The UNC Wilmington women’s basketball team dominated a crucial conference game against Georgia State Thursday night, defeating the Panthers, 74-49.

The last time the two teams met in Atlanta, the Seahawks were upset 76-67. Coming in the Panther’s seemed to remember that victory and played with a confidence that UNCW coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke expected.

“We ran into a very confident team down in Atlanta,” Cooper-Dyke said. “What we wanted to establish was we wanted to put on the true Seahawk game.”

However, within the first ten minutes of the first half, the Seahawks exposed the flaws in the Panthers zone defense that allows outside shooting, something UNCW took full advantage of.

The Seahawks shot the ball well, ending the game at 48.1% from the field, 53.8% beyond the arc and 65.2% at the free throw line.

Freshman point guard Alisha Andrews, four-time CAA rookie of the week, scored a career high 21 points, including a 5-6 effort from beyond the three-point line. GSU adjustments at halftime made it more difficult for Andrews to score.

“Once they put (Angelique Burtts) up top and then I wasn’t looking to shoot anymore, I was more looking to get the team involved,” Andrews said.

After the game, Cooper-Dyke expressed how big of an asset the freshman guard was to the team during the game.

“She truly led the team from both ends of the court,” she said. “She was vocal for the first time and it’s almost like she is a sophomore now, growing up before our eyes.”

Andrews she came out of the locker room after half still on fire, draining another three pointer to start the second half. After the Panthers made the defensive adjustment, the Seahawks had to look to other options to score.

Seniors Brittany Blackwell (15 points) and Martha White (13 points) came up big in the paint for UNCW. Freshman guard Abria Trice contributed a season-high nine points and played an overall solid game off the bench.

The biggest differences between the first time the two teams played and Thursday’s game were the rebounds and the fast break points.

When the teams met in Atlanta, the Panthers had 12 more rebounds in the game than the Seahawks. The speed of the Seahawks also contributed in the win, getting 13 fast break points compared to the Panther’s five.

As UNCW was playing, second-ranked Old Dominion was upset by Virginia Commonwealth, which could potentially help the Seahawks as the CAA playoffs approach.

Cooper-Dyke recapped the night saying, “Tonight we finally got back to playing Seahawk basketball.”