BRIEF SEASON RECAP: The Seawolf women posted one of the best seasons in school history, going 23-6 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UAA began the year with a school-record 12 straight wins ? capturing the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout title over Air Force and UC Riverside ? and finished a program-best 2nd place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Landmark wins over Seattle Pacific and Western Washington highlighted the first unbeaten home slate (15-0) in UAA women's history, and the Seawolves captured the program's third-ever NCAA Tourney win with in a 49-48 thriller over Cal State-Dominguez Hills. UAA dominated the GNAC postseason awards, with Rebecca Kielpinski voted Player of the Year, Jayci Stone Newcomer of the Year, and Tim Moser Coach of the Year.
UAA SEASON-ENDING STARTERS (2006-07 stats)
G?Tristan Burnett, 5-9, So. (5.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.0 spg)
G?Jennifer Salazar, 5-9, Jr. (6.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg, .705 FT)
F?Jayci Stone, 5-10, Sr. (11.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, .321 3FG [76-230], .700 FT)
F?Maria Nilsson, 6-0, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .360 3FG, .780 FT)
C?Rebecca Kielpinski, 6-2, So. (14.5 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.2 bpg, .514 FG, .679 FT)
NCAA TOUREY RECAP: UAA now holds a 3-7 all-time record in NCAA Tournament games after defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills (49-48) and losing to 12th-ranked UC San Diego (66-51) at the 2007 Div. II West Regional, Mar. 9-10 in La Jolla, Calif. ... in the opening game, So. C Rebecca Kielpinski scored 13 points, including the game-winning basket with 41 seconds left, and Fr. G Keyona Brooks came off the bench with 12 points. Sr. F Mari Callahan grabbed eight rebounds for the 4th-seeded Seawolves, who earned their third-ever NCAA victory. The 5th-seeded Toros came up just short when Aujanee Baldwin's three-pointer rimmed off at the buzzer. UAA pulled off the victory despite falling into early holes of 11-0 and 19-8 ... against host UCSD in the second round, UAA was not able to climb out of another early hole, losing despite a game-high 20 points from Sr. G/F Jayci Stone ... its was UAA's seventh trip to the NCAA Div. II Tournament and its first since 2000 ... the other appearances came in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992 and 1994 ... the Seawolves' other victories came in 1988 against Chico State (87-71) and in 2000 against Central Washington (76-58) ... the farthest advancement for a UAA squad was the ?Sweet 16' in 1988, when only 32 teams made the D-II tourney.
NCAA Div. II West Region Tournament ? La Jolla, Calif. ? RIMAC Arena
First Round ? Fri. Mar. 9
#3 Seattle Pacific 69, #6 Sonoma State 60
#2 Chico State 63, #7 Cal State San Bernardino 50
#4 Alaska Anchorage 49, #5 Cal State Dominguez Hills 48
#1 UC San Diego 78, #8 Western Washington 45
Semifinals ? Sat., Mar. 10
Chico State 75, Seattle Pacific 60
UC San Diego 66, Alaska Anchorage 51
Finals ? Mon. Mar. 12
UC San Diego 80, Chico State 63
TEAM NOTES: At 23-6, UAA registered its first 20-win season since 1999-00 (21-8) and the sixth in school history. The school record for wins is 24 by the 1987-88 squad, with this year's 23 being the second-most ... the 9.5-game improvement (from 13-14 in 2005-06) was the largest in school history (6-20 in 1996-97 to 14-13 in 1997-98) and the 8th-best turnaround in NCAA Div. II this year ... UAA had its best placing and most wins in the six years of the GNAC, bettering the 8-10, 6th-place finish of the 2003-04 team ... the Seawolves' 15-0 home record was the such perfect mark in program history, and the current 16-game home win streak is now the longest overall in program history, improving on the 13 straight from Nov. 1987-Feb. 1988 and from Feb. 1998-Jan. 1999 ... the Seawolves snapped a 13-game losing streak against Seattle Pacific on Feb. 15 and earned their first-ever season sweep of Western Washington ... UAA ranked in the top 50 in Div. II in four statistical categories, including the top 15 in FG pct. defense (6th, .345) and 3FG per game (15th, 7.5) ... the Seawolves led the GNAC in four team categories ? FG% defense, 3FGs per game, rebounds per game (41.0), and defensive rebounds (27.6) ? and rated 2nd in scoring defense (58.7), scoring margin (+9.8) and rebound margin (+4.0) ... UAA's 12-0 start doubled the previous-best opening run in program history, improving on the 6-0 starts of 1987-88, 1993-94 and 1998-99 ... the Seawolves were one of the final five undefeated teams of the 294 in the NCAA Div. II women's ranks until their first loss on Jan. 6.
