Seahawk women’s basketball team continues to be impressive in debut season for Cynthia Cooper-Dyke

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Junior forward Kristen Hanzer notched her first double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds and UNCW shot 51 percent to cruise past Towson, 61-47, in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball Sunday at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks won for the third straight time over the Tigers and improved to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the CAA. The Tigers dropped their third consecutive contest, falling to 6-8, and remained winless in the league at 0-3.

Hanzer, a slippery 5-10 forward, combined with freshman point guard Alisha Andrews and senior center Martha White to spark UNCW’s offense. The Youngsville, N.C., product went 7-for-10 from the field and added five steals as the Seahawks rolled down the stretch. Andrews had five points and dished out a career-high 11 assists, while White racked up a game-high 19 points with four boards.

Freshman guard Tanisha McTiller scored 11 points and junior guard Deree Fooks had 10 for Towson, which managed just 35.8 percent from the field, including 1-for-8 behind the arc.

White made all seven of her field goal attempts in the first half en route to 15 points as the Seahawks took control early and then kept up the defensive pressure after intermission. The two teams combined for 52 turnovers, including 27 miscues by the Tigers and 14 in the final period.

UNCW posted its fifth double-digit win of the year. Towson matched its season low output of the season with 47 points and after slicing the margin to 41-30 with just under nine minutes on the clock, got no closer than the rest of the way.

The Seahawks led, 41-23, with 13:02 left when Hanzer raced downcourt for a layup. However, Towson used a 7-0 mini-run, capped by a layup from McTiller, to creep within 11 points at the 8:40 mark. But senior guard Brittany Blackwell converted a layup and Hanzer, who poured in 14 points in the second half, scored eight in a row to put the game out of reach.

Towson jumped ahead early and took an 8-4 advantage on a driving layup by junior guard Krystal Parnell at 15:51 before the Seahawks recovered.

With White scoring at will, the Seahawks reeled off 11 unanswered points. White got things started with a layup at 15:38 and then knifed through several Towson defenders for another layup at 11:57 that finished the spurt and gave UNCW a 15-8 lead.

A jumper from the left baseline by White increased the lead to 22-16 before the Seahawks gained even more separation with another string of nine points. Andrews picked up her sixth assist on a layup by Hanzer that swelled the lead to 31-16 with 3:40 left in the opening half. The Seahawks then took a 33-18 cushion into the break when Hanzer dropped in another layup with 1:53 left in the period.

Towson wound up shooting a chilly 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half and produced its second lowest output in the first 20 minutes this season as UNCW pulled away early.

The Seahawks open a two-game road trip on Thursday with a 7 p.m. clash at George Mason. The Tigers begin a three-game homestand on Thursday by entertaining VCU at 7 p.m. at the Towson Center.

article courtesy UNCW Sports Information