Balanced Scoring Attack Propels UNCW Past Charleston in CAA Tourney Opener
BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS | SIGHTS & SOUNDS | PHOTO GALLERY | CHARLESTON PRESSER | UNCW PRESSER
ELON, N.C. (March 11, 2020) – Ninth-seeded UNCW sprinted out to a 16-2 lead and never looked back in a 69-55 victory over #8 Charleston in the opening game of the 2020 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by Sonabank, on Wednesday afternoon at Schar Center.
The Seahawks (10-20) advance to play top-seeded Drexel at Noon on Thursday, while the Cougars’ campaign came to a close with a 13-17 mark.
Senior guard Ahyiona Vason led a balanced UNCW scoring effort with 20 points on 8-of-13 FG shooting. Lacey Suggs tallied 14 points, GiGi Smith added 13 points and Moriah Crisp contributed 10 points and a career-high seven steals. The seven steals were one away from the CAA tournament record.
Charleston was paced by sophomore guard Tyler Collins, who was a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line and scored a game-high 28 points, which was one shy of her career-best. Madison Taylor chipped in 12 points for the Cougars.
UNCW, which shot 53.3% from the floor during the opening 10 minutes, scored the game’s first eight points and went up 16-2 on a Suggs layup with 3:59 to go in the first quarter. The Seahawks ended the period with a 21-9 advantage and extended the margin to 21 (38-17) late in the second quarter before taking a 38-22 lead into halftime.
Charleston fought back late in the third quarter, using an 8-0 surge to close within 53-42 on a pair of Deja Ford free throws with 1:45 left in the stanza. However, Suggs made back-to-back buckets to open the fourth period that pushed the Seahawks’ advantage back to 15 (59-44), and the Cougars never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
UNCW shot 46.6% for the game, including 6-of-15 (40%) from 3-point range. Vason’s 20 points were her second-most of the season. Charleston made just 25.9% of its field goal attempts, but was 21-of-25 at the free throw line.