BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell junior guard Kiera Gaines (Mechanicsville, Va.) scored 19 points and sophomore guard RaeChaun Edwards (Spring Grove, Va.) added 16 in a 67-53 victory over UNC Wilmington on Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Camels shot 50.0 pct. in the second half en route to out-scoring the Seahawks, 36-21.
A crowd of 2,760 was announced on Education Day, when local elementary schools are invited to Gore Arena/John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center. This was the fourth-annual event, which has attracted an average crowd of 2,879, for Campbell (3-1)
A pair of 10-point performances were registered by seniors guard Jessica Moore (Jacksboro, Tenn.) and forward Roslyn Presley (Petersburg, Va.).
Campbell tallied a .436 overall field goal pct. and made seven three pointers during the contest. Edwards was 4-of-7 from downtown and made three of those in the second half, while Moore added a pair of triples.
Eight-rebound games were registered by forwards senior Ashley James (Round Rock, Texas) and junior Juli Osborne (Kingsport, Tenn.), while each added five points. Campbell won the battle of the boards, 41-to-33, but the Seahawks did grab 11 offensive rebounds, one more than their opponent.
UNCW was paced by Kelva Atkins with 18 points, while Naqaiyyah Teague contributed 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Ryan Flowers and Atkins both added seven rebounds. Four assists were tallied by D'Asia Cain and Atkins.
Behind a raucous crowd at Gore Arena, the Lady Camels started quickly and jumped out to a 10-3 advantage as Presley, Gaines and Edwards made layups prior to the first media timeouts.
After a series of missed shots and turnovers, UNCW clawed back into the game and took a 16-12 lead, its largest of the game, on a three-point field goal by Atkins with 9:32 left.
A second trey from Atkins tied the contest at 27 before sophomore guard Jessica Pone (High Point, N.C.) and Gaines made field goals to put Campbell back in the lead with 1:06 remaining. The fifth three pointer of the half for UNCW by Reeves cut the deficit to one.
The Seahawks owned a 32-31 advantage at half on a layup by Amber Reeves with 25 second left. Free throw shooting allowed the Lady Camels to keep the score close by making 7-of-7, while UNCW was just 3-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Campbell's success from the line continued in the second half as it finished 12-of-13 (92.3 pct.) overall. It was the first 90.0 or better shooting pct. for the Lady Camels since going 9-of-10 against Stetson on Jan. 22, 2011.
Just like against Wake Forest and Western Carolina, Campbell found its offense in the second half. This time it opened up on a 16-3 run aided by five treys from Edwards (3) and Moore (2).
A layup by Gaines following an offensive board picked up by Moore put the Lady Camels ahead by 14 points, their largest lead till the final horn, 52-38, with 11:07 left.
UNCW continued to fight back by scoring seven-straight points to cut the deficit to 52-45 at 7:25, but was unable to pull any closer thanks to the Lady Camels having an answer to every made shot. Campbell ended the game on a 8-2 run.
The Lady Camels are back in action on Saturday with a noon start at Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, Md. The next home contest at Gore Arena/John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center opens Big South play against Radford on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
