ANCHORAGE ? Propelled by a huge performance from Kiki Taylor, the nationally 5th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team claimed a share of its first-ever Great Northwest Athletic Conference title Saturday with a 74-52 victory over Montana State Billings at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (27-3, 14-2 GNAC) used solid three-point shooting and swiped a season-high 22 steals as they won their first league title of any kind since taking the Continental Divide Conference in 1988-89.
The Yellowjackets (16-11, 8-8 GNAC), meanwhile, saw their playoff hopes fade as the West Region's 8th-ranked club fell behind 22-4 and never recovered. Senior guard Alira Carpenter had 14 points in the losing effort, reaching the 2,000-point mark for her career with her final basket.
Carpenter also had seven of the visitors' 35 turnovers, however, falling victim to the Seawolves' full-court press.
Taylor had career-bests of 19 points and five steals, while leading the Seawolves with six rebounds as well. The junior guard scored 16 of her points in the first half, including a 30-foot three-point swish to beat the first-half buzzer. That shot made it 44-16, giving UAA its largest halftime leading in a GNAC game this year.
No other Seawolf reached double figures in scoring, but six players tallied at least six points. Senior center Rebecca Kielpinski tallied nine points and three steals in her 121st career game, while junior guard Tamar Gruwell finished with eight points, three assists and no turnovers.
It was the final home appearance for seven seniors, including Kielpinski, Jackie Thiel (6 pts, 2-2 3FG, 2 asst), Elisha Harris (3 pts, 4 asst, 3 stls), Ruby Williams (4 pts, 4 reb, 3 asst, 2 stls), Dasha Basova (7 pts, 3 reb, 2 asst) and Danielle Dekel (3 pts, 1-1 3FG).
UAA finished an impressive 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from three-point land.
The victory gave UAA a pair of marks, with its best-ever regular-season (27-3) and home (19-0) records. The Seawolves have now won 21 straight at home and are 51-1 in Anchorage over the past three seasons.
Seattle Pacific, ranked No. 8 nationally, claimed its share of the GNAC title earlier in the evening with a 72-68 road victory at Northwest Nazarene. The Falcons are ranked No. 1 in the West Region, while UAA came into the week No. 3 in the West.
While SPU wins the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth through a tie-breaker formula, the Seawolves are also sure to be included when the field is announced Sunday at 5 p.m. ADT.
