NEWARK, Del. ? Sophomore guard Greta Luksyte scored eight straight points over a two-minute span midway through the second half to lead UNCW to a 58-50 victory over Delaware in Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball action Thursday evening at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The Seahawks improve to 10-5 overall and 1-3 in CAA action as they pick up their second win over the Blue Hens at the Bob Carpenter Center and the first since the 2002-03 season. Delaware drops to 2-14 on the season and 1-3 in league play.
Luksyte finished with a game-high 15 points on a 5-for-8 effort from the floor and a 3-of-4 performance from three-point range as UNCW shot 55.6 percent (20-of-36) from the field during the contest. Twelve of Luksyte's 15 points came in the second half. Junior forward Sahsha Taylor added 14 points and six rebounds while freshman forward Brittany Blackwell, who returned to the lineup after missing the Seahawks' last contest against Towson, finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine caroms.
Senior guard Kyle DeHaven and sophomore forward Sha'ron Harrison tallied 14 points apiece to highlight a Blue Hens offense that was 16-of-55 (.291) from the floor for the game, including 6-for-26 (.231) in the second half. Harrison pulled down nine rebounds while senior forward Courtney Irving added eight caroms.
Luksyte's game-changing spurt came after Delaware had scored nine unanswered points to erase a five-point UNCW lead that had been built on a 12-4 Seahawk run to open the second half. The Vilnius, Lithuania native opened the swing with a pair of three-pointers from the right side before capping the spurt with a jumper on the right baseline to give UNCW a 46-42 cushion with 9:52 remaining..
Following Luksyte's barrage, Delaware scored three straight points to pull within one of the Seahawks, 46-45, before the Seahawks used a 6-2 spurt over the next three and a half minutes to take a 52-47 lead with 5:15 remaining. UNCW notched six of the final nine points scored in the game to determine the final margin.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the first half as Delaware opened the game by missing eight of its first nine shot attempts on its way to finishing the half with a .345 (10-29) field goal percentage. UNCW's was 9-of-16 (.563) from the floor in the opening frame, but committed 17 turnovers.
The Blue Hens led by seven twice the first half, using a 7-0 spurt midway through the stanza to take a 13-6 lead before building a 29-22 cushion with 1:03 remaining. UNCW scored the final four points of the frame to cut its deficit to 29-26 at the break.
UNCW returns to action Sunday as it completes its two-game Mid-Atlantic road swing with a 4 p.m. tilt at Drexel. The game will be televised in the Wilmington area on Time Warner Cable, as well as throughout the Northeast on the Comcast Sports Network. Delaware hits the court again Sunday in a 1 p.m. home tilt versus Norhteastern.
NOTES: UNCW's 55.6 field goal percentage is the fifth highest of the Ann Hancock era ... It is also the fourth time this season that the Seahawks have shot above 50 percent from the floor in a game. .. UNCW committed just six turnovers in the second half ... The Seahawks held a 35-32 edge on the glass ... Blackwell finished with nine rebounds in a game for the seventh time this season ... Sophomore guard Candace Walker dished out a game-high five assists ... Delaware guard Kyle DeHaven played the first 36 minutes of the game until leaving with 3:40 remaining after suffering an injury on a drive to the basket... Senior guard Stephanie Fernald did not play due to illness ... She is expected to be in the lineup Sunday at Drexel.
