WILMINGTON,  North Carolina -

WILMINGTON, North Carolina - The UNCW women's basketball team concludes its season-opening road swing Sunday with a visit to Elon for a 7 p.m. contest.

Seahawk Storylines

• The Seahawks enter Sunday's matchup with Elon in search of their first victory of the season after coming up just short in a 60-59 loss at ACC-foe Wake Forest on Wednesday.
• UNCW squares off against an in-state opponent for the second straight contest with its matchup against Elon on Sunday. The Seahawks have enjoyed moderate success against competition from the Tar Heel State in recent years, compiling a 15-10 mark against in-state foes since the start of the 2007-08 season. UNCW is 0-1 against in-state competition this season, suffering a 60-59 defeat at Wake Forest on Wednesday.
• The Seahawks will face a challenging non-conference slate in 2012-13 as seven of their 11 non-league opponents qualified for postseason competition last season, including NCAA Tournament participants Liberty, Northern Kentucky and West Virginia. In addition, nine of those teams won 15 or more contests, with six of those teams - Liberty, Northern Kentucky, Richmond, Tulane, Wake Forest and West Virginia - all reaching the 20-win milestone.

Wake Forest Recap

• UNCW fell at state rival Wake Forest on Wednesday, suffering a 60-59 defeat to the Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
• Trailing 56-48 with 3:42 remaining in the contest, the Seahawks would close the game on an 11-4 run, giving UNCW a chance to win at the buzzer before its game-winning attempt from three-point range hit the rim and stay out.
• Wednesday's contest marked the eighth meeting all-time between UNCW and Wake Forest. The Seahawks moved to 0-8 all-time against the Demon Deacons. The one-point margin was the closest of the eight meetings between the two programs. UNCW moved to 2-25 all-time against schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Both teams shot below 40 percent from the floor as UNCW was just 22-of-65 (.338) from teh field while Wake Forest made only 23 of its 61 field-goal attempts (.377).
• UNCW held a commanding 50-38 rebounding advantage against Wake Forest.
• The Seahawks held a 15-2 edge in second-chance points as they grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. Senior Chelsea McGowen led the squad with nine offensive boards.
• The two teams combined for just 30 turnovers (UNCW 17; Wake Forest 13).
• Wake Forest did not have a bench player score a point in the contest as the Seahawks posted a 16-0 edge in that category.
• All eight players that saw the floor for UNCW scored at least one point and grabbed two of more rebounds.
• Senior Tawanna Lee made her first appearance of the season and responded with 13 points and four rebounds. Lee, who came off the bench for the first time in her career, was 3-of-5 from three-point range in the contest.
• Sophomore Kelva Atkins reached double figures for the first time in her career, scoring 13 points against the Demon Deacons. Atkins also tallied five rebounds and four assists.
• Senior Chelsea McGowen posted the second double-double of her career with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. It was the fourth time in her career that McGowen has reached double figures in points and the second time she has grabbed double-figure boards.
• Senior Karneshia Garrett also established a new career high in rebounds, grabbing a personal-best 18 rebounds. Garrett reached double figures in rebounds for the ninth time in her career.

Scouting Elon

• Elon sits at 1-1 on the young season as it picked up its first win of the campaign with a 74-58 victory over former Colonial Athletic Association member VCU in its home opener on Monday at Alumni Gym.
• Elon had four players reach double figures against the Rams as senior Ali Ford led all players with 21 points while junior Kelsey Harris (14), senior Kelsey Evans (13) and sophomore Zora Stephenson (11) all reached double digits.
• Ford paces the Phoenix in scoring in the early going, tallying 29 points through the first two games of the season. Evans has averaged a double-double in the early going, posting 10.5 points per game to go along with a team-high 10.0 rebounds per contest.
• Picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference Preseason Coaches and Media Poll, Elon welcomes back four starters and nine letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 16-14 overall record. Ford and Evans were both Preseason All-SoCon selections.
• Head Coach Charlotte Smith is in her second season with the Phoenix. The former UNC Chapel Hill standout was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1994 Final Four after leading the Tar Heels to the 1994 National Championship.

