The UNC Wilmington women’s basketball program is parting ways with three players from last year’s roster. Jessica Cohen, Mya Levels and Aesha Peters will not play for the Seahawks next season.

According to Jarrett Abelson, assistant sports information director, “Jessica, Aesha and Mya all asked for and were granted their releases from the program.” The athletic department declined all other comment and coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke did not immediately return a phone call.

Levels declined to make her own statement and Peters did not immediately return multiple messages. In addition, seniors Jessica Freeman and Theresa Jackson-Henderson refused to comment.

Cohen, however, said there’s more to the brief sentence that the UNCW athletic department issued.

“I would like to say, and make it clear for you to understand, that I DID NOT ask for my release and DID NOT want to leave UNCW,” she said in a statement exclusive to The Seahawk. “I love the school and the people that I have spent the last three years growing and learning with. As a rising senior I looked forward to finishing that chapter of my life with the people I came in with as freshmen. I wanted to stay and continue to be a member of the WBB team. In no way was this my decision.”

The rest of the returning team, including recent graduates Brittany Blackwell, Martha White and Treasure Johnson did not immediately return messages.

Cohen played in 15 games her junior season and scored a total of 16 points. The 6-foot-1-inch small forward did not play the final four games of the season.

Levels played in 31 games, averaging just over 10 minutes per game. Her best game came against Northeastern, Jan. 23, when she had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-2 guard’s 23 blocks were enough for second highest on the team.

Peters, the tallest Seahawk on the 2010-11 roster at 6-foot-4-inches, struggled in her transition to the collegiate level. She played in 17 games, averaging just over a point. Peters was kept out of action the final six games of the season. The St. Thomas native originally planned to start her college career at Prairie View A&M for Cooper-Dyke, but when Cooper-Dyke split for Wilmington, Peters followed her.

Stay with The Seahawk for updates on this developing story.

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