The nation's 12th-ranked Division I women's basketball team clobbered the nation's fourth-ranked Division II team Sunday, but the Duke Blue Devils couldn't stop UAA's Hannah Wandersee.
A 6-foot-1 junior from Kodiak, Wandersee had the best game of her college career in UAA's 87-56 exhibition loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
She put up the second double-double of her career — 19 point and 10 rebounds — and blocked four shots.
"We have been waiting for a breakout game from her like this," UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said in a press release from UAA. "(W)e just didn't realize it would come against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium."
Wandersee connected on 9 of 16 shots from the field and added two steals to lead the Seawolves, who got in trouble early.
Duke raced to a 10-0 lead, a burst that began with a wide-open 3-pointer by Lexie Brown, a two-time All-America guard. A 5-9 senior, Brown poured in 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, with many of her points coming in transition.
Duke's speed and size proved fatal to the Seawolves, who surrendered 20 fast-break points and were outrebounded 48-34.
UAA responded to Duke's fast start with a 3-pointer by Shelby Cloninger and a jumper by Sydni Stallworth to make it 10-5, but the Blue Devils led 26-13 at the end of the first quarter and 49-28 at the half.
"This was a tremendous opportunity for us to test ourselves against incredible athletes at the highest level of our sport," McCarthy said. "I'm really proud of the effort our ladies showed today – they did not back down an inch. Hannah's effort was especially impressive."
Wandersee's only other double-double came in her freshman season when she posted 22 points and 11 rebounds against New Hope Christian, an Oregon school that belongs to the National Christian College Athletic Association.
Cloninger hit three of her six shots behind the arc to finish with 11 points for the Seawolves, who also got five points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals from Rodericka Ware.
Rebecca Greenwell, Brown's backcourt mate, dropped in 20 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and five steals for the Blue Devils.
The Seawolves play their first games against Division II opponents this week at the Wildcat Crossover Tournament in Ellensburg, Washington. UAA faces Hawaii Pacific at 11 a.m. AST Friday and Cal State Los Angeles at noon AST Saturday.