ANCHORAGE ? Senior guard Elisha Harris came off the bench to lead an impressive Seawolf shooting display as the top-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team cruised to an 83-56 victory over Western Oregon in at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex on Thursday.
Playing for the first time in program history as a No. 1 team, the Seawolves (19-1, 6-0 GNAC) got 15 points from Harris and 13 points from senior forward Ruby Williams to win for the 17th straight time and improve to 14-0 at home.
The Wolves (7-10, 2-4) featured an impressive 28-point performance from junior forward Katie Torland, who shot 9 of 13 from the field, 4 of 5 from three-point range and 6 of 6 at the free-throw line. The rest of her teammates were held to just 9-of-31 marksmanship, however, and UAA held a commanding 36-18 advantage in rebounding.
WOU hung tight for the first six minutes as Torland's free throws made it a 13-12 UAA lead. But the Seawolves got baskets on four straight possessions, including a pair by Harris, to start a 16-2 run that would put them comfortably ahead for good.
The Seawolves led 42-22 on the scoreboard and held a 22-7 advantage in rebounds at the half, allowing the Wolves no offensive caroms. Senior center Rebecca Kielpinski scored 10 of her 12 points (5-10 FG, 2-2 FT) in the opening stanza and finished with four assists and a game-high seven rebounds.
Williams shot 6 of 9 and grabbed five rebounds in just her second start of the season, while senior guard Jackie Thiel had 10 points (2-3 3FG, 4-4 FT), a game-high five assists, three steals and three rebounds.
Harris, meanwhile, delivered her most efficient offensive performance in two seasons as a Seawolf, shooting 6 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 3 from long range. The 5-7 guard from West Jordan, Utah, entered the game having missed her last 10 shots and was shooting 21 percent for the season on treys.
Senior center Dasha Basova added nine points and a pair of assists for the Seawolves, who played without leading scorer Nicci Miller (12.1 ppg) because of a one-game suspension for violation of team rules.
Nikki Aden shot 2 of 2, Tamar Gruwell 2 of 3 and Danielle Dekel sank her only three-point attempt for the Seawolves as they made a season-high 62.5 percent (10 of 16) from long range.
WOU's 18 rebounds marked the third-fewest ever allowed by the Seawolves and the fewest in a league game. It also tied the Great Northwest Athletic Conference mark for rebounds allowed in a league game.
UAA swept the season series and won its 11th straight overall against WOU, establishing the second-longest winning streak against any Seawolf opponent.
With her starting assignment Thursday, Kielpinski added another record to her individual resume, tying Robin Graul's mark of 111 career starts in a Seawolf uniform. The 6-2 center also moved into eighth place on UAA's all-time assists list, now with 239.
The Seawolves are back in action Saturday when they host Saint Martin's (13-5, 4-2) in a GNAC showdown at 5:15 p.m. AST.
