ANCHORAGE - Newcomer Haley Holmstead scored a game-high 20 points and veteran Alysa Horn added 14 points and six rebounds Friday to lift the 12th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to a 87-63, season-opening victory at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves, coming off a 27-7 campaign, also got 12 points apiece from senior forward Tijera Mathews and junior guard Bruna Deichmann to win for the 83rd time in their last 88 home games.
The Beavers, 22-8 a year ago, were led by 16 points from guard/forward Katie Hardy. The visitors from North Dakota are in their second year of transition from NAIA to NCAA Div. II status.
Despite the final score, Minot State hung tough throughout the first half, leading most of the way. UAA trailed 13-5 early and did not take its first lead until Kylie Burns hit one of her three three-pointers with 8:54 on the clock, making it 16-15. A layup by Sacarra Molina put the Beavers up 33-31 before the Seawolves answered with a 5-0 spurt to close the half, getting a trey from Horn and a rebound putback by Kaylie Robison at the buzzer.
UAA continued its run in the second half, getting three straight baskets from Holmstead, and pushing the lead to double digits, 50-38, on a three-pointer by Mathews with 15:19 remaining. Minot sliced its deficit back to 63-52 at the 8:42 mark, but the Seawolves answered with an 11-2 run to seal the win.
Holmstead, a two-time junior-college All-American at Salt Lake Community College, came out firing in her Seawolf debut, hitting 9 of 14 shots from the field and both of her free throws. She also dished four assists in 25 minutes.
Mathews, meanwhile, came off the bench to shoot 4 of 7, including 2 of 5 from three-point range. Horn was 6 of 10 from the field (2-4 3FGs) and grabbed six rebounds despite coming off the bench for the first time since her freshman year.
Deichmann, a JC transfer from College of Eastern Utah, shot 4 of 8 from the field and tallied four rebounds, four steals, three assists and just one turnover in her Seawolf debut. Fellow newcomer Gritt Ryder, a freshman from Denmark, started at point guard and dished a game-high seven assists.
UAA outshot the Beavers 51 percent (33 of 65) to 39 percent (18 of 46) and won the rebounding battle 36-25. The Seawolves also racked up 24 assists and forced Minot into 28 turnovers.
Burns, a sophomore from Kansas City, Kan., equaled her career-high with nine points, sinking 3 of 5 three-pointers.
Robison, a senior post, led UAA with seven rebounds and added six points, a career-high four assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes.
The Seawolves return to action Saturday when they host West Region rival Dixie State (1-0) at 7 p.m. at the WFSC.
