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#5 Seawolves take on D-I Lobos in exhibition

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#11 UAA women tally huge comeback victory

LACEY, Wash. ? Senior guard Kalhie Quinones scored 11 points, including four clutch free throws in the final four minutes Saturday, to lead the 11th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to a 49-44 victory over Saint Martin's in a key West Region matchup at SMU Pavilion.

UAA (22-3, 11-2 GNAC) also got 10 points apiece from junior centers Rebecca Kielpinski and Dasha Basova to win its third straight overall and its fifth straight on the road.

SMU (15-6, 8-4) lost for the just the second time in its last six outings despite a game-high 18 points from Michelle Short and a 13-point second-half lead.

The Saints led 29-19 at halftime and 39-26 when Short nailed a three-pointer with 15:49 remaining, but UAA's league-leading defense held the home team to just five points on 0-of-12 field-goal shooting the rest of the way.

Maria Nilsson started the Seawolves' game-deciding 14-0 run with a three-pointer ? her only bucket of the night ? and Quinones had five points and three of her career-high eight steals in the surge.

Quinones fed Lillie Parks with for a layup to put UAA up 40-39 with 6:39 to play, and she knotted the score at 42-42 with two free throws at the 3:13 mark. After coming up short on their next two possessions, UAA got the eventual game-winning three-pointer from Basova (4-9 FG, 2-6 3FG) with 1:26 showing.

Short hit a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left, but Quinones extended the lead to 47-44 with two charities of her own. Short's game-tying trey attempt missed with four seconds left and Nilsson converted two free throws for the final margin.

Kielpinski also had a game-high nine rebounds, while Quinones' steal total was just two shy of the school record and the most by a Seawolf this year.

It was UAA's second-largest rally from a halftime deficit this year, topped only by the 12-point comeback in its Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout championship victory over Santa Clara.

UAA, ranked No. 4 in the latest West Region poll, swept the season series from SMU for the first time in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play (since 2001-02).
SMU, ranked No. 8 in the region, also got 10 points from guard Dara Zack in the loss, but the Saints were held eight points under their previous season-low scoring total.

The Seawolves start a three-game homestand next week when they host arch-rival Alaska Fairbanks. That contest tips off at 5 p.m. AST on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

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Players Mentioned

Rebecca Kielpinski

#54 Rebecca Kielpinski

C
6' 2"
Sophomore
Maria Nilsson

#21 Maria Nilsson

G/F
6' 0"
Junior
Dasha Basova

#13 Dasha Basova

F/C
6' 3"
Junior
Lillie Parks

#30 Lillie Parks

F
5' 11"
Junior
Kalhie Quinones

#4 Kalhie Quinones

G
5' 7"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Rebecca Kielpinski

#54 Rebecca Kielpinski

6' 2"
Sophomore
C
Maria Nilsson

#21 Maria Nilsson

6' 0"
Junior
G/F
Dasha Basova

#13 Dasha Basova

6' 3"
Junior
F/C
Lillie Parks

#30 Lillie Parks

5' 11"
Junior
F
Kalhie Quinones

#4 Kalhie Quinones

5' 7"
Senior
G