UNCW Women’s schedule features 2 NCAA, 5 WNIT teams

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) – Below is the schedule release from UNCW of the women’s basketball team.

The UNCW women’s basketball team has revealed its full 2022-23 schedule following the release of the 18-game Colonial Athletic Association conference slate on Tuesday morning.

The 29-game schedule features 14 home contests at Trask Coliseum and 15 away tilts, plus a home exhibition match against Virginia Union on Oct. 29. The Seahawks will play two NCAA Tournament teams (Delaware and North Carolina) and five WNIT squads – Drexel, Norfolk State, Stony Brook (twice), Towson and Wofford – from the 2021-22 season.

UNCW will face 11 non-conference opponents beginning with the season opener against NCAA Division II opponent Lenoir-Rhyne on Nov. 7. The Bears mark the first of 11 challengers from the states of North and South Carolina that the Seahawks will battle.

“We can always expect the CAA to be a contested and competitive league,” said Tina Martin, UNCW’s Interim Head Coach. “Looking at our non-conference schedule, I think we have a balance of games that will challenge us and give us an opportunity to improve as we prepare for CAA play.”

The Seahawks return to Greenville, N.C, for the first time since 2018 when they play East Carolina on Nov. 13. UNCW meets the Pirates for the second straight year for the first time since the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

An inaugural matchup at Virginia on Dec. 4 begins the first of a four-game December road swing. The Seahawks follow with a visit to North Carolina, a 2022 Sweet 16 team, for the first time in four years on Dec. 7. The road trip concludes at Coastal Carolina (Dec. 18) and Western Carolina (Dec. 21).

Norfolk State will represent the final tune-up before CAA play on Dec. 23. The Seahawks are 5-1 all-time against the Spartans, including a perfect 3-0 mark at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks’ conference schedule features nine home and nine away contests against all 12 league foes. Repeat opponents include Charleston, Elon and Northeastern along with CAA newcomers Hampton, North Carolina A&T and Stony Brook.

UNCW opens its CAA slate against the Dragons, who topped the league with a 16-2 conference mark in 2021-22. The Seahawks then travel north for a weekend road trip at Stony Brook (Jan. 6) and Northeastern (Jan. 8).

A two-week stretch provides UNCW with three home games against Hofstra (Jan. 13), Elon (Jan. 20) and Monmouth (Jan. 22), along with a road trip to Hampton on Jan. 15.

A strong challenge awaits the Seahawks on the weekend of Feb. 10-12 with back-to-back road games at Delaware, the defending CAA Tournament champion, and Towson, who set a program record with 24 wins one year ago.

UNCW will twice travel three hours northwest on Interstate-40 for back-to-back matchups at North Carolina A&T (Feb. 26) and Elon (Mar. 2) before concluding the regular season at home versus Northeastern on Mar. 4.

The 2023 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship will take place from Mar. 8-12, 2023 at SECU Arena on the campus of Towson.

The 2022-23 season marks the first time since 2012-13 that the league has not played a full double round-robin schedule. The CAA accommodated regional rivalries with input from each institution throughout the process.

All home and CAA contests will be available nationally on FloHoops.