UNCW Announces Women's Hoop Schedule
Submitted by Cape Fear Sport... on Fri, 10/10/2008 - 3:54pm.READ MORE: 
WILMINGTON, N.C. - An in-season tournament in Cancun, Mexico, 12 home games and a visit to ACC-member Wake Forest highlight the 29-game schedule for the UNC Wilmington women’s basketball program in 2008-09, head coach Ann Hancock announced.
“We are eager to get the 2008-09 campaign underway for several reasons,” said Hancock. “The schedule consists of a great combination of teams that features both regional rivalries and new foes to challenge and prepare us for the always tough CAA slate. Everyone associated with our program is energized and enthusiastic about the possibilities for the new year.”
UNCW opens its ninth season under Hancock with neutral-site contests against Longwood and Winston-Salem State at the ISES Cancer Awareness Tip-Off mid-November. A visit from Southern Conference member UNC Greensboro on Nov. 20 marks the first home game of the season before the team travels to the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic. The Seahawks open the event against Fordham and will face either Ohio or South Carolina during the second day of action.
“For the first time in program history, the team will have the opportunity to travel outside the country to participate in the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic,” Hancock said. “The field for the tournament is outstanding and we are looking forward to being a part of such a unique and exciting event. We are also looking forward to the opportunity to be involved in the ISES Cancer Awareness Tip-Off at Elon University, which is in memory of former Phoenix associate head coach Ann Lashley.”
December gets underway with home games against Kent State (Dec. 4) and long-time rival East Carolina (Dec. 14). The Seahawks travel south for a Dec. 18 matchup with Coastal Carolina before returning home for a Sunday matinee versus Hampton Dec. 21. The team will take an eight-day break for the Christmas holiday prior to a Dec. 30 tilt at Western Carolina and a visit to Wake Forest Jan. 1 to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule.
The Colonial Athletic Association slate features home-and-home matchups with league foes George Mason, Georgia State, Hofstra, James Madison, Old Dominion, William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth. Home games against Delaware and Drexel and road trips to Northeastern and Towson are also on the conference schedule.
“With four starters and eight letterwinners returning from last year’s squad, the experience the team gained in 2007-2008 from playing a schedule laden with home games has gotten them ready to go on the road,” Hancock said. “Having seven of our 11 non-conference games on the road will test us early. Also being in two tournament-type settings will simulate the same environment we will face in the conference tournament.” -Courtesy UNCW
-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT
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