Women's Basketball | 11/7/2025 10:09:00 PM
DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central came alive in the fourth period but its comeback bid fell short in a 78-68 defeat to UNC Wilmington in the Eagles' women's basketball home opener at McDougald-McLendon Arena on Friday.
Trailing 35-25 at the half, the Eagles were outscored 27-15 in the third period as their deficit ballooned to 22 points.
The Eagles mounted a surge in the fourth period. They sliced the deficit to 10 on a layup by Najah Lane with over a minute remaining.
Aniya Finger scored off Lane's steal to pull the Eagles within 74-66 with 30.1 seconds left, and Finger scored again on a bank shot to slice the deficit to 75-68 with 15 seconds remaining. That was as close as the Eagles would get as UNCW scored the final three points.
The Seahawks were held to 10 percent shooting from the field in the fourth period. They finished the night shooting 43.4 percent.
Finger paced the Eagles with 19 points on 9 of 14 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Aysia Hinton added 12 points, including four three-pointers, and three steals. Lane notched 10 points and four assists and Dianna Blake snatched seven rebounds.
NCCU forced 21 UNCW turnovers but couldn't convert consistently on its end of the floor. The Eagles shot 51.9 percent from the free throw line and committed 25 turnovers. The Eagles heated up in the fourth period, shooting 52.6 percent from the field, to finish 40 percent for the contest.
After falling behind big in the third period, the Eagles outscored UNCW 28-16 in the final period.
UNCW caught fire early in the game, shooting 53.3 percent from the field to open a double-digit lead. Meanwhile, the Eagles struggled to find their offensive rhythm, connecting on 21.4 percent of their shots.
But NCCU held a 15-14 second-period edge to go into halftime down 35-25.
RECORDS
NCCU – 0-2 overall
UNCW – 1-1 overall
NEXT UP
The Eagles will host its second straight game on Thursday, Nov. 13, against UNC Asheville at McDougald-McLendon Arena. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.