CofC Rallies Over UNCW to Advance to Quarters
Rob Washburn
BOX SCORE | CAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (March 9, 2016) – Eighth-seeded College of Charleston rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat #9 UNCW, 71-62, in the opening game of the 2016 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship on Wednesday afternoon at The Show Place Arena.
The Cougars (11-19) advance to play top-seeded James Madison at noon on Thursday in the quarterfinals. UNCW’s season came to an end with a 7-23 mark.
Junior All-CAA guard
Bre Bolden paced CofC with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard
Dajah Logan tallied 15 points and eight rebounds. UNCW was led by senior All-CAA guard
Shatia Cole, who hit 5-of-11 from 3-point range and finished with 19 points.
Jasmine Steele added 16 points and
Jordan Henry contributed seven points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Seahawks, who dressed only six players due to injuries.
UNCW took its largest lead of the game, 42-31, on a layup by Steele with 9:16 remaining in the third quarter. However, the Cougars reeled off a 15-2 run and went ahead for the first time all afternoon, 46-44, on a jumper by Logan with 1:42 left in the period.
CofC was up 51-50 entering the fourth quarter and opened the final stanza on an 11-2 surge to take control. Freshman
Darien Huff capped the run with a layup and jumper that increased the Cougars’ advantage to 62-52 with 6:56 to go.
The Seahawks got as close as 65-62 on a
Madison Raque layup with 1:32 remaining, but UNCW didn’t score after that and CofC sealed the victory by hitting four consecutive free throws.
CofC shot 51.7% from the floor in the second half and shot 48.1% for the game, while UNCW shot just 28.8% for the game, including 21.9% over the final two quarters.
UNCW jumped out to a 9-2 advantage to start the game and never trailed in the first half. The Seahawks ended the first quarter with a 24-20 lead, which matched their point total from a week ago when they were beaten 68-24 at CofC in the regular-season finale.
The Cougars got as close as 33-31 with 3:18 remaining in the second quarter on a Bolden jumper, but UNCW scored the final seven points of the period to go ahead 40-31 at halftime. Cole was 4-of-8 from three-point range and poured in a team-best 14 points in the first half, while Raque and Steele added seven points apiece.
The Cougars were hurt by 13 first-half turnovers. Bolden had a team-best 16 first-half points for CofC, while Logan chipped in seven points.