By R.L. Bynum
Former UNC and Oregon standout Deja Kelly delivered the signature performance of her professional career and a championship.
Kelly scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Charlotte Crown to an 81–76 comeback win over the Jacksonville Waves in the inaugural Upshot League championship game Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
Kelly, who starred at Chapel Hill from 2020 through 2024 before transferring to Oregon for her final college season, added six rebounds, three assists and two steals as Charlotte rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
The performance earned her the league’s Ann Meyers Drysdale MVP Award, given to the top player during the playoffs, presented by commissioner Donna Orender alongside its namesake. “The championship MVP means a little bit more,” Kelly said while holding the trophy.
The title capped a wild turnaround for a Crown team that opened the season 1–6 before catching fire, winning 22 of its final 28 games to reach the championship.
Kelly’s MVP performance was the exclamation point on a regular season in which she established herself as one of the faces of the new league. She led the league in scoring (17.7 points per game) and assists (4.1 per game) during the regular season, finishing with more 20-point games (12) than single-digit scoring nights (3) and recording at least five assists on 15 times.
Despite that production, Kelly was not named the league’s regular-season MVP. That honor went to Jacksonville point guard Ariel Hearn.
Kelly and teammate Schaquilla Nunn earned spots on the inaugural All-Upshot Team, joining Hearn, Davis, Greensboro’s Diamond Johnson (a former N.C. State player) and Savannah’s Lasha Petree. Jacksonville’s Taylor Soule was honored as Sixth Woman of the Year.
Kelly has signed to play for Panthers WBC Kavala in Greece.
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Photo courtesy of Upshot League