Series Notes Versus Elon

• Sunday's contest marks the sixth meeting between state rivals UNCW and Elon.
• UNCW holds a 3-2 edge in the all-time series that dates back to the 1978-79 season, having won each of the last three meetings between the two programs.
• The two teams have met just three times since playing back-to-back contests in 1978-79 and 1979-80, with all three of those matchups coming since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
• The last two matchups have been close affairs, with both games decided by five points or less.

UNCW Versus The Southern Conference

• UNCW hold a 40-30 all-time mark against schools from the Southern Conference.
• The Phoenix are the only So-Con team on the schedule for the Seahawks this season.
• The Seahawks fell in their last matchup against a school from the 11-team league, suffering a 79-73 setback to Appalachian State in the first round of the Postseason WNIT last March at Trask Coliseum.

A Familiar Face On The Elon Bench

• UNCW fans will see a familiar face on the Elon bench as former Seahawk letterwinner Emily Roberts is a member of Phoenix coach Charlotte Smith's staff.
• Roberts played three seasons for the Seahawks (2002-05) and took part in 67 games, averaging 2.4 points, 1.1 assists and 0.9 rebounds.

UNCW Head Coach Adell Harris

• Former Wake Forest standout and Tusculum College (Tenn.) head coach Adell Harris was named the 10th coach in UNCW's women's basketball history on May 3. She replaced Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, who resigned her position on April 10 to take the same post at Texas Southern.
• A native of High Point, Harris returns to her home state after a successful three-year stint as head coach of the Pioneers, guiding the NCAA Division II school to a 61-30 overall record, back-to-back Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament championships (2010 & 2011) and three straight appearances to the NCAA Tournament.
• Harris was instrumental in the development of some of the top players in Tusculum history. Guard Jasmine Gunn was named the program's first consensus Division II All-American, Daktronics Southeast Region Player-of-the-Year and SAC Player-of-the-Year after ranking among the top 10 players in the nation in scoring (21.6) during her junior season. Gunn repeated as SAC Player-of-the-Year the following season to finish her career second in school history and third in league history with 2,180 points. Guard Kendal Baxter set a school and league record with 105 three-pointers during her freshman season on her way to earning SAC All-Rookie Team accolades. Center Catherine Hintz earned MVP honors at the 2011 Food Lion SAC Tournament and was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional.
• Prior to taking over the reins of the Tusculum program, Harris spent six seasons at UNC Asheville (2003-09), serving as an assistant and associate head coach with the program. She helped the Bulldogs capture their first Big South Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006-07 and mentored nine All-Big South Conference honorees, including a pair of BSC Rookie-of-the-Year selections in Brittany Hendley (2004) and Kyla Jones (2007).
• Harris was a four-year letterwinner at Wake Forest, playing in 106 games during her career with the Demon Deacons from 1998-2002. She paced Coach Charlene Curtis' squad with 108 assists and averaged 4.6 points per game during her senior season while serving as team co-captain. Harris, who finished her career in 10th place on the Demon Deacons career assists chart, graduated from Wake in 2002 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology.

Half-Dollar Defense

• The Seahawks are 52-0 since the start of the 2002-03 campaign when limiting the opposition to 50 points or less.
• UNCW held nine opponents to 50 points or less in 2010-11 and was a perfect 9-0 in those contests. The Seahawks did not hold an opponent to 50 points or less during the 2011-12 season.
• The last time the Seahawks lost a game in which they held their opponent to less than 50 points was a 49-44 setback at rival Campbell on Nov. 17, 2001.

Interstate 70

• UNCW is 69-8 since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when it scores 70 or more points in a contest.
• The Seahawks were 10-1 in 2011-12 and are 23-2 over the past two seasons when reaching the 70-point plateau.

