The UNCW women’s basketball team, wearing pink shoelaces and shooting shirts, left the Hofstra Pride feeling blue Sunday after the Seahawks won in commanding fashion, 72-62.

The Seahawks were one of 1,200 schools and organizations participating in the WBCA Pink Zone Program, which was designed to raise money for breast cancer research. All the money raised by Sunday’s game will go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Yow, the head coach of North Carolina State’s women’s program passed away in January from a decades-long battle with breast cancer.

Sunday’s game had added significance for UNCW’s head coach Ann Hancock. Hancock knew Yow personally when she attended her basketball camp years ago. As an assistant coach at UNC, Hancock also became close to Yow as the two coached just miles away from one another.

“The game had a special meaning with the death of coach Yow,” Hancock said. “She meant so much to the game of basketball, especially in North Carolina.”

The Seahawks did not disappoint the fans that came to support cancer awareness, shooting 52.9 percent from the field and recording their third highest point total for the season. Sophomore Brittany Blackwell led the way for the Seahawks with 21 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

“It was really important for us to get this win at home,” Hancock admitted. “Winning on the road in this league is so tough so our goal is to get as many wins in Trask as possible. We are a young team and the confidence we get from winning at home is really important.”

The Seahawks have now won two home games in a row after coming out of a three-game skid. UNCW is among the worst teams in the conference in road games (1-5) and needs to keep momentum from these home wins. Plus, shooting over 50 percent doesn’t hurt either.

Hancock credits the high shooting percentage to continued shot tracking done by assistant coaches in practice. Over the span of the last four games, the Seahawk assistants have recorded every shot attempted by each player and noted where the most frequent shots came from. Then, in each practice they would run drills that had the girls shoot from the spots on the floor than had the highest percentage.

“[These drills] have helped us a lot,” Hancock said. “Our goal is to find where most of our shots are coming from and practice them the most. For example, we found that our point guards shoot most from the elbows, so that is where they shoot from mostly in practice.”

The Seahawks are currently 12-12 on the year and 6-7 in conference. They are in a four-way tie for fifth place and Hancock admits they have some work to do to finish the season strong heading into the tournament.

“We need to continue to take care of the basketball,” she said. “We need to continue to have defensive efforts like we did on Sunday and be more aggressive on the boards.”

UNCW looks to continue its two-game win streak Thursday at James Madison. The Seahawks return home Feb. 22 to face William & Mary.