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Seawolves sink Saints, earn 20th win

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Seawolves sink Saints, earn 20th win

LACEY, Wash. – Seniors Tamar Gruwell and Nicci Miller combined for 37 points as the 14th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team posted a wire-to-wire 83-49 victory over Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion on Saturday.

The Seawolves (20-3, 10-2 GNAC) shot 54 percent from the field to earn their fourth straight 20-win season under head coach Tim Moser.

The Saints (10-14, 4-9) were led by 12 points from reserve guard Megan Busch, but the home team managed just 29 percent shooting and was outrebounded 45-28.

UAA also got 13 points from junior forward Kelsie Gourdin, plus 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists from sophomore center Hanna Johansson. Junior point guard Kaitlin McBride, playing just an hour from her hometown of Bothell, Wash., tallied a career-high 10 points, along with four rebounds and four assists.

The victory was the Seawolves' sixth straight overall and completed the third straight season sweep of the Saints. It was also UAA's largest margin in 27 all-time meetings with SMU, topping a 73-40 win in Anchorage last year.

Gruwell, a 5-8 guard, started the game with a three-pointer and added four more before halftime, staking the Seawolves to a 47-22 advantage. UAA then held the Saints scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half, building its largest lead eventually at 83-45 with 2:36 remaining.

Gruwell shot 6 of 9 from three-point range and made her only two-point shot, finishing with a game-high 20 points. She also totaled six rebounds, four assists and career-high-tying five steals.

Miller, meanwhile, scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 2 of 3 from long range.

UAA's 10-of-18 (.556) three-point shooting was a season-high, topping the 14-of-27 (.519) performance in last month's 78-62 home win over the Saints.

Junior guard Nikki Aden scored just five points but reached a program milestone as she became the second-winningest Seawolf, tying with Robin Graul (1985-89) and Diane Dobrich (1986-90) with 79 victories. With another good season, Aden should surpass record-holder and former teammate Rebecca Kielpinski (97 wins, 2005-09) sometime during her season campaign.

With the victory, the Seawolves – currently third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference race – are guaranteed of gaining ground on either first-place Western Washington or second-place Seattle Pacific as those teams meet tonight in Seattle.

UAA will remain in the Lower 48 for its final road game of the regular season, Wednesday night (5 p.m. AST) at Montana State Billings.
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Players Mentioned

Rebecca Kielpinski

#54 Rebecca Kielpinski

C
6' 2"
Sophomore
Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

G/F
5' 8"
Freshman
Kelsie Gourdin

#RS Kelsie Gourdin

F
5' 10"
Junior
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
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

G
5' 7"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Rebecca Kielpinski

#54 Rebecca Kielpinski

6' 2"
Sophomore
C
Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

5' 8"
Freshman
G/F
Kelsie Gourdin

#RS Kelsie Gourdin

5' 10"
Junior
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
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

5' 7"
Junior
G