ANCHORAGE (Mar. 1) ? It was ?Senior Night' at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex on Saturday, but in the end it was the Seawolves' junior star who led the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to its school-record 25th victory, 65-53 over Western Washington.
Rebecca Kielpinski had 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals and a pair of blocks to push the nationally 9th-ranked Seawolves to 25-3 overall (14-2 GNAC) and stretch their winning streak to six games.
Freshman sharp-shooter Amanda Dunbar kept the Vikings (8-21, 5-12) close with 19 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting, while forward Claire Pallansch added 11 points.
Junior forward Ruby Williams scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and senior forward Maria Nilsson tallied 10 points as one of four seniors making her final home appearance.
Despite building a 25-13 lead in the first half, UAA went into the break ahead just 30-25 and had to fight off several Viking rallies in the final 20 minutes. Gabby Wade cut UAA's lead to 45-42 with 9:11 remaining, but Kielpinski answered with a traditional three-point play and Nilsson swished a three-pointer two minutes later to put UAA up 53-44.
Not until Williams' rebound layup with 2:27 left did the Seawolves take a double-digit lead for good.
Three of the Seawolves' four seniors ? Nilsson, Jennifer Salazar, and Erin Cunningham ? finished their 2-year careers with an overall home record of 32-1, including a pair Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout titles. The fourth senior, 1-year transfer Kalhie Quinones, finished with nine points, three steals and a pair of assists in her final outing at the WFSC.
UAA, ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Div. II West Region, will finish the regular season on the road at Seattle University (Thur., Mar. 6, 6 p.m. AST) and Montana State Billings (Sat., Mar. 8, 5 p.m. AST).