BETTER THAN EXPECTED: The Seawolves were the surprise team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this season, placing three spots higher than their predicted 5th-place finish in the annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference's preseason coaches' poll, released Nov. 1. UAA's runner-up placing and winning percentage were its best since their last NCAA Tournament team went 14-4 and placed second in the Pacific West Conference in 1999-00. Here is a look at the preseason poll with actual finish denoted:
Pl Team (1st place votes) Actual Finish
1) Western Washington (6) t-3rd
2) Central Washington (2) 6th
3) Seattle Pacific (1) 1st
4) Seattle 5th
5) Alaska Anchorage 2nd
6) Northwest Nazarene t-3rd
7) Alaska Fairbanks 8th
8) Saint Martin's 7th
9) Western Oregon 9th
REBECCA KIELPINSKI's STANDOUT SEASON
-- 6-2 * C * Soph. * Mandan, N.D. --
* Third Team All-American (Women's D-II Bulletin)
* GNAC Player of the Year
* First Team All-West Region
* First Team All-GNAC (unanimous)
* 4-time GNAC Player of the Week (league record)
* Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Most Outstanding Player
* UAA Athlete of the Year
... Led GNAC in rebounding (10.8 rpg) and double-doubles (15), and ranked 4th in scoring (14.5 ppg), 2nd in blocks (2.2 bpg), 4th in FG% (.514) and 6th in minutes (30.7 mpg) ... finished with national ranks of 13th in rebounding, 20th in blocks and 41st in FG% ... set school records for blocks in a game (8, Dec. 17 vs SW Minnesota St.) and season (63) ... posted 2-game Shootout averages of 17.0 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 2.0 bpg, including 18 points and 13 rebounds in title-game win over eventual Big West Conference champ UC Riverside ... MVP of Glacier Classic with 2-game averages of 11.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg in victories over Fort Lewis and BYU-Hawaii ... grabbed double-digit rebounds in 7 straight games, Jan. 13-Feb. 8 ... 21 rebounds vs Western Oregon were one short of GNAC record and tied for 3rd-most in school history ... had 21 points (7-13 FG, 7-9 FT), 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in UAA's first-ever GNAC win over Seattle Pacific ... scored 19 points (8-16 FG, 3-4 FT), including tying FTs with 10 seconds left in regulation, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in OT victory over Western Washington that snapped WWU's 22-game GNAC win streak ... led team with 13 points and scored game-winning basket in final minute of 49-48 first-round NCAA Tourney win over Cal St. Dominguez Hills ... other top outings included 26 pts (8-13 FG, 10-12 FT), 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in win at WOU; 19 pts (7-11 FG, 5-6 FT) in 47-38 win at Seattle; 12 pts, 15 rebounds in win at WWU; and 16 pts (7-11 FG, 2-2 FT), 13 rebounds, 5 assists in win over Saint Martin's ... posted top-10 UAA single-season ranks of blocks (1st, 63), blocks per game (3rd, 2.2), rebounds (3rd, 312), rebounds per game (4th, 10.8), double-doubles (t-2nd, 15), and games started (t-8th, 29) ... finished sophomore season with UAA career ranks of 12th in points (944), 4th in scoring avg (16.9), 8th in rebounds (579), 1st in rebounding avg (10.3), t-1st in double-doubles (29), 3rd in blocks (114), 1st in blocks avg (2.0), 6th in FG% (.508), and 9th in FT made (226).
SENIOR RECAPS
MARI CALLAHAN F 5-8 5.4 ppg 3.0 rpg 1.7 apg
Excelled as team's top reserve, finishing as 5th-leading scorer and rebounder ... played in 27 of 29 games, drawing five starting assignments ... scored in double figures three times, including season-high 14 points in loss at Northwest Nazarene ... scored 4 points (4-5 FT) and led Seawolves with 8 rebounds in NCAA Tournament victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills ... other top games included 10 pts (3-6 FG, 1-1 3FG, 3-5 FT) and 5 assists in win over SW Minnesota State; 11 pts (4-6 FG, 2-2 3FG), 2 asst, 2 steals in Glacier Classic win over BYU-Hawaii; 9 pts (4-7 FG), 7 rebounds in home win over Seattle; and 8 pts (6-9 FT), 9 rebounds and 3 assists in OT win over Western Washington ... earned spot on GNAC All-Academic Team with 3.20 overall GPA ... received 3-Point Club Hustle Award.
