UNCW women’s basketball team remains undefeated with win over High Point

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Senior forward Brittany Blackwell poured in a career-high 28 points and keyed a second-half surge to power UNCW over High Point, 72-69, in the women’s basketball home opener for the Seahawks Monday night at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks remained perfect at 3-0 on the season and delivered new coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke a victory in her home debut. The Panthers had their three-game winning streak snapped and own a 3-2 mark.

Blackwell, from Raleigh, N.C., went a torrid 13-for-17 from the field and added 2-for-5 at the line for the best offensive night of her career. She also added seven rebounds in 36 minutes, scoring in a variety of ways during UNCW’s timely rally down the stretch. Freshman playmaker Alisa Andrews added 14 points and six assists for the Seahawks, who wound up shooting 48.3 percent from the floor.

Senior forward Mackenzie Maier led four players in double figures for HPU with 18 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Senior guard Frances Fields and junior forward Shamia Brown scored 12 points apiece and senior guard Jurica Hargraves had 10 for the Panthers.

After building a 69-63 advantage with 2:23 left and watching the Panthers rebound to tie the score with a late 6-0 spurt, the Seahawks got the break they needed when junior guard Kristen Hanzer’s 3-point attempt in front of the UNCW bench rolled around the rim and dropped in with 44 seconds left, giving UNCW a 72-69 advantage.

High Point then turned the ball over on its end of the floor and after Andrews missed a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left, Maier game-tying three-ball clanged off the rim with three seconds on the clock. Blackwell was then fouled and missed two free throws, but the Panthers couldn’t force overtime.

Taking a 29-26 lead into the break, High Point used a 9-0 run to mount a 10-point lead with 11 minutes left. The Seahawks dialed long distance, however, and used the inspired play of Blackwell to battle back.

UNCW pieced together a 6-0 mini-run midway through the period and narrowed the gap to one point, 44-43, when Andrews connected on a layup with 12:50 showing. But the Panthers reeled off nine straight points behind Meier to surge out to a 53-43 cushion.

The Seahawks climbed back into it by getting hot behind the arc, banging in three straight triples to trim the deficit to 57-56. Sophomore guard Brittany Gamby drained her third trifecta of the game with 7:45 left to slice the lead to 57-56. Gamby entered the contest scoreless on three field goal attempts in her young career.

Andrews drained a 3-pointer to open the game for the Seahawks and Cooper-Dyke’s club enjoyed a six-point lead, 15-9, when Andrews scooped in a layup with 12:10 left in the first half.

High Point rallied to even the score at 22-all on Maier’s triple at 5:54 and the Panthers took a five-point margin, 29-24, when Hargraves canned a trifecta with just over two minutes left in the period. The Panthers then took a 29-26 lead into intermission.

The unbeaten Seahawks travel to Wofford on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. pre-Thanksgiving clash with the Terriers.

Article Courtesy UNCW Sports Information