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Gruwell shoots #17 Seawolves past Wildcats

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Gruwell shoots #17 Seawolves past Wildcats

ANCHORAGE – Guard Tamar Gruwell scored 21 points and fellow seniors Leah Stepovich and Nicci Miller tallied 11 points apiece off the bench Saturday as the 17th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team earned a 76-52 victory over Central Washington at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

It was the fourth straight victory for UAA (18-3, 8-2 GNAC), which tied the school record for free-throw percentage, knocking down 18 of 19 (.947) from the stripe.

CWU (6-15, 3-8) was led by 16 points and six assists from junior guard Brittany Duerr, who made 5 of 7 from three-point range. The rest of the Wildcats shot just 35 percent from the field and the visitors were forced into 25 turnovers. UAA also collected a season-best nine blocks on the defensive end.

The Seawolves – ranked No. 4 in the West Region and coming off a thrilling 71-69 victory over league-leading Western Washington on Thursday – came out sluggish, falling behind 5-0 and 13-11 in the early going.

A three-pointer by Nikki Aden and a pair of free throws from Miller kick-started an 11-0 Seawolf run, however, and the home team would not trail again. Stepovich

Gruwell shot 8 of 13 from the field (5-10 3FGs) and had a pair of blocks, tallying 21 points for the second time in four games. The Fairfield, Calif., native's third trey of the night was the 100th of her career.

Stepovich, meanwhile, finished 3 of 7 from long range and grabbed three steals. Her 11 points were just one shy of her career-high, set last month against the same team.

Junior point guard Kaitlin McBride, getting her second straight start in place of the injured Kiki Taylor, delivered the best all-around game of her Seawolf career with eight points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.

Hanna Johansson was the fourth Seawolf in double figures with 10 points. The 6-2 sophomore from Sweden also collected four of UAA's 15 steals and dished three assists.

UAA's victory was its seventh straight over CWU, extending its longest string of success against Wildcats.

At the charity stripe, the Seawolves had their best-ever effort in GNAC play and equaled the school-record 18-of-19 performance from Feb. 16, 1995 against Seattle Pacific.

Up next for the Seawolves are their final three regular-season road games, starting Thursday, Feb. 18 at Western Oregon. UAA plays its final three regular-season games at home.
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Players Mentioned

Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

G/F
5' 8"
Freshman
Tamar Gruwell

#14 Tamar Gruwell

G
5' 8"
Junior
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

F
6' 2"
Freshman
Nicci Miller

#0 Nicci Miller

F
5' 10"
Junior
Leah Stepovich

#RS Leah Stepovich

G
5' 7"
Senior
Kiki Taylor

#10 Kiki Taylor

G
5' 5"
Junior
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

G
5' 7"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

5' 8"
Freshman
G/F
Tamar Gruwell

#14 Tamar Gruwell

5' 8"
Junior
G
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

6' 2"
Freshman
F
Nicci Miller

#0 Nicci Miller

5' 10"
Junior
F
Leah Stepovich

#RS Leah Stepovich

5' 7"
Senior
G
Kiki Taylor

#10 Kiki Taylor

5' 5"
Junior
G
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

5' 7"
Junior
G