Junior guard Julia Finlay leaves UNCW basketball team

Julia Finlay is no longer on the University of North Carolina-Wilmington women’s basketball team. Interim director of athletics Pat Howey announced that she left the team for personal reasons.

The 5-7 junior guard from Hicksville, N.Y. suffered harsh punishment last month during a drill assigned by assistant coach Johnetta Hayes. Hayes forced Finlay to log roll nonstop from baseline-to-baseline while the men’s basketball team and others were present in the school’s coliseum. Finlay vomited three times during the drill. Head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke issued a statement about the incident, apologizing a day after the incident. Athletic director Kelly Mehrtens resigned a little over a week later.

“Julia Finlay has decided she will not return to the UNCW women’s basketball team, but we are pleased that she will continue her academic work at UNCW as part of the Seahawk family," said Howey. "The university fully supports Julia’s decision, and we wish her only the best as she continues her studies here at UNCW. We will not make any comment further on Julia’s decision."

Finlay played in 47 games, averaging 2.2 points per contest.