In a game that went back and forth until the final seconds, the UNC Wilmington women’s basketball team defeated William & Mary 60-59 on junior guard Kelva Atkins’ game winning shot with 5.8 seconds remaining.

The Seahawks, led by Atkins and freshman forward Ryan Flowers, picked up their second straight win, improving to 3-16 overall and 2-3 in the CAA.

Flowers had a career night setting new highs with 17 points, and 20 rebounds, becoming only the fifth player in UNCW history with 20 or more rebounds in a game. Atkins finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.

William & Mary led 36-31 at the half due in large part to their success on the offensive glass and their five 3-pointers. The Tribe relied heavily on senior forward Kaitlyn Mathieu and freshman guard Marlena Tremba in the first half. 

Mathieu finished the half with 11 points and eight rebounds, and Tremba added 13 points, including three 3-pointers.

“I challenged them to be the hardest working team,” said UNCW coach Adell Harris. “I didn’t think William & Mary laid down and gave it to us. I think we really had to go out and get it.”

UNCW was able to make adjustments at halftime, limiting Mathieu and Tremba to a combined six points in the second half and holding the Tribe to 1-16 (6.3%) from beyond the arc.

The Seahawks biggest improvement in the second half was their rebounding, finishing with 45 total rebounds, 29 of which came in the second half. 

“One of our team goals is to always out-rebound our opponents,” said Flowers. “I kind of took that personal and went in and got the job done.”

Coming out of the final media timeout, with game tied at 55 with 3:55 left in the game, the Seahawks had their most impressive possession. UNCW grabbed four offensive rebounds before Kelva Atkins was fouled, sending her to the free throw line, where she made one of two.

“We did the smart thing when we got those offensive rebounds—dribbled it out and ran clock,” said Harris. “I thought our effort out of that media timeout was huge.”

William & Mary lost their sixth straight game, dropping their record to 3-13 overall. The Tribe returns to Williamsburg Sunday to play Towson in search of their first conference win game.

The Seahawks look to win their third straight on Sunday when they take on league-leading JMU Sunday at Trask Coliseum.