UNCW Sports Weekend Recap: Feb. 11th-14th, 2016

By Ethan Marsh, Reporter

Wilmington, NC - Valentine’s Day Weekend was a very eventful for the UNCW Seahawks community in athletics. Men’s basketball held two home games winning both on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. Women’s basketball lost to Northeastern Friday night at home, and the Softball team started their season Friday with an 11-0 loss to Saint Francis and then won twice against Eastern Kentucky and Army before losing the last matchup to Army on Sunday to go 2-2 on the weekend.

Men's BB Extends Streak to 11
Men’s basketball was the most dominating teams of the weekend as they are on their way to making history. On Thursday night, the Seahawks won a bout with Elon behind Sophomore Guard Jordan Talley’s 19 points and Junior Guard Denzel Ingram’s 18 points. Elon gave the Seahawks a fight but Talley’s 6 free throw’s in the final seconds secured the win for the Seahawks. The Screamin’ Seahawks spirit group attracted students on Thursday by giving out White Seahawk T-shirts as a part of their “white out”.

Saturday’s game was even more special versus James Madison. It was being nationally televised and the Screamin’ Seahawks gave out yellow t-shirts for “yellow out.” Saturday’s matchup with James Madison resulted in a 78-68 win behind Senior Guard Craig Ponder’s 19 points and Junior Guard Denzel Ingram’s 17 points. UNCW led most of the way and ran away with it towards the end. James Madison definitely gave them a challenge but it was not enough. This weekend for the men’s basketball team was one for the ages as their consecutive wins improved a school record to 11 for the team. Saturday’s game also achieved a 20-win season for UNCW for the first time in 8 years. The Seahawks men’s basketball team will next play at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia Thursday, February 18th.

Women’s BB Falls Short to Northeastern
The women’s basketball team endured a 72-66 loss to Northeastern Friday night. Despite the result being a loss, the lady Seahawks fought hard as the team attained the lead for a short period and fought till the end as Junior Guard Jasmine Steele’s last 3 of the night made it 67-63, then Sohpomore Center Rebekah Banks 2-point play with a foul made it a 2-point game at 68-66. The Huskies scored with 22 seconds to play and it was essentially over. Senior Guard Shatia Cole marked her 11th game in a row scoring double digits with 18 and Jasmine Steele marked her 6th straight game in double digits with 17. Four lady Seahawks scored in double digits as Rebekah Banks made 11 points and Sophomore Guard Madison Raque scored 10 for her third straight in double digits. The Seahawks women’s basketball team will next play at Hofstra in Hempstead, New York Friday, February 19th.

UNCW Splits Seahawk Softball Bash 2-2 to Open Season
The Seahawks softball team started their season as a part of the Fairfield Inn and Suites Seahawk Softball Bash on Friday morning at 11 am with a 11-0 loss to Saint Francis. The softball team rebounded with a 5-4 win over Eastern Kentucky behind 5 consecutive runs after going down 2-0 early. These were scored by Freshman Anna Hessenthaler’s pinch-hit single that scored two runs and then a two-run single by junior Nella Chamblee. The Softball team then played a pair of matchups versus Army on Saturday and Sunday. The first one on Saturday resulted in a 5-3 win behind Freshman Pitcher Haley Lenderman’s effort of allowing only six hits over five innings. The second one on Sunday was a 3-1 loss due to Army’s Kristen McPeek going 2-for-4 while driving in for two runs while UNCW’s Rachel Willis having three hits and driving in a run. The Softball team started 2-2 as a part of the Fairfield Inn and Suites Seahawk Softball Bash. The UNCW Seahawk’s softball team will next play in the Lafayette Ford Lincoln of Fayeteville Showcase the weekend of February 19th-21st.