WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNCW's Ryan Flowers hit a put back layup with 1.9 seconds remaining to lift the Seahawks to 63-62 victory over the William and Mary women's basketball team in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams. With the decision the Tribe falls to 6-6, 0-1 in CAA play, while the Seahawks improved to 5-7, 1-0 in league action.
Sophomore Kasey Curtis led a very balanced Tribe offensive attack with 14 points and six rebounds. Senior Jazmen Boone was also in double-figrues with 11 points, while sophomores Alexandra Masaquel and Latrice Hunter finished with nine and eight points, respectively.
UNCW opened the game on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes to build its lead by the same score. Ryan Flowers opened the scoring with three straight layups matched by a jumper by Amber Reeves to give the Seahawks a quick 8-0 lead. After a basket by Masaquel, UNCW scored the next two points on a pair of Kelva Atkins free throws.
W&M responded with a 11-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 13-12. Hunter sparked the run with a jumper, followed by a basket from Curtis. The run continued with a jumper from senior Kyla Kerstetter and Curtis, before sophomore Marlena Tremba capped the run with a triple.
The game remained a back-and-forth affair for the conclusion of the first half, with the Seahawks holding a 33-32 lead at the half. W&M, which missed its first five shots of the game, recovered to shoot 45.2-percent in the first half. Curtis led the Green and Gold with six points at the break.
W&M opened the second half on a 14-6 run to extend its lead to six points at 47-41. Freshman Jenna Green opened the second half scoring with a triple that was followed by a Seahawk basket. Curtis scored the six of the game's next eight points that extended the Tribe's lead to four points. After another Seahawk basket, the Tribe scored back-to-back baskets from Curtis and Boone to give the Green and Gold the six point advantage with 14:54 to play.
Trailing by seven, 55-48, UNCW used an 8-1 run to tie the score at 56-56 with 6:20 to play. Flowers sparked the run with four straight points for the Seahawks. Following a Tribe free throw, Shatia Cole and Atkins hit back-to-back jumpers tying the score.
After the Tribe built a four-point lead, 62-58, with 1:47 remaining, the Seahawks answered the bell once again. Atkins hit a step back three-pointer, before Flowers hit the game-winner for UNCW.
Flowers led UNCW with a double-double on 12 points and 13 rebounds. She led three players in double-figures, including Atkins, who finished with 14 and Brie Mobley, who had 11.
W&M, which had struggled from the field in its last two contests, returned to form and finished the game shooting 47.4-percent (27-of-57) from the field. The Tribe has shot better than 40-percent in eight of its 12 games this year.
Green finished the game with six points for the Tribe going a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc. On the glass, Masaquel, Boone, Tremba, and Curtis all finished with six rebounds apiece.
The Tribe concludes its two game CAA opening road trip at Towson on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. W&M continues its stretch of four games in eight days as it welcomes Elon (Jan. 9) and James Madison (Jan. 11) to Kaplan Arena. Tipoff for those games are set for 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
