After spending the last three games away from home, the UNCW women’s basketball team returned to the friendly confines of Trask Coliseum on Thursday night with a 76-68 win over Elon.
The Seahawks (7-11, 3-4) surged out to a 20-point lead in the first half and held off a late charge by the Phoenix (11-7, 4-3) to earn the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) result and moved to 3-4 in conference.
Senior guard Kelva Atkins scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the opening 20 minutes as UNCW built a 39-21 lead at the break. Led by eight points from Atkins, the Seahawks sprinted out to a 13-3 advantage in the opening five minutes of the game while limiting the Phoenix to just one field goal in seven attempts.
UNCW continued to increase its cushion and went up 39-19 with 24 seconds remaining in the opening period before a jumper by junior guard Josepha Mbouma to end the first half gave the Seahawks an 18-point edge.
The Seahawks pushed the advantage back to 52-35 with 12:42 left in regulation, but Elon went on an 11-2 spurt to trim the margin to 54-46 with 9:34 remaining. Sophomore guard Lauren Brown connected on two of the Phoenix’s three three-point field goals during the run.
After UNCW put the advantage back into double digits at 58-47, Elon responded by scoring 15 of the next 23 points to narrow the gap to 66-62 with 31 seconds remaining on a three-point field goal by senior guard Zora Stephenson.
The Seahawks secured the victory by making 10 consecutive free throws in the final 28 seconds.
Sophomore guard Brie Mobley added 15 points with five rebounds and four assists, while sophomore guard Naqaiyyah Teague scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
UNCW return to Trask Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 25, to host Towson in a CAA clash at 2p.m.
