WILMINGTON, N.C. - Senior forward Brittany Blackwell poured in a career-high 28 points and keyed a second-half surge to power UNCW over High Point, 72-69, in the women's basketball home opener for the Seahawks on Monday night at Trask Coliseum.

The Seahawks remained perfect at 3-0 on the season and delivered new coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke a victory in her home debut. The Panthers had their three-game winning streak snapped and own a 3-2 mark.

Blackwell went 13-for-17 from the field and added 2-for-5 at the line for the best night of her career. She also added seven rebounds in 36 minutes, scoring in a variety of ways during UNCW's rally down the stretch. Freshman playmaker Alisa Andrews added 14 points and six assists for the Seahawks, who wound up shooting 48.3 percent from the floor.

Senior forward Mackenzie Maier led four players in double figures for HPU with 18 points. Senior guard Frances Fields and junior forward Shamia Brown scored 12 points apiece and senior guard Jurica Hargraves had 10 for the Panthers.

After building a 69-63 advantage with 2:23 left and watching the Panthers rally to tie the score with a late 6-0 spurt, the Seahawks got the break they needed when junior guard Kristen Hanzer's 3-point attempt rolled about the rim and dropped in with 44 seconds left, giving UNCW a 72-69 advantage.

High Point then turned the ball over and after Andrews missed a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left, Maier game-tying 3-pointer clanged off the rim with three seconds on the clock. Blackwell was then fouled and missed two free throws, but the Panthers didn't have enough time to force overtime.

After taking a 29-26 lead into the break, High Point used a 9-0 run to build a 10-point lead, 53-43, with 11 minutes left. The Seahawks dialed long distance, however, and used the inspired play of Blackwell to take control.

UNCW pieced together a 6-0 mini-run midway through the period to narrow the gap to one point, 44-43, when Andrews connected on a layup with 12:50 showing. But the Panthers reeled off nine straight points behind Meier to surge out to a 53-43 cushion.

The Seahawks climbed back into it by getting hot behind the arc, banging in three straight triples to get back to 57-56. Freshman guard Brittany Gamby drained her third trifecta of the game with 7:45 left to slice the lead to 57-56. Gamby had not scored entering the contest and missed all three of her field goal attempts.

Andrews drained a 3-pointer to open the game for the Seahawks and Cooper-Dyke's club enjoyed a six-point lead, 15-9, when Andrews scooped in a layup with 12:10 left in the first half.

High Point rallied to knot the score at 22-all on Maier's triple at 5:54 and the Panthers took a five-point margin, 29-24, when Hargraves canned a trifecta with just over two minutes left in the period. The Panthers then took a 29-26 lead into intermission.

The unbeaten Seahawks travel to Wofford on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. pre-Thanksgiving clash with the Terriers.

GAME NOTES:

• UNCW improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 at home against High Point
• The Seahawks also moved to 3-0 this season against in-state opponents
• Scored more than 70 points for the second straight contest as they improved to 48-6 since the start of the 2000-01 season when scoring 70 or more points in a game
  
• UNCW enjoyed a 40-22 advantage in points in the paint, highlighted by an 18-8 edge in the first half
• UNCW's bench out-scored the High Point reserves by a 17-14 margin
• The Seahawks .483 field goal percentage was a season high as it shot above 40 percent for the second straight contest
  
• UNCW's shot just 7-of-16 from the free-throw line while High Point was a perfect 14-for-14 at the charity stripe. The Seahawks did not attempt a free throw until the 18:03 mark of the second half
• A total of 11 players saw action for the Seahawks, the most for the club in a game this season
• The Seahawks combined for 20 assists, the most for a UNCW squad since it combined for 22 helpers in a 90-88 overtime victory over Western Carolina on Jan. 3, 2008
• UNCW recorded double-figure steals for the third straight contest as it finished with 12 thefts
• The Seahawks were out-rebounded for the first time this season as High Point held a 43-39 edge in that category.

PLAYER NOTES:

 4 – Alisha Andrews

• Reached double figures for the second time this season as she established a new season high in points
• Finished with season-bests in both assists (6) and steals (4)

 22- Brittany Gamby

• Scored her first points in a UNCW uniform with a three-pointer at the 10:54 mark of the first half

 35 – Aesha Peters

• Made her first appearance in a UNCW uniform, playing two minutes in the second half

42 – Martha White 

• Matched her season high in rebounds as she grabbed a team-high nine caroms

45 – Brittany Blackwell

• Scored in double figures for the 77th time in her career. Led team in scoring for the second time this season and the 45th time in her career. Team improved to 23-22 overall when she leads them in scoring
• Eclipsed her old career high in points of 25, set against Georgia State on Feb. 10, 2008.
• Moved into sixth place on the program's all-time scoring list, surpassing Elizabeth Bell during the contest.  Has scored exactly 1,300 points during her UNCW career