2:30 to play in the first half. Janay Brantley gave the Seawolves a two-point lead, 32-30, at halftime with a trifecta as time expired.
Neither team led by more than four points through the first 10 minutes of the second half. Stony Brook took over in the fourth quarter as Brantley started the frame with a triple that sent the visitors on a 12-3 run to take a 60-54 lead. Frau-Garcia scored six of the final eight points for the Seawolves to counter a pair of 3-pointers from the Hawks’ Gamble to secure the win.
UNCW 69, North Carolina A&T 64
Box Score
Rori Cox’s 33-point performance lifted UNCW (6-17, 2-10 CAA) to a 69-64 victory over North Carolina A&T (4-8, 9-14 CAA). The graduate guard went 8-for-15 from the floor with three 3-pointers and a 14-of-16 showing at the charity stripe. Cox also logged nine boards, five assists and three steals. Kylah Silver also reached double figures in scoring with a 12-point, eight-rebound effort. The Aggies’ Chaniyah Clark posted 17 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Paris Locke and D’Mya Tucker chipped in 14 and 10 points apiece, respectively.
After UNCW jumped out to a five-point lead on back-to-back buckets from Cox, A&T’s Locke and Hardy retaliated with three treys and an 11-0 run to go up by six, 13-7. The Aggies saw their lead grow to as many as eight in the second quarter. The Seahawks’ Cox returned the favor and hit a 3-pointer before time expired to slash the deficit to five, 24-19, through 10 minutes of action.
The Aggies grew their lead to double digits before halftime and expanded it as high as 12 early in the second half. UNCW stormed back to take a five-point edge, 50-45, after a 20-3 spree in the third quarter, seeing Cox score nine points of her own. The Seahawks kept the Aggies at bay in the fourth frame, not letting the opposition get closer than three down the stretch.
Charleston 69, Northeastern 47
Box Score
Taryn Barbot registered 17 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to help Charleston (20-3, 12-0 CAA) secure its 13
th straight win with a 69-47 victory over Northeastern (6-16, 2-10 CAA). Barbot also pulled down nine rebounds to go with three assists and three steals. Grace Ezebilo notched 11 points and 13 boards for her fourth double-double of the season. Sophia Togas and Tyja Beans chipped in 12 and 10 points apiece, respectively. The Cougars scored 20 points on second-chance efforts.
Neither team led by more than five in the first quarter, seeing Morgan Matthews drain a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the frame to pull the Huskies to within two, 16-14. After watching the Cougars bump their lead to seven early in the second quarter, the Huskies battled back to deadlock the score at 23 with 90 seconds to play. Shortly after, CofC’s Jami Hill connected from distance as time expired to take a 26-23 lead into the break.
Northeastern took a 30-26 advantage early after Nariyah Simmons registered five of the first seven points of the third quarter. It was all Charleston over the final 7:27 of the frame, scoring 17 straight points and going on a 23-2 run, capped off by a layup from Ezebilo. Barbot scored 10 of her 22 total points in the third stanza alone. The Cougars did not relinquish a double-digit lead down the stretch. Matthews registered 11 points and three boards for the Huskies.
Hofstra 58, Campbell 47
Box Score
Campbell (16-9, 9-3 CAA) shot 52.0% from the floor in the second half to capture a 58-47 home victory over Hofstra (4-19, 2-10 CAA). Jasmine Nivar led the charge with 15 of her 17 total points coming in the final 20 minutes of action, adding six boards, three assists and a trio of steals. Gianni Boone recorded 14 points and Olivia Tucker rounded out those in double figures with 13 points. Hofstra’s Chloe Sterling scored 14 points, while Alarice Gooden and Emma Von Essen logged 11 points apiece.
Tucker helped guide a Camels’ 11-2 run out of the gate with a pair of triples. After a brief trade of buckets, the Pride rattled off 17 unanswered points through the seven-minute mark of the second quarter to flip their nine-point deficit into a 22-13 advantage. The game of runs continued as Boone registered five of the next seven Campbell points to make it a two-point game, 22-20, with under a minute to play. The Pride took a 27-23 lead into halftime after a late finish inside the arc by Chloe Sterling.
Campbell erased an early six-point deficit in the third quarter to eventually take a two-point lead. Boone finished at the rim before a Hadleigh Dill trifecta with 33 seconds remaining lifted the Camels to a 40-38 heading into the final stanza. Campbell continued to bolster its lead as Nivar scored six points in the first 2:05 of the fourth quarter to put her team ahead by nine and never looked back. Hofstra worked its deficit to as few as five, but the Camels staved off the comeback by closing the game on a 9-3 spurt.
Towson 66, Hampton 49
Box Score
Towson (14-10, 7-5 CAA) earned a 69-44 victory at Hampton (9-15, 3-9 CAA) following a 19-point effort from India Johnston. Masyn Marchbanks watched four of her five makes fall from distance and finished with 14 points. The Tigers outrebounded the Pirates, 52-31. Hampton’s Kayla Lezama and Kiarra Mcelrath chipped in 17 points apiece.
Marchbanks connected on a trio of trifectas to help Towson jump out to a 16-9 lead through 10 minutes of action. Johnston scored five of the first nine unanswered points for the Tigers to take a 25-9 edge. Towson’s lead grew to as many as 19 before taking a 33-16 lead into the intermission. The Tigers maintained an extensive lead through the entire second half before securing a 25-point win. Hampton’s Lezama scored 13 of her 17 in the final 20 minutes of action.