WILMINGTON, N.C. – Rori Cox and Kylah Silver combined for 42 points as UNCW women's basketball erased an early 10-point deficit and surged past Queens in the second half for a 69-59 victory on Sunday afternoon at Trask Coliseum.

UNCW earned its second straight win to improve to 3-3 on the season, while Queens fell to 3-4 overall.

Silver scored 20+ points for the second straight contest, matching her career-high with 22 points while hauling in five rebounds.

Cox nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and nine steals, two shy of the program record for the most steals in a single game.

Kate Hollifield, a senior guard, finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Seahawks shot 24-for-61 (41%) from the field. UNCW also had a 34-28 edge in points in the paint and a 17-4 advantage in fast break points.

Following a 26-all deadlock at halftime, the Seahawks began the second half on a 7-0 run, prompting Queens to take a timeout with 7:58 left in the third quarter. 

The Seahawks outscored Queens 29-16 in the third quarter to take a 55-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

UNCW's 29 points in the third quarter are the most ever in the third quarter in program history, surpassing the 28 points the Seahawks scored in the third quarter at Kennesaw State on Dec. 18, 2020.

After Queens cut the UNCW to six, Silver scored seven straight points for the Seahawks to put UNCW ahead 47-36 with 3:08 left in the third quarter. 

Shortly after, Cox came up with a steal and a layup to give UNCW a 13-point advantage with 2:14 left in the third.

Silver capped off the third quarter with her second 3-point field goal of the game, and the Seahawks maintained their double-digit advantage for much of the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Trailing 19-9 with 8:10 left in the second quarter, UNCW went on a season-best 17-1 run over the next five minutes of action to take a 26-20 lead with 3:03 remaining in the first half.

Hollifield scored seven points during UNCW's run, and the Seahawks forced Queens to commit nine turnovers during the stretch.

UNCW will start the month of December with four straight road games, beginning with an 11 a.m. game at West Georgia (3-2) on Dec. 3.