Jacksonville Waves' surge dries up in last quarter of championship
· Yahoo Sports
For three quarters, the Jacksonville Waves looked ready to bring home Northeast Florida's first professional women's basketball league championship.
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Then Deja Kelly and the Charlotte Crown caught fire, scoring 32 fourth-quarter points and rallying past the Waves 81-76 in the inaugural Upshot League final on Aug. 29 inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Second-seeded Charlotte ended the first season the same way they began it in May, by defeating the Waves on Jacksonville's home floor.
The Waves held a 44-30 lead in the third quarter but couldn't overcome the force of regular-season top scorer Kelly, who carried the Crown throughout on her way to 29 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Jacksonville still led 59-49 with 9:48 remaining when Charlotte began roaring back. A 7-0 run capped with LeLe Grissett's basket at the 6:16 mark gave the Crown the lead, and after the teams traded leads several times, KK Deans drilled a Charlotte 3-pointer for a four-point edge with 3:54 remaining.
Ribault High School graduate Rennia Davis three times pulled Jacksonville back within a score and Jasmine Walker's 3-pointer with 51 seconds left lifted the Waves back within a point. But Kelly hit two free throws, 3-point tries by Walker and Ariel Hearn missed the mark and Deans iced the game from the line.
Davis and Hearn led Jacksonville with 15 points each, along with 11 for Walker and 10 each for Lindsey Pulliam and Shyanne Sellers. Deans added 14 points and six assists for Charlotte, who shot 85 percent from the foul line as a team.
The four-team league has announced plans to add franchises in Baltimore and Nashville for its second season in 2027.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Waves' surge dries up in last quarter of championship