The Charlotte Crown closed out the regular season in style Sunday at Bojangles Coliseum, holding off a late Greensboro push for an 89-84 win over the Groove.
Charlotte set the tone early and led for 32:23 of the 40 minute contest, building its largest cushion of the night, 10 points, in the second quarter. Greensboro clawed within one at halftime and tied the game three times in the third quarter, but the Crown answered every run and never trailed after the 5:32 mark of the third.
Charlotte shot 46.2% from the floor and did its damage from long range, hitting 12 of 25 threes as a team. The bench was the difference, outscoring Greensboro’s reserves 40-17, and the Crown also won the paint battle 28-22 and the fast-break points 21-10. Greensboro leaned on points off turnovers, 18 to Charlotte’s 9, to stay within striking distance, and a late 10-2 run cut the deficit to 88-84 with 1:31 left before Deja Kelly’s free throw sealed it.
KK Deans led all scorers with 30 points on 10 of 12 shooting, burying 7 of 9 threes off the bench. Kelly added 23 points, 3 assists and 3 steals, while Reigan Richardson chipped in 10 points enroute to the Crown’s 23rd win.
With the regular season now in the books, Charlotte turns its attention to the UPSHOT League championship, which tips off August 29 at 7:00 p.m. against the Jacksonville Wave at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Postgame interview with head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom can be found here.
Story written by Nick Bailey