The 20-20 Club

• For second straight season and just the fourth time in program history, the UNCW women's basketball team reached the 20-win plateau in a single season in 2011-12.
• The Seahawks finished the campaign with a 20-13 overall mark as they earned their 20th win of the 2011-12 campaign with an 94-87 victory over Hofstra in the quarterfinals of the 2012 CAA Women's Basketball Championship.
• The team's 20 wins in 201-12 marked the first time in school history that the program has enjoyed back-to-back 20 win seasons as the 2010-11 squad established a school record with 24 victories.

Freeman, Lee Making Their Way Up school's Three-Point Chart

• Senior Tawanna Lee and redshirt junior Jessica Freeman are both making their way up the school's career three-point field goals made chart.
• Freeman currently sits in 13th place on the all-time list with 68 three-pointers made while Lee is 17th with 53 triples converted in her career.
• The duo are just 11 and 26 three-pointers away from matching Katy Walters for 10th place on the school's career three-point field goals made list (79).
• Both players have been consistent from beyond the arc during their careers, with Lee 6th (.344) and Freeman 7th (.343) on the squad's chart for career three-point field goal percentage. Freeman led the league in three-point field goal percentage last season (.414), while Lee was second on the squad (.336).

Harris, McGowen Reunited

• When UNCW Head Coach Adell Harris took over the Seahawks program last May, she was already familiar with one player on her new roster from her time at Tusculum College.
• Harris coached current UNCW senior Chelsea McGowen at Tusculum during the 2009-10 season.
• Together the duo combined to lead the Pioneers to a 23-10 overall record, the South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.
• McGowen averaged 2.1 points and 1.7 rebounds during her freshman season before transfering to Brunswick Community College for the 2011-12 campaign.

Seahawks Tabbed Seventh, Garrett Preseason Honorable Mention

• UNCW was picked to finish seventh overall during the upcoming 2012-13 season and senior forward Karneshia Garrett was a Honorable Mention Preseason All-CAA selection.
• The Seahawks and George Mason were selected to finish seventh in a vote of the league's 11 head coaches, ahead of Towson, William & Mary and Georgia State.
• Delaware was picked to repeat as regular-season champion while James Madison was tabbed to finish second. Hofstra was picked third, followed by Drexel, Old Dominion, Northeastern, UNCW and George Mason (tie), Towson and William & Mary (tie) and Georgia State.
• Garrett earned Honorable Mention Preseason All-CAA accolades after appearing in 32 games and making 21 starts during her first season with the program in 2011-12. She averaged 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds while pacing the team with six double-doubles.

2011-12 Recap

• The UNCW women's basketball program enjoyed another successful campaign in 2011-12.
• The Seahawks reached the 20-win plateau for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in program history as it finished the 2011-12 campaign with a 20-13 overall mark. It marked the first time in school history that the program had recorded back-to-back 20-win campaigns.
• UNCW made its second straight appearance in the Postseason WNIT as it fell to Appalachian State, 79-73, in first-round action at Trask Coliseum. The loss dropped the Seahawks to 1-2 in two appearances in the 64-team event (2011 & 2012).
• UNCW once again made life difficult for opposing offenses as the Seahawks averaged 10.3 steals per game to rank second in the CAA and 52nd in the nation in that category. UNCW recorded double-figure steals in 19 of their 33 games in 2011-12, including a season-high 17 thefts in their win against East Carolina on Nov. 20.
• UNCW thrived in close contests last season as the Seahawks were 8-1 in games decided by five points or less during the 2011-12 season. Their only loss under such circumstances came in a 59-57 setback to Old Dominion at Trask Coliseum on Feb. 12.
• The Seahawks enjoyed considerable success at home last season, compiling a 9-4 record in the Port City in 2011-12. UNCW finished the season by winning eight of its last 11 home contests.
• The Seahawks thrived from three-point range last season as they established a new program mark for three-point field goals made in a season with 188. UNCW twice matched the program record for three-point field goals made in a contest last season, converting 11 three-point attempts in wins at Northeastern (Jan. 26) and at William and Mary (Feb. 19).

Up Next
UNCW returns to action Nov. 28 as it welcomes North Carolina Central to Trask Coliseum for its 2012-13 home opener.