WILMINGTON, N.C. - Two teams in search of momentum square off Sunday as UNC Wilmington hosts Northeastern in a 1 p.m. tip-off at Trask Coliseum.
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Both the Seahawks and Huskies bring identical 6-11 overall marks and 1-5 league ledgers into Sunday's matchup as both teams look to snap three and four game losing skids, respectively. UNCW fell in its last outing, 62-52, at Towson Thursday as the Seahawks were held to 35.8 percent shooting and a season-low 25 rebounds in the 10-point loss to the Tigers.
"I think the game will be equally important for both teams in terms of building momentum and confidence," said UNCW Head Coach Ann Hancock. "With the game being at home, it carries additional importance for us since it is so important in this league to protect your home court. Plus, we will be able to go through our own routine and have our fans supporting us, so hopefully we will use those benefits to our advantage tomorrow."
Despite being 1-5 through the first third of the league schedule, the Seahawks are still in the mix for a favorable seed for the conference tournament as they enter play Sunday just two games out of fifth place. VCU sits atop the league standings with a perfect 6-0 ledger as it is the only undefeated team remaining defending regular-season and tournament champion Drexel and perennial power Old Dominion are both one game back of the Rams at 5-1.
"The one thing that has stood out so far in league play is how balanced the CAA has been," said Hancock. "On any given night, any team can beat or be beaten by any team in this league. It appears that the margin of victory is a lot closer than it has been in recent years as we have seen a fair amount of overtime and one-possession finishes already. In regards to ourselves, we've been in almost every league game we've played this season. We need to take the positives away from those experiences and start putting them to good use as we head into the heart of the CAA schedule."
Northeastern is led by sophomore guard Brittany Wilson, who paces the squad and ranks among the league's leaders in both scoring (16.2) and rebounding (6.9). Senior forwards Kendra Walton (11.3) and Kim Carr (11.2) join Wilson in double figures as they compliment the Huskies attack. Carr (6.0) and Walton (5.1) also rank second and third, respectively, in rebounding as the trio of Carr, Walton and Wilson have combined to average more than half of the team's 38.2 rebounds per game this season. Sophomore guard Jamie Conroy directs the Northeastern attack as she leads the team and ranks ninth in the league in assists per game (3.4).
"Like us, Northeastern's record does not indicate how good of a team they are and how competitive they have been in league play," Hancock said. "They do things differently than a lot of teams in the league, so that makes it a little bit more challenging to prepare for them. The Huskies are very good at driving the ball and finding open players beyond the arc once the defense collapses on the attacking player, so we must be ready to defend both the interior and the perimeter in order to have success against them."
Sunday's contest marks the first of two meetings this season between UNCW and Northeastern as the two teams are slated to meet again on Feb. 18 at Solomon Court in Boston. Northeastern has won the last two meetings and holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, as all five previous meetings have come since the Huskies joined the Colonial Athletic Association prior to the start of the 2005-06 season.
Northeastern won the lone meeting between the two programs last season, 54-50, at Solomon Court on Jan. 15, 2009. Jasmine Crew scored a game-high 17 points, dished out a game-high six assists and grabbed five rebounds to lead Northeastern while Brittany Blackwell posted 12 points to pace UNCW in the four-point setback.
UNCW returns to the road Thursday as it begins a two-game road swing with a 7 p.m. contest at league-leading VCU.
