Behind 27 forced turnovers, 27 points from Shrita Parker and a double-double from Paige Powell (her third of the season), UNC Wilmington downed Fayetteville State (3-4) 72-54 Saturday afternoon.  

 “We got the win, that’s all that really matters,” said Parker. “Whether it’s ugly or pretty. We got the win.”  

 Indeed, at times it was ugly — but nevertheless — it was a win. And the Seahawks (5-2) will take them however they can get them.  

 UNCW applied pressure from the opening tip and took the lead with 7:31 left in the first quarter, never trailing again for the final 3-and-a-half quarters of play. 

 Turnovers, turnovers, and… more turnovers 

 UNCW turned the ball over 27 times, 17 of which came in the first half. This added to a total 54 turnovers between both squads.  

 For Fayetteville State, forcing those early turnovers did not see the same results as the Seahawks. The Broncos were never able to recover from a sloppy first half, which saw them shoot just 19.2 percent from the field and 0-for-4 from behind the arc. 

 A staple for UNCW throughout the early portion of this season has been its tenacious defense and its ability to force turnovers consistently that lead to easy points. This was once again on display Saturday afternoon.   

 Time for a “bounce back” 

 After a tough loss on the road against Virginia Commonwealth just over 48 hours prior to today’s matchup, head coach Karen Barefoot and her team were eager to put that loss behind them and get back to what they do best; pressuring opponents and scoring points off turnovers.  

 “We had to bounce back from a tough road game the other day against VCU,” said Barefoot. “I wanted to put the pressure back on. I wanted to get back to being us.” 

 The Parker and Powell Show 

 Parker once again did what UNCW fans and opponents have become accustom to seeing — filling up the stat sheet and asserting herself as a presence all over the court. The redshirt senior scored in double-digits for the seventh-straight game this season, while also adding six steals, five assists and three rebounds to her impressive performance.  

 Once again, Powell was a dominant force in the post, snatching ten rebounds and grabbing two steals to go with her 12 points. Powell had a big bucket with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter. It came after a timeout and stopped a 7-0 run by FSU that cut UNCW’s lead to 13, which was the lowest it had been since early in the second quarter. 

 The Seahawks now prepare for a two-game road slate, starting with a mid-week matchup against North Carolina on December 5.