When the Seahawks and 49ers took the floor Wednesday evening, it wasn’t to have an NFC West showdown. Instead, it was the UNC Wilmington women’s basketball team facing off against Charlotte in the first game of a double-header in Trask Coliseum. The men’s team played Coker College at 8:00 p.m following the ladies game.

Despite being ahead at the half, the Seahawks were unable to finish and come away with a victory, falling to the 49ers, 63-58.

On paper, it appeared as if Charlotte was going to have their way with UNCW. The 49ers came into the game with 2 players averaging double figures in points and rebounds. They also have the A-10 conference assist leader in point guard Ny Hammonds.

The outsized Seahawks were able to keep the 49ers post players in check, but Ny Hammonds was a different story.

“We never left their bodies,” Coach Adell Harris said. “Our post players did not go help defense at all, so that’s were some of their guards got layups late.” Those “guards” she speaks of is actually just one player; Ny Hammonds.

Hammonds scored the game-clinching basket with 23 seconds remaining as she was able to penetrate the lane and get an easy layup to put Charlotte up 4. She had a career-high 21 points to lead all scorers in the contest.

Kelva Atkins led the way for UNCW with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Senior Karneshia Garrett had another double-double, as she added 15 points and 13 rebounds.

With the loss, the Seahawks move to 1-5 on the season and Charlotte advances to 5-2.

Charlotte head coach Cara Consuegra acknowledged after the game, “I know Wilmington is 1-5 right now, but I don’t think that’s indicative of the type of team they are.”

“I’m proud of our kids,” said Coach Harris. “I do believe that were going to continue to improve.”

There was no time to sit around and dwell on this loss, as the 2,769 fans that came to Trask were ready to move on to their second opportunity of the night to get a W. The chances of it happening this time around seemed to be much better than in the first match-up, as the UNCW men’s team took on a Division II school, Coker College.  

 After an ugly first half, the Seahawks played better in the second to hold off the Cobras, 62-47.

Keith Rendleman continues to put this team on his back, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He also got it done on the defensive end, adding 6 steals and 2 blocks to his stat-line. Multiple times in this game Rendleman was able to bail UNCW out on terrible possessions. The offense often appeared to be out of sync, or players seemed to be way out of position. Lucky enough for the Seahawks, they had 6 foot 8 Rendleman down on the block, or in the middle of the lane, just waiting to make a play. 

Tanner Milson had 13 points for UNCW and Freddie Jackson added 8. Andrew Morris led all Coker scorers with 12.

The win pushes the Seahawks to 4-4 on the year. With a trip to ACC school Georgia Tech up next on the schedule, UNCW desperately needs somebody other than Rendleman to step up and be a legitimate contributor on offense. Tyree Graham still isn’t 100% healthy, and every other guard on this team has been extremely streaky with their performances. Cedrick Williams has the potential to be one of the best big-men in the conference. He simply doesn’t get enough shot attempts, and has got to start getting more up to become a focal point for their offense.

“Classes are done after next week, so the gym is like the classroom now,” Coach Buzz Peterson said. “They’ve got plenty of time to stay in there.” With road games at Georgia Tech and Davidson on the agenda, the Seahawks are going to need a whole lot of time to study basketball, and team chemistry in particular.