#7 UNCW Outlasts #10 CofC in #CAAChamps Opening Round
UNCW senior Jasmine Steele scored 17 points in Wednesday's first round win.

#7 UNCW Outlasts #10 CofC in #CAAChamps Opening Round

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Michael Ray

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HARRISONBURG, Va. (March 8, 2017) – Seventh-seeded UNCW (11-19) advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship with a 49-44 victory over tenth-seeded College of Charleston (9-21) at the JMU Convocation Center.


 
How It Happened
From the opening tip, it seemed this contest was going to be a back and forth affair. It would stay that way until the 2:55 mark in the second quarter, when UNCW guard Madison Raque would sink a free throw, to make it 25-24 and put the Seahawks ahead to stay.
 
After the free throw by Raque, the contest turned into a defensive battle, as both teams would hold each under 35 percent from the field. The Seahawks would take a 31-24 lead into the locker room.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Cougars turned up the defensive intensity, as they were able to hold the Seahawks scoreless for almost nine minutes, but had their intensity matched, as UNCW held the Cougars scoreless for the final 3:16 of the quarter.
 
Trailing 48-44, Charleston guard Cailin Dorsey narrowly missed a contested three-pointer. The Seahawks were able grab the rebound and were fouled, sending Jasmine Steele to the line to ice the game with a free throw.
 
By The Numbers
  • - UNCW’s Jasmine Steele led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
 
  • - The Seahawks’ Rebekah Banks grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
  • - Senior guard Breanna Bolden added another double-double to her career total, as she finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds in her final game for the Cougars. She finishes sixth all-time in CAA history with 333 steals to go along with 1,672 points and 845 rebounds.
  • - CofC’s Tanisha Brown notched her 11th double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
  • - The Cougars out-rebounded UNCW, 43-39, holding them to eight offensive boards.

UNCW Head Coach on Adell Harris on her team’s performance: “Struggling from beyond the arc really hurt our offense today…Luckily, we were able to hold them to fewer points.”
 
UNCW senior guard Jasmine Steele on facing James Madison tomorrow: “We’re used to being the underdog and we’ll come out ready to play tomorrow.”
 
College of Charleston Head Coach Candice M. Jackson on her team’s performance: “We didn’t really shoot the ball as we could have and normally do, we had too many turnovers, and it’s hard to win games that way.”
 
 
Next up for UNCW: The Seahawks will face second-seeded James Madison in a quarterfinal matchup at 5 p.m. on March 9. The game can be seen live on CAA.tv.