DeLand, Fla. – A strong second-half effort helped Stetson get past UNCW 72-55 Wednesday afternoon at the Edmunds Center.
Five Hatters scored in double figures as Stetson (10-3) won its 24th consecutive home game against non-conference opponents.
Coming off an 11-day layoff, the Hatters showed some rust early and trailed the Seahawks (4-7) 29-27 with a minute to go in the first half. After a 30-second timeout, Myeisha Hall drained a 3-pointer and C.J. Coddington turned a steal into a fastbreak lay-up to give Stetson a 32-29 lead at intermission.
"I didn't feel like in the first half that we had a lot of energy," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. "I felt like we were still on Christmas break. In the second half we came out much more aggressive. We got some drives to the basket and got some post feeds. I was very pleased with our effort in the second half both offensively and defensively."
Amber Porter scored the first five points of the second half to boost Stetson's lead to eight. She then blocked three shots over a three-minute stretch to help stymie the Seahawks offense.
“I thought Amber played great, especially in the second half,” Bria said. “I thought she really took over the game. Our guards did a great job getting her the ball. She finished well around the basket. She is always good defensively for us. She alters and blocks so many shots, so I was really happy with her effort.”
UNCW closed the gap to 57-50 at the 5:07 mark, but the Hatters answered with an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Porter finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and a season-high five blocks. Hall knocked down three 3-pointers and tallied 15 points. Brianti Saunders, Coddington, and Aisha Turner added 13, 11, and 10 points respectively.
“I thought Myeisha Hall had a great game,” Bria said. “She did a great job on the glass and came up with some key rebounds. Between her and C.J., the deflections and steals they got (were big). (Brianti) did a great job of finishing around the basket. Overall, I thought it was a great team effort. I thought our defense was outstanding in the second half.”
Stetson outscored UNCW 40-26 in the final 20 minutes. It was the eighth time this year the Hatters have held their opponents to under 60 points.
Stetson also owned a slight advantage on the boards, outrebounding UNCW 43-42. The Hatters did not have a free throw attempt in the opening stanza but hit 14-of-18 attempts in the second half.
Stetson also improved to 50-3 in its last 53 home games, which includes a 6-0 mark this season.
Jama Sharp picked up six steals but tallied just two points to bring her career scoring total to 997. She will look to eclipse the 1000-point milestone when she returns to her home state of Indiana Saturday as Stetson visits Valparaiso. Live coverage on ESPN3 begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Notes: The Hatters have won seven straight at home dating back to last year … Amber Porter's five blocks was a season-high and the 15th time in her career she has reached that total in a game … She has taken over the A-Sun lead in that category … Aisha Turner hit double-digits in scoring for the first time as a Hatter … Brianti Saunders extended her free throw streak to 13 in a row … Stetson has hit at least one 3-pointer in 150 consecutive games … The Hatters reached the 10-win mark prior to New Year's for just the second time in school history (11-3 in 2011-12) … Stetson finished the 2014 calendar year with a record of 29-7.
