Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
- Upshot League final is a single winner-take-all game Saturday, August 29 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
- Jacksonville Waves led the four-team league most of the season, finishing 25-9 and holding a 6-4 season-series edge over Charlotte Crown.
- Backcourt duel features league leader Deja Kelly (17.8 ppg, 4.1 apg) versus Ariel Hearn (15.1 ppg); former McDonald's All-American Rennia Davis highlighted.
Aug. 29, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET
- The Jacksonville Waves will play the Charlotte Crown in the inaugural Upshot League championship.
- The final is a single, winner-take-all game scheduled for Saturday, August 29.
- Jacksonville led the four-team league for most of the season with a 25-9 record.
The Jacksonville Waves are aiming to finish up 2026 with some hoops history.
The city’s first professional women’s basketball team is closing in on Northeast Florida’s first championship in the sport, entering the inaugural Upshot League final against the Charlotte Crown at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Waves (25-9), who have led the four-team lead nearly from start to finish in year one, face a winner-take-all contest for the championship. Unlike the NBA or WNBA, which hold multi-game series in postseason, the Upshot League uses a single-game final.
Jacksonville holds a 6-4 advantage in the season series over Charlotte (23-11), which easily captured second place and with it the other berth in the championship game. Far behind were the Greensboro Groove (11-23) and Savannah Steel (9-25), mathematically eliminated weeks ago.
Standing out in Saturday’s final is a backcourt battle: Charlotte point guard Deja Kelly, who leads the league in average points (17.8) and assists (4.1), against explosive Waves guard Ariel Hearn, who has 15.1 points and 3.0 assists per game.
Former Ribault High School forward and McDonald’s All-American Rennia Davis also has a chance to add an Upshot League trophy to her collection, after winning the Florida High School Athletic Association titles with the Trojans in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Probable starting lineups
JACKSONVILLE WAVES
40 Jasmine Walker, F, 6-3; 6.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg
0 Rennia Davis, F, 6-2; 13.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg
10 Lindsey Pulliam, G, 5-11; 9.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg
6 Shyanne Sellers, G, 6-2; 13.4 ppg, 3.6 apg
12 Ariel Hearn, G, 5-9; 15.1 ppg, 3.0 apg
Head coach: Jessica Bogia
CHARLOTTE CROWN
7 Quinzia Fulmore, C, 6-3; 3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg
15 Schaquilla Nunn, F, 6-3; 11.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg
10 Kylie Kornegay-Lucas, G, 5-10; 3.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg
3 Reigan Richardson, G, 5-11; 14.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg
2 Deja Kelly, G, 5-8; 17.8 ppg, 4.1 apg
Head coach: Trisha Stafford-Odom
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