TENECIA LOCKARD F/C 6-1 4.7 ppg 3.7 rpg 12.4 mpg
Team's 3rd-leading rebounder and 7th-leading scorer ... played in all 29 games, including three staring nods ... 3rd on team in FG% at .423 ... had career-high 4 blocks, including game-clinching swat with 3 seconds left, and dished decisive assist in UAA's 62-60 victory over Air Force in Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout ... other top games included 13 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals in OT loss at UAF; 12 pts (4-7 FG, 4-6 FT), 4 rebounds in Dec. 9 win at Cal State Monterey Bay; 9 pts (2-3 FG, 5-5 FT), 7 rebounds and 2 assists in home win over UAF; and 6 pts and 8 rebounds against Air Force ... career .446 FG% ranked 23rd all-time at UAA ... shared Most Inspirational Player Award.
JAYCI STONE G/F 5-10 11.2 ppg 6.1 rpg 2.0 apg
GNAC Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-Conference in lone season with Seawolves ... ranked No. 2 in scoring, rebounding and steals (1.1 spg), and No. 3 in assists (2.0 apg) for UAA ... broke school record for 3FGs made (76) and attempted (237) in a season ... led GNAC and ranked 26th in NCAA Div. II with 2.6 3FGs made per game ... held other GNAC ranks of 12th in scoring, 11th in rebounding, and 3rd in minutes per game (32.9) ... All-Tournament Team at Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout ... Carrs/Safeway Player of the Game vs. AFA with 21 points (5-12 FG, 3-6 3FG, 8-8 FT) and 10 rebounds ... set Shootout 2-game tourney record for FT% at .929 (13-14) ... played 40 minutes or more on six occasions, including both NCAA Tournament games ... scored season-high 24 points in OT loss at UAF, breaking school and GNAC records for 3FGs made (8) and attempted (21) ... named GNAC Player of the Week (Feb. 4-10) after totaling 26 points, 21 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers in 77 minutes in road wins over Western Washington and Seattle ... other top performances included 16 pts (5-8 FG, 4-7 3FG, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 turnovers, 2 steals in home finale win over NW Nazarene; 10 pts, 11 rebounds, 3 assists in home win over No. 23 WWU; 16 pts (7-8 FT) in home win over Seattle; 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and tie-breaking three-pointer with 2 minutes left in home win over SPU that snapped 13-game losing streak to Falcons; and 20 points (7-18 FG, 5-14 3FG), 7 rebounds, 3 assists in NCAA Second Round loss to 12th-ranked and eventual Final 4 qualifier UC San Diego ... received Coaches' Award at team banquet.
MEGHAN VAUGHAN G 5-7 4.4 ppg 1.0 rpg 1.0 apg
Led Seawolves and ranked 3rd in GNAC with .425 3FG% ... played in all 29 games, including 4 starts ... 3FG% ranked 8th on UAA's single-season list and was best for a Seawolf since 1999-00 ... had season-highs of 19 points (4-6 3FG, 7-7 FT) and 4 rebounds in home victory over Central Washington; other top games included 11 points (4-8 FG, 3-6 3FG) in home win over Western Oregon; 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-5 3FG) in road win over WOU; and 9 points (3-6 3FG) and 3 rebounds in home win over UAF ... earned spot on GNAC All-Academic Team with 3.66 GPA ... received Most Improved Player Award.
MORE PLAYER NOTES
Jr. F Maria Nilsson established herself as one of the most dangerous long-range shooters in the GNAC, ranking 8th in overall 3FG% (.360) and 3FGs per game (1.7). In GNAC games only, she improved her numbers to .385 3FG and 2.2 3FG per game. Nilsson equaled Jayci Stone's school record for 3FGs in a game (8) against Saint Martin's on Feb. 3, including seven in the first half. The Swede was the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Player of the Game in title victory over UC Riverside, scoring 22 points on school-record .857 (6-7) 3FG shooting. The Seawolves went 9-0 when Nilsson scored in double figures ... Jr. G/F Jennifer Salazar was UAA's 4th-leading scorer (6.7 ppg) and rebounder (3.2 rpg) but made her mark as a distributor with a team-best 2.9 assists per game. After averaging just 1.6 apg through the first 14 games, she nearly tripled that, dishing 4.5 apg over the final 13 regular-season contests. Salazar averaged 3.8 apg in GNAC games, 5th-best in league. She scored double-digits seven times and dished 5 or more assists on seven occasions. In the two Shootout victories, she totaled 17 points , including three points in final minute of 62-60 win over Air Force ... Fr. G Keyona Brooks' season FT% (.797) ranked No. 11 all-time at UAA and was 4th-best ever for a freshman. Brooks was No. 2 on the team in assists (2.1 apg), averaging 4.6 ppg and 1.6 rpg. The Fresno, Calif., native sparked Seawolves off the bench in NCAA Tournament victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills with 12 points (4-6 FG, 1-1 3FG, 3-5 FT), 3 rebounds and game-winning assist in final minute.
