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Seawolves bust Broncos in NCAA opener

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Seawolves bust Broncos in NCAA opener

SEATTLE – Sophomore Hanna Johansson had 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds Friday to lead the nationally 14th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to a 69-50 victory over Cal Poly Pomona in a first-round NCAA Tournament contest at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

The Seawolves (24-4) – the two-time defending West Region champions – also got 17 points from junior guard Nikki Aden as they advanced to the second round for the fourth straight season. UAA, the No. 4 seed, will play top-seeded and host Seattle Pacific in Saturday night's regional semifinals at 6 p.m. AST. SPU downed Hawaii Pacific, 65-52, in Friday's late game.

The Broncos (22-7), seeded No. 5 in the eight-team regional, were led by 12 points and 11 rebounds from forward Stephisa Walton, but leading scorer and All-CCAA First Team guard Reyana Colson was held to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Johansson, who had the second-highest scoring game and the first double-double of her career, sparked a 10-0 run early in the second half that gave UAA the lead for good. The 6-2 Swede shot 7 of 13 from the floor and buried 4 of 5 free throws.

“(Hanna) has really started to come into her own,” said UAA head coach Tim Moser. “We're fortunate to have her for another couple years. I'm expecting her to be one of the best players in the GNAC, if not in the country, in a couple years.”

The Seawolves led 8-2 early and held the advantage until Pomona scored the final basket of the first half to go up 32-30. After the Broncos scored on their opening possession, UAA switched to a zone defense that held the Southern California squad to just 18 points on 26 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.

Aden, who scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half, hit the go-ahead three-pointer to make it 37-34 and added two dagger-like treys later in the stanza.

After UAA stretched to a 12-point advantage, Walter sliced it to 52-44 on a baseline jumper with 5:29 left. Aden was immediately fouled, however, and started a clinching 10-0 run with a pair of free throws on the next play.

The Seawolves made their first 19 free throws before finishing a solid 22 of 25 from the charity stripe. UAA also canned 5 of 9 from long range in the second half as it got a huge lift off the bench from senior guard Leah Stepovich (7 pts, 3-6 FG, 5 rebounds).

“Right now, teams are having a hard time guarding Hanna (Johansson) and Kelsie (Gourdin) and Nikki (Aden),” Moser said. “ It's hard to guard them when our perimeter is making shots.”

Senior Tamar Gruwell scored 13 points – including three three-pointers – and had four of UAA's 11 steals, while junior forward Gourdin scored 10 points, shooting 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.

The Seawolves are now 8-1 at the NCAA Div. II West Regional the last four years under head coach Tim Moser, having advanced to the last two national semifinals. An SPU-UAA rematch Saturday marks the third straight year the teams have met in the playoffs on the Falcons' home court, although the last two were in the regional final.

“This is the second season,” Moser said. “This is what we're playing for. You see all these teams come in here, and it's do or die. It's just survive and move on, and we're going to try to do the same tomorrow against whoever we play.”

Earlier Friday, upsets abounded as 6th-seeded Chico State beat 3rd-seeded Western Washington 79-68 in the opener, followed by 7th-seeded Humboldt State over CCAA champion and 2nd-seeded UC San Diego, 76-72.

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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
Leah Stepovich

#RS Leah Stepovich

G
5' 7"
Senior

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
Leah Stepovich

#RS Leah Stepovich

5' 7"
Senior
G