{"id":385687,"date":"2026-08-31T01:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T01:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/385687\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T01:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T01:10:12","slug":"jacksonville-waves-quelled-in-inaugural-upshot-league-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/385687\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Waves quelled in inaugural Upshot League Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlotte was crowned the inaugural Upshot League champion with its 81-76 win <\/a>over the Jacksonville Waves in Saturday night\u2019s Upshot League Championship at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took faith. It took perseverance. It took trust,\u201d Charlotte Crown head Coach Trisha Stafford-Odom said afterward. \u201cAnd, it took me realizing that God made me great. Even in the losses, I have everything it took to be here in this moment right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first-year women\u2019s professional basketball league<\/a> that was committed to helping women\u2019s basketball players up their shot at sticking in the game ended with the Waves and Crown competing until the final minute.<\/p>\n

\"\"Charlotte Crown head Coach Trisha Stafford-Odom led the Crown to a championship win on Aug. 29, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

Jasmine Walker\u2019s 3-pointer from the wing with 51 seconds remaining cut Jacksonville\u2019s deficit to 77-76.<\/p>\n

Charlotte guard Deja Kelly drew a foul on Lindsey Pulliam on the ensuing possession. Kelly drained both free throws to accentuate an evening where her scoring and playmaking lifted the Crown to the title.<\/p>\n

Kelly led the Upshot League in scoring and assists this season. Saturday, she scored a game-high 29 points. The 5-foot-8 guard from Oregon added six rebounds, three assists and two steals to earn the Ann Meyers Drysdale MVP Award.<\/p>\n

Upshot League Commissioner Donna Orender awarded Kelly the trophy alongside its namesake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe championship MVP means a little bit more,\u201d Kelly said with the trophy in her hand.<\/p>\n

Upshot League MVP showdown<\/p>\n

Kelly might have led the four-team league in multiple offensive categories, but she was not named the inaugural Upshot League MVP.<\/p>\n

That honor went to Waves point guard Ariel Hearn.<\/p>\n

\"ArielJacksonville Waves guard Ariel Hearn, center, drives to the basket amid A.D. Durr\u2019s contest, while Charlotte Crown forward Schaquilla Nunn looks at the action. The Charlotte Crown won the inaugural Upshot League Championship on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

The Tennessee-born Hearn was fourth in the league with 15.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists as well as shooting 46% from the field and 34% on 3-pointers. Hearn captained the Waves to a 25-9 regular season record.<\/p>\n

Hearn was heartbroken when the buzzer sounded.<\/p>\n

She finished with 15 points and four rebounds in 37 minutes.<\/p>\n

\"ArielJacksonville Waves captain Ariel Hearn was heartbroken following the team\u2019s 81-76 loss to the Charlotte Crown in the 2026 Upshot League final on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

Jacksonville made more shots, was more efficient from the field, won the rebounding battle, scored more second-chance points and was +8 in points in the paint. It wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

Charlotte overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to win the title.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville\u2019s lead crested at 14 points early in the third quarter. Waves forward, Ribault High School alumna Rennia Davis was despondent at the idea of her team getting walked down in the second half.<\/p>\n

Davis finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Davis and Hearn were among the six named to the All-Upshot League team, alongside Kelly, Charlotte forward Schaquilla Nunn, Savannah Steele guard Lasha Petree and Greensboro guard Diamond Johnson.<\/p>\n

\"UpshotRennia Davis, Ariel Hearn, Lasha Petree, Schaquilla Nunn and Deja Kelly were five of the six women named to the All-Upshot League on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. Greensboro Groove point guard Diamond Johnson, not pictured, was also named to the team. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

Hometown heartache<\/p>\n

Davis has always been about winning \u2013 especially in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hurt. I\u2019m not gonna lie,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI want to say that I want to be honest about that because I, genuinely, am hurting. We lost this game in front of my hometown. I had so many people, family friends and loved ones that were here for me and for the Waves. It hurts because we were up all game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacksonville led for 32 out of the 40 minutes. Charlotte\u2019s first lead came following a LeLe Grissett layup with 6:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m exuberant. I\u2019m exhausted. I\u2019m just so grateful and so proud,\u201d Stafford-Odom said.<\/p>\n

Charlotte\u2019s coach credited Grissett, Nunn and guard KK Deans for their mentality and belief in the second half.<\/p>\n

Deans was the point guard for most of the second half. Inserting her into the game allowed Charlotte to play Kelly as an off-ball guard who could create space and penetrate toward the basket. Kelly drew 12 fouls in 35 minutes on the court.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s professional league drew Hall of Famers to watch the final game of its inaugural season. Shaquille O\u2019Neal sat to the right of the scorer\u2019s table. Cheryl Miller sat on the left of the scorer\u2019s table.<\/p>\n

\"\"Upshot League ball kids capture a photo with Shaquille O\u2019Neal during a timeout of the inaugural Upshot League Championship. The Charlotte Crown won the inaugural Upshot League Championship on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

Hall of Fame forward, and four-time Olympic champion, Tamika Catchings not only watched the game at courtside, she consoled Davis afterward.<\/p>\n

Catchings and Davis were members of the Tennessee Lady Vols sisterhood that has spanned generations.<\/p>\n

\"RenniaFormer Tennessee Lady Vols Rennia Davis, left, and Tamika Catchings, right, share a moment after the inaugural Upshot League Championship on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. The Charlotte Crown beat the Jacksonville Waves 81-76. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

Growing the game<\/p>\n

A league that was founded on the promise of providing additional opportunities for women\u2019s basketball<\/a> players lived up to the premise on the last Saturday in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe competition in the league made it possible for me to understand there is growth here,\u201d Petree said. \u201cThere\u2019s opportunity here. Being able to play against competitive players \u2013 any of the starting five on any of the other teams have had at least (WNBA) training camp experience or the WNBA on their resume. I thought that was cool. Overseas, there are only one, two or three imports on a team. Here, everyone has that experience. That\u2019s something the fans in the stands get to see. But, also the WNBA, that\u2019s what they get to see too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Former Charlotte Crown forward, Bishop Kenny graduate Jasmyne Roberts caught up with the Ribault Trojans girls basketball team during the Upshot League Championship on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

A longtime player and coach led a first-year team to a championship. A 29-year-old Crown guard, A.D. Durr, overcame long COVID to return to professional basketball. The league MVP\u2019s journey has taken her to nearly a dozen countries. A local legend gave belief to the players who will follow her. That was the Upshot League\u2019s first season, more than a proof of concept that professional basketball could operate in four midsize cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s been an incredible effort by so many people to accomplish a goal and a dream,\u201d Commissioner Orender said. \u201cThe realization of that is pretty epic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Charlotte was crowned the inaugural Upshot League champion with its 81-76 win over the Jacksonville Waves in Saturday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-385687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}