ANCHORAGE ? Freshman Hanna Johansson came off the bench with a career-high 17 points Thursday night to lead the 2nd-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to a 65-54 comeback victory over Northwest Nazarene at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (17-1, 4-0 GNAC) also got 10 points apiece from Nicci Miller and Rebecca Kielpinski to tie the school record with their 15th straight victory, matching the 1987-88 squad.
The Crusaders (10-6, 3-2) were led by 16 points and five steals from forward Kristin Hein, but the visitors from Nampa, Idaho, couldn't keep up with UAA down low as the Seawolves earned a 42-21 advantage in rebounding.
NNU came out of the gate hot, hitting their first three shots and controlling the game throughout the first half. The Crusaders took a 35-29 into the locker room, handing the Seawolves just their third halftime deficit of the season and their first since Nov. 20 against Colorado Christian.
After Briaunna King (10 pts, 3-5 FG) gave NNU its biggest lead, 39-31, with a layup at the 15:40 mark, the Seawolves began their comeback when Dasha Basova nailed a three-pointer ? her only basket of the game ? on the next possession. That kick-started a 10-0 Seawolf spurt that would result in UAA's first lead of the game.
Tied 45-45 with 10 minutes left, Johansson drained a mid-range jumper to give UAA the lead for good. Miller followed with a pair of free throws, and Johansson and Kielpinski converted layups to make it 53-45. NNU never again got closer than six again as it suffered through 29.2 percent (7 of 24) shooting in the second half.
Johansson also grabbed five rebounds and was nearly perfect shooting, converting 7 of 8 field goals and 3 of 4 free throws. The 6-2 forward from Gothenburg, Sweden, topped her previous scoring high by six points.
UAA also got key offensive contributions from guards Jackie Thiel (8 pts, 2-4 3FG, 3 assists) and Tamar Gruwell (8 pts, 3-3 FT) to fend off the Crusaders.
Thursday's victory marks UAA's best start in eight years of GNAC existence, topping its 3-0 mark of last season.
Kielpinski, meanwhile, moved past Western Oregon's Leada Berkey (1,558 pts, 2004-08) for No. 3 on the GNAC career scoring list, now with 1,567. The former two-time league Player of the Year grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, along with a pair of blocks and steals, shooting 4 of 4 from the field and 2 of 2 at the free-throw line.
At tip-off, Kielpinski got another GNAC career mark all to herself with her 109th starting assignment.
Up next, UAA hosts a critical showdown Saturday with 14th-ranked Seattle Pacific (12-2, 5-0) in a rematch of last season's NCAA Div. II West Regional title game. The Falcons, who are unbeaten against Div. II opponents this year, are responsible for UAA's only home loss under third-year head coach Tim Moser, a 78-77 defeat, Feb. 7, 2008.
Saturday's tilt tips at 7 p.m. AST at the WFSC.
