Junior forward Jazmen Boone’s go-ahead layup with a minute and 18 seconds remaining against North Carolina–Wilmington erased memories from last week’s 40-point blowout loss.
But only for a matter of seconds.
Senior forward Kaitlyn Mathieu missed a jumper and the Seahawks grabbed a pair of rebounds in the final 26 seconds to set up the go-ahead score with five seconds showing on the game clock.
A last-second heave from junior forward Kyla Kerstetter fell short, as the College (3-13, 0-4 CAA) fell 60-59 Thursday night.
Freshman guard Marlena Tremba led all scorers with 17 points, while Boone added 14 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Mathieu registered the Tribe’s second double-double of the night, with 13 points and 13 boards, but couldn’t stop the College from dropping its sixth consecutive decision. Mathieu leads the Tribe with five double-doubles on the season.
In its last six outings, the College has been outscored by an average of 19.5 points. The Tribe hasn’t won in 2014 — its last win came against Saint Louis Dec. 28.
The back-and-forth game Thursday night saw seven ties and eight lead changes as each team failed to create a lead larger than six.
The Seahawks (3-16, 2-3 CAA) dominated in the paint, outscoring the Tribe 48-8. As a result, the College shot 30 three-pointers, converting just six.
Shooting 78 percent from the free-throw line and outscoring the Seahawks 19-9 on second chance opportunities helped the College overcome its 31 percent field goal shooting. Still, the Tribe couldn’t find a way to protect its one-point game late in the game.
Dropping a decision after leading in the final minute is nothing new for the Tribe. Hosting High Point Nov. 19, Mathieu gave the College a one-point lead before the Panthers converted a runner with six seconds remaining.
Like Thursday night, the final shot came from Kerstetter, who knocked the front end of the rim as time expired.
Kerstetter finished with eight points and four rebounds in 23 minutes of play. Tremba and Mathieu led the Tribe in time played, each completing all 40 minutes.
Much like last Thursday’s 40-point blowout loss to visiting Drexel, the College struggled in the second half. Despite a five-point halftime lead, shooting 23.1 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes held the College to a 23-point second period.
After opening up shooting 35.7 from three-point range, the College cooled off in the second, shooting just 6.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Other than Boone, who scored 10 points, no other Tribe player scored more than four points in the second half.
Tremba, who was named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week following the Cyclone Challenge in late December, followed up a 13-point first half with a four-point second.
Mathieu added just two points after scoring 11 in the first half.
The College returns to action seeking its first conference game when it hosts Towson Saturday.
The Tigers downed the College of Charleston 64-60 Thursday night, and they boast a 9-9 (3-2 CAA) record.
The College sits in last place of the CAA, the only team in the conference without a win over a conference opponent.
Towson, meanwhile, has wins over Northeastern and Hofstra, good for the No. 5 conference slot.
Tip is set for 2 p.m. at Kaplan Arena.