The UNC Wilmington women’s basketball team made history this season. The Seahawks won a school-record 24 games in Cynthia Cooper-Dyke’s first season as head coach and received numerous individual awards along the way.

All that came to a close at home Monday night with a 63-54 loss to Eastern Michigan in the second round of the WNIT. Despite holding an eight-point advantage at halftime, the Seahawks were outscored 35-18 after intermission.

“We didn’t play defense in the second half,” Cooper-Dyke said. “We didn’t execute, and we looked a little fatigued. I thought we lost our intensity midway through the second half, and we could never get it back. I really wanted one more for the city of Wilmington, for our student body and, of course, for my seniors.”

Trask Coliseum wanted another win, too. There were 2,667 UNCW students and fans in attendance to create the type of home court advantage that women’s basketball typically lacks. Besides the Seahawks Tomorrow game on Dec. 17, which brought local elementary schools to campus and treated them to a 79-57 dismantling of Charleston Southern, UNCW had never experienced this large of a turnout.

That game offered free tickets, though. This was a record for paid attendance and something Cooper-Dyke hopes will continue. “I couldn’t have imagined this type of atmosphere,” the CAA coach of the year said. “The turnout was tremendous. The atmosphere was awesome to play a postseason game in. So, I was very excited, and I think the girls were very excited.”

Brittany Blackwell and Martha White have anchored the Seahawk frontcourt this year. Last season, UNCW won half as many games as it did this season and as seniors, both can attest to the substantial turnaround the program has had. “The fan support was amazing,” Blackwell, a member of the CAA first team, said. “It’s never been that packed before, and I think it helped us a lot and we really appreciate it.”

White, who finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, was also gracious for the support. “It’s disappointing leaving like this,” the CAA second teamer said. “We had everybody come out for this game and it was very important to us, but we can’t look over what we did this past year. We made history, and it was real exciting playing under coach Cooper for our last year.”

Cooper-Dyke hopes to not only repeat the historical season next year, but to up the ante. “Overall, great season and we’ll look to come back even stronger next year,” she said. The WNBA legend has had a brief, but successful coaching campaign that began in 2005 at Prairie View A&M University.

In just her second season at the helm, Cooper-Dyke and Panthers won the conference tournament championship, earning the school its first NCAA Tournament berth. Could this time next year at UNCW be a case of déjà vu?

Not if she leaves Wilmington for a more high-profile coaching job. Over the past two weeks, rumors have swirled about Cooper-Dyke’s future at UNCW. Full Court Press, a women’s basketball journal, posted an article, March 15, listing her as a potential candidate for the vacant Virginia Tech head coaching position, along with Kenny Brooks (James Madison) and David Six (Hampton).

Correspondent Rob Clough speculated, “It’s doubtful whether the Virginia Tech job carries enough prestige to lure a coach from a more powerful conference, but all three of these mid-major coaches have bright futures and will eventually find success at a BCS school.”

However, Cooper-Dyke remains steadfast in her obligation to UNCW. She said, “I want to be here as long as my athletic director wants me.”

That’s UNCW athletic director Jimmy Bass’ plan. Monday, he told Brian Mull of the StarNews that no schools have asked for permission to contact Cooper-Dyke. Bass may offer her a contract extension. Previous athletic director Kelly Mehrtens hired Cooper-Dyke to a four-year contract with an annual pay of $110,000.

 

StarNews correspondent Tim Hower contributed to this report.