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Women bounce back against Clan

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Seawolves repel upset bid in Nampa, 61-60

NAMPA, Idaho – Kaitlin McBride scored 13 points, including the game-winning jumper with 20 seconds remaining, to help 15th-ranked Alaska Anchorage to a 61-60 victory over Northwest Nazarene in women's basketball action at the Johnson Sports Center on Saturday.

The Seawolves (19-5, 10-3 GNAC) – No. 5 in the NCAA Div. II West Region rankings – also got 18 points and nine rebounds from junior center Hanna Johansson as they ran their winning streak to four games and swept the season series from NNU.

The Crusaders (12-9, 7-6) were led by 16 points and nine rebounds from guard Monica Garcia, while freshman Megan Hingston had 14 points, four assists, three blocks and three steals.

Hingston did most of her damage in the first half as the home team led 31-26 at the break and pushed its advantage to eight points twice early in the second half. But trailing 38-31, the Seawolves went on a 12-0 run, including a pair of three-pointers from senior Nikki Aden, who finished with 11 points.

The Crusaders retook the lead at 51-50 on Falissa Smith's corner three-pointer at the 7:31 mark, and forward Beth Johnson put her team ahead 58-53 on a layup at the 3-minute mark. McBride would take over from there, however, scoring eight points in the final two minutes.

The senior point guard penetrated for a layup to make it 58-55 with 2 minutes left, then answered Hingston's jumper with another layup to keep UAA within 60-57 with 91 seconds remaining.

Johnson missed a jumper on NNU's ensuing possession and Smith was called for an over-the-back foul against McBride on the rebound. The Bothell, Wash., native coolly sank both charities with 1:05 on the clock, and UAA gained a chance to lead when Johnson missed again and the rebound went out of bounds off a Crusader.

After a timeout, McBride dribbled around a screen and floated home a spinning jumper from about 8 feet to give the Seawolves the lead. The Crusaders called timeout to set up a play, and Garcia shot an air-ball three-pointer from the wing. UAA's Alysa Horn had a chance at the rebound but fumbled it out of bounds to set up NNU's final try with 4 seconds remaining. Horn quickly made up for her error, though, stealing Heather Adams' inbounds pass in the lane, and she was fouled with 1.2 seconds left.

Horn missed the first free throw and was called for a lane violation on the second, but the Crusaders could not get off a final shot.

“Our players really kept their composure against a good team in a tough situation,” said UAA head coach Tim Moser. “Kaitlin was just unflappable down the stretch, and our veterans really stepped up to help us win. This is a hard place to come out of with a victory, so we'll take a little pride in this one.”

Horn, a sophomore from Kodiak, finished with 11 points as both she and Aden shot 3 of 4 from three-point range. Johansson shot 8 of 13 from the field and had a pair of blocks and steals to help keep the Seawolves close in the second half.

Meanwhile, junior forward Kaylie Robison was clutch off the bench, shooting 3-of-3 from the field for six points and grabbing four of her six rebounds on the offensive end.

UAA had just six players crack the scoring column as senior guard Sarah Herrin added a bucket off the bench.

The victory was UAA's fifth straight against NNU and gave the Seawolves a 2.5-game lead in the race for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, combined with Seattle Pacific's 54-51 loss at Montana State Billings earlier in the evening.

The Seawolves return home next week to face Saint Martin's (12-8, 7-5 GNAC) on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5:15 p.m. AST at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. The Saints, who knocked off UAA in Washington last month, are one of three teams in logjam for third place in the league standings.

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Players Mentioned

Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

G/F
5' 8"
Freshman
Sarah Herrin

#RS Sarah Herrin

G
5' 8"
Junior
Alysa Horn

#RS Alysa Horn

F
5' 11"
Freshman
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

F
6' 2"
Freshman
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

G
5' 7"
Junior
Kaylie Robison

#24 Kaylie Robison

F
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

5' 8"
Freshman
G/F
Sarah Herrin

#RS Sarah Herrin

5' 8"
Junior
G
Alysa Horn

#RS Alysa Horn

5' 11"
Freshman
F
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

6' 2"
Freshman
F
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

5' 7"
Junior
G
Kaylie Robison

#24 Kaylie Robison

6' 0"
Junior
F