Box Score WILMINGTON, N.C. - Charleston Southern fought back late in the second half, but was unable to overcome a strong performance by UNC Wilmington's Kelva Atkins as the Buccaneers fell in the 2014 Seahawks Hampton Inn Christmas Invitational finale on Saturday afternoon inside Trask Coliseum, 80-70.
The Buccaneers (3-7) trailed by double-digits at the halftime break, but fought back midway through the second half in going on a 13-2 run to take a 49-48 lead on a Tatum Jarvis jumper inside the paint at the 11:43 mark. A layup by UNC Wilmington's Ryan Flowers was answered by an Alecia Hardy jumper inside the paint to give CSU the 51-50 lead, but UNCW's Atkins answered with a three-pointer and scored 19 of the Seahawks (4-5) final 30 points in helping the hosts pull away with the win.
Jarvis led three players in double-digits for the Bucs with 13 points and the CSU sophomore added six rebounds in the loss. Alise Karlsone added 11 points and six rebounds, while Marley Brown scored a career-high 10 points and had two assists for the Bucs as CSU shot 37.1 percent a team from the floor.
Atkins led all scorers from the floor with a career-high 40 points as she went 14-of-19 from the floor and 10-of-16 from the free throw line to pace the Seahawks. She added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double and was joined by Flowers (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Shatia Cole (10 points) in double-digits in the scoring column on Saturday afternoon.
Atkins put UNCW on the scoreboard early with the first three points of the game before Monique Maximilien broke the CSU scoring draught with a jumper at the 18:36 mark. Karlsone followed with a three-pointer on the break on the next Bucs' possession as CSU went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-3 lead following another Karlsone basket at the 16:22 mark.
The Seahawks answered with six straight points capped by a Cole layup as the teams battled through five ties over the next 11 minutes with Natasha Lebedeva putting the Bucs ahead by one, 24-23 with 5:42 remaining in the half as the senior from Moscow, Russia converted a pair of free throws.
The Bucs kept the game within two possessions with Karlsone connecting a short jumper inside the lane at the 3:19 mark to put the score at 32-29. UNC Wilmington answered with a Johanna McMillan three-pointer on the following possession, sparking a 11-3 run to close out the half as the Seahawks went into the break leading 43-32.
UNCW's lead remained double-digits at 46-36 following the Atkins layup at the 18:07 mark in the second half before CSU began climbing back into the game from the free throw line. Brown, Jarvis and Karlsone all hit a pair of free throws before Brown drilled a three-pointer at the 12:20 mark to put the score at 48-47. The Bucs completed the stretch on a Jarvis jumper, capping off the 13-2 run over the nearly six minute span to give CSU the 49-48 lead.
Following Flowers and Hardy's baskets to keep CSU in the lead at 51-50, Atkins drilled a three-pointer to return the lead to the Seahawks. UNCW used the momentum, going up by 16 points with 3:58 remaining on an Atkins free throw. The Bucs rallied back one final time, going on an 8-1 run to bring the score back to within nine at 74-65 with 1:24 remaining, but CSU was unable to continue their momentum in the final minute in falling to the hosts, 80-70.
CSU takes nearly two weeks off for the holidays before returning home to Charleston, S.C. and the Buc Dome to host Winthrop University on January 3rd. Tipoff between the Big South foes is set for 2 p.m.
