HARRISONBURG, Va. - The No. 10 seed UNC Wilmington women's basketball team squares off against host and No. 2 seed James Madison Friday in quarterfinal-round action at the 2010 Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA Women's Basketball Championship.
The winner of today's third quarterfinal contest advances to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of the fourth quarterfinal matchup between No. 6 seed Hofstra and No. 3 seed VCU in the second semifinal contest Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Live stats and pay-per-view video for the game are available and can be accessed by clicking on the tournament central link above. The Seahawks Sports Network will also provide an internet-only audio broadcast for the game, beginning 30 minutes prior to tip-off. That broadcast can be accessed by clicking on the SSN Audio link found above.
The Seahawks are making their fourth straight appearance in the quarterfinals after dispatching of No. 7 seed Towson in the first round, 50-30. UNCW set a tournament record for fewest points allowed as it limited the Tigers to just 21.4 percent shooting and forced them into 25 turnovers. The Seahawks were led by junior forward Brittany Blackwell, who recorded a game-high 13 points and added 10 rebounds to record her ninth double-double of the season.
The Dukes are making their tournament debut after finishing the regular season with a 23-6 overall record and a 13-5 conference ledger to claim second place in the CAA standings. JMU is led by junior guard and First-Team All-CAA selection Dawn Evans, who is second in the league and fourth in the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game. The league's record-holder for three-point field goals made in a season (104), Evans also finds herself among the CAA leaders in assists as she has averaged 4.5 helpers per game to sit third in that category.
Friday's quarterfinals contest serves as the second meeting between UNCW and JMU this season. James Madison leads the all-time series with UNCW by a 46-9 margin, but the Seahawks have won two of the last three meetings between the programs, including a 68-63 victory in their last regular-season visit to Harrisonburg on Feb. 18, 2009 that moved UNCW to 3-22 all-time against the Dukes at the JMU Convocation Center.
The Seahawks won the only regular-season meeting between the programs, 70-67, at Trask Coliseum on Valentine's Day. Junior guard Brittany Blackwell scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season to lead UNCW while junior forward Martha White added 12 points and six boards. Junior guard Dawn Evans and sophomore forward Kanita Shepherd had 20 points apiece for JMU, which shot just 34.3 percent from the floor in the game.
The Seahawks and Dukes square off for the 56th time on Friday, the second highest number of meetings between UNCW and a current member of the CAA. JMU only trails George Mason on the list as the Seahawks and Patriots have played each other a total of 58 times.
