ANCHORAGE ? Ruby Williams scored 17 points and the nation's top-ranked women's Division II basketball team used a dominant rebounding advantage Saturday to forge a 76-48 victory over Central Washington at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (24-1, 11-0 GNAC) also got 10 points apiece from Kiki Taylor and Nicci Miller as it slowly pulled away for its 22nd consecutive victory and ran its home-court streak to 20 straight.
The Wildcats (5-16, 2-8), who were down to just seven players due to injuries, were led by 15 points from guard Tanna Radtke and 12 points and nine rebounds from center Hilary Tanneberg.
Sparked by a pair of three-pointers from senior forward Dasha Basova (9 pts, 3-6 3FG), the Seawolves scored 12 straight points to take control, 22-10, midway through the first half. CWU would not go quietly, however, getting a spinning layup from Tanneberg right before the buzzer to make the halftime score 36-25.
But that would be as close as the visitors from Ellensburg, Wash., would get as UAA scored the first six points of the second half and eventually stretched its lead to 54-33 at the 10-minute mark.
The Seawolves dominated 54-27 in the rebounding department, posting their largest margin against a Division II opponent this season. Taylor tied her career-high with nine boards, while fellow guard Tamar Gruwell snagged a career-best eight, and Miller had six.
Freshman forward Hanna Johansson earned her first career start ? the 11th different Seawolf to start a game this year ? and responded with eight points (3-4 FG, 2-3 FT), five rebounds and a pair of assists.
UAA used all 14 of its players, with reserve guard Jackie Thiel playing a team-high 21 minutes.
All-America center Rebecca Kielpinski had a quiet game with seven points, three blocks and only two rebounds, but the senior did manage to move into the No. 3 spot on UAA's career scoring list (1,636 pts) with her final bucket of the night. The Mandan, N.D., surpassed Heidi Alderman (1,634, 1992-96) for that honor, and is now chasing former CWU standout Rose Shaw (1,696, 1998-02) for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record.
The Seawolves improved to 6-0 as the nation's No. 1 team, however they must play their next four games on the road, beginning Thursday, Feb. 19, at No. 17 Seattle Pacific. UAA leads the Falcons by two games in the GNAC standings, having won the initial matchup, 53-49, in Anchorage on Jan. 24.
