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#13 UAA handles NNU, sets up title tilt

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#13 UAA handles NNU, sets up title tilt

ANCHORAGE – Nicci Miller had 20 points and eight rebounds and Hanna Johansson sparked a second-half run Thursday to lead 13th-ranked Alaska Anchorage to a 62-50 victory over Northwest Nazarene in women's basketball action at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

With the victory, the Seawolves (23-3, 13-2 GNAC) keep their hopes alive for share of their second straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, needing a victory in Saturday's regular-season finale against 18th-ranked Seattle Pacific to force a three-way tie with SPU and Western Washington.

UAA, ranked No. 4 in the West Region, also got 12 points and four steals from senior guard Tamar Gruwell, plus eight points and six assists from junior guard Nikki Aden to secure its ninth straight win and sweep the season series from NNU.

The Crusaders (18-8, 8-7), ranked No. 6 in the West, were led by 14 points from senior forward Brittany Roggenkamp, but the nation's second-leading three-point percentage club made just 3 of 17 (.176) from beyond the arc, while committing 30 turnovers.

Those turnovers offset a huge NNU rebounding advantage (41-32) as the Seawolves piled up 21 steals.

Miller, a 5-9 senior forward from Denver, had five of those steals and shot 8 of 15 from the field, bringing the Seawolves back from an early 18-9 deficit.

UAA gained the lead at 21-20 on Aden's layup with 7:29 remaining in the first half, and Miller gave the Seawolves a 31-30 halftime edge on their final possession of the stanza.

Johansson – who was scoreless with two fouls in the first half – then took over to start the second. The 6-2 Swede scored eight points and accounted for two more off one of her steals, sparking a 10-0 run.

That spurt would eventually decide the game as the lead fluctuated between six and 13 points the rest of the way. Before fouling out with 6:23 remaining, Johansson finished the second half with 6-of-8 shooting and three of her four steals.

SPU (23-3, 14-1), which clinched its second straight GNAC title share with a 59-47 win at Alaska Fairbanks tonight, visits the WFSC on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. Should UAA beat SPU, it would result in a three-way tie between those teams and WWU (23-4, 14-2), which was soundly in control in its final regular-season game Thursday.


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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

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