ANCHORAGE –
Jahnna Hajdukovich scored 14 points and fellow guard
Rachel Ingram added 12 points off the bench Friday to help the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to a 73-46 victory over Winston-Salem State at the Alaska Airlines Center.
Ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Div. II media poll and No. 9 by the coaches, the Seawolves (4-0) also got eight points and eight rebounds from senior center
Tennae Voliva to take control from the opening possession.
The Rams (3-2) were led by 10 points from starting forward Melody Prichard and nine rebounds from Kendra Ross as the visitors from North Carolina were held to 24 percent shooting and forced into 26 turnovers.
"I was pleased with our intensity at the outset and happy with the way we responded each time they made a little run," said UAA head coach
Ryan McCarthy, whose team stretched its home winning streak to 31 games. "There are still a lot of things we can improve on, but it's a good sign to see how balanced we were offensively tonight."
The Seawolves made four of their first five shots to take an early 13-4 lead, although the Rams pulled within 16-13 with two minutes left in the opening quarter. Freshman guard
Jazzpher Evans scored back-to-back baskets to stake UAA to a 21-15 lead after the first, and the hosts scored the first eight points of the second quarter to take a permanent double-digit advantage.
The Seawolves outscored the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association club 24-8 in the third and finished with a 36-16 edge in bench scoring.
Twelve of the 13 active Seawolves scored at least one field goal, powered by career-high assist totals for point guards
Nicole Pinckney (6) and
Malie Marfil (5). Pinckney and Marfil also combined for just one turnover as UAA committed only 11 as a team.
Senior forward
Sala Langi finished with five points, seven rebounds, three assists and no turnovers, while Hajdukovich added a career-high four steals.
The game marked the first head-to-head contest between the two schools in any sport, with a rematch set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.