ANCHORAGE ? Maria Nilsson scored 21 points and Jennifer Salazar had 14, including the game-tying shot in regulation, to boost host Alaska Anchorage into its second straight women's Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout title game with an 80-72 overtime win Tuesday over Cleveland State.
The tournament's defending champions also got 16 points from Kalhie Quinones and 10 points and eight rebounds from Rebecca Kielpinski to improve to 3-0. The win also marked UAA's fourth straight over Division I teams, with two at last year's Shootout plus an exhibition road win at Washington State earlier this month.
Cleveland State (1-2) got a huge 33-point showing from guard Kailey Klein, who hit her first seven shots from the field. The sophomore capped a late 6-0 run with a basket and two free throws to put the Vikings up 61-57 with 1:09 remaining in regulation.
But the Seawolves, ranked No. 14 in NCAA Div. II, tied the game with a late rally. Kielpinski, last year's tournament Most Outstanding Player, converted an easy layup off a pass from Kalhie Quinones with 42 seconds left, and Klein committed a charge on the ensuing possession to give UAA the ball back. After a timeout, Salazar drove the lane and sank a running jump shot off glass to knot it 61-61 with 8 seconds left, setting off a huge roar inside Sullivan Arena. CSU put the ball in Klein's hands, but Quinones poked the ball away from behind to send it to the extra session.
Dominique Butler gave CSU the lead with a pair of free throws to start overtime, but Nilsson responded with her fifth three-pointer to give UAA the lead for good. The Seawolves forged their largest lead, 75-65 with 46 seconds left, before the Vikings made their first OT field goal on a Klein three-pointer a few moments later.
Quinones, a senior guard, scored 11 of her 16 points in overtime, sinking 9 of 10 free throws.
Salazar tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds, helping the Seawolves outrebound the Vikings 42-30. Junior transfer Dasha Basova also played a big role in the late-going, nailing a pair of three-pointers late in regulation and a key basket in OT.
UAA moves on to play the winner of Santa Clara and Bradley at 5 p.m. AST on Wednesday as the Seawolves try for their fourth Shootout title in 29 years. It marks the first time ever that UAA has reached the title game in consecutive years.
CSU, of the Horizon League, will meet the SCU/BU loser at 2:30 p.m. AST in the consolation game.