SHOOTOUT CHAMPS! This year's version of the Seawolves wrote its place in the UAA history books with victories over Division I Air Force (62-60) and UC Riverside (72-67), Nov. 21-22, to win their own Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Led by tournament Most Outstanding Player Rebecca Kielpinski (tourney-best 17.0 ppg, 12.5 rpg) and All-Tournament selection Jayci Stone (14.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg), UAA won its third Shootout title in 27 tries ... in the first-round win over Air Force, Sr. F Stone (21 pts, 10 reb, 5-12 FG, 3-6 3FG, 8-8 FT) and So. C Kielpinski (16 pts, 12 reb, 4-10 FG, 8-10 FT) both posted double-doubles, while Jr. G Jennifer Salazar chipped in 9 points (3-5 FG). The game featured 12 ties overall and eight lead changes in the second half alone. Kielpinski hit the winning basket with 22 seconds left, and Sr. Tenecia Lockard (6 pts, 8 reb, career-high 4 blks) blocked AFA's final shot to win the game ... sharp-shooting Jr. G/F Maria Nilsson (22 pts, 7-10 FG, 6-7 3FG) led the way for UAA in its title-game victory over eventual Big West Conference champ UCR, while Kielpinski came up huge again with 18 points (6-10 FG), 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. So. G Tristan Burnett had 7 points and 4 assists.
SEAWOLVES AT THE SHOOTOUT: UAA is the only Div. II women's team to win a tournament against all Division I competition, having won the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout in 1990, 2003, and now 2006. The first title came in 1990 when the tournament included eight teams ... after beating Air Force and UC Riverside, the Seawolves are now 25-47 all-time in the Shootout and 5-11 since the current format began in 1999.
REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Seawolves finished No. 3 in the final Div. II West Region poll, released prior to the last weekend of the regular season. The rankings, which are based on a team's record against purely Division II competition, largely determine the eight teams that qualify for berths in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA Division II West Region poll
Feb. 28, 2007
Rk School Conf. Rec. vs DII* vs Reg.* Final Wk
1. UC San Diego CCAA 20-3 18-3 2-0
2. Chico State CCAA 18-3 18-3 2-0
3. Alaska Anchorage GNAC 17-4 15-4 1-1
4. Seattle Pacific GNAC 14-6 14-5 1-1
5. CS-Dominguez Hills CCAA 14-7 13-7 2-0
6. Sonoma State CCAA 13-9 13-7 1-1
7. CS-San Bernardino CCAA 15-8 14-7 1-1
8. Humboldt State CCAA 15-7 15-7 1-1
9. Western Washington GNAC 14-8 12-7 1-0
10. Northwest Nazarene GNAC 13-9 12-9 1-0
*records do not include final week's results
NATIONAL RANKINGS: With 38 votes in the final version, the Seawolves received recognition for the ninth straight week in the WBCA Division II top 25 poll (at wbca.org), placing them 31st overall. National champ Southern Connecticut State topped the rankings, while regional semifinal opponent UC San Diego was No. 3 and regional finalist Chico State was No. 10. Here is an abbreviated look at the poll:
ESPN/USA Today Division II Top 25 ? Mar. 6, 2007
(West Region teams in italics; UAA opponents in bold)
Rk Team (1st pl. votes) Rec. Pts
1. Southern Connecticut State (21) 34-2 525
2. Florida Gulf Coast 34-1 504
3. UC San Diego 27-5 442
4. Clayton State [Ga.] 29-6 439
5. North Dakota 32-4 434
10. Chico State 24-5 285
Others Receiving Votes: 31) ALASKA ANCHORAGE 38; 41) Seattle Pacific 2.
RADIO: Most UAA home games, plus the NCAA Tournament contests, were heard live in Anchorage on AM-550 KTZN ?The Zone' over the Alaska Sports Broadcast Network, or on the FM dial at 88.1 KRUA with sports director Robert Stormo on the mike. On the web, fans could tune in a GoSeawolves.com and sign up in the ?Splash Zone.'
TV: All UAA women's home games were all broadcast for the first time on KCFT Ch. 35 (Cable Ch. 19) on a tape-delayed basis. In addition, those games were available through GoSeawolves.com for a small subscription fee.
INJURY REPORT: So. Limor Pelleg suffered a knee (ACL) injury Dec. 30 in practice and was lost for the season ... F LaToya Riggins tore her ACL on the first day of practice and took an injury redshirt season.
