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Women conquer Vikings in NCAA battle

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Women conquer Vikings in NCAA battle

POMONA, Calif. – Senior point guard Kaitlin McBride scored 22 points to lead Alaska Anchorage to a 55-48 victory over conference rival Western Washington in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Regional Women's Basketball Championships at Kellogg Gymnasium on Friday.

The Seawolves (27-6) also got 15 points and 12 rebounds from junior center Hanna Johansson as they won a grudge match between Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals. With the victory, UAA, seeded No. 5 in the regionals and ranked No. 12 nationally, evened the season series at 2-2 against WWU, which came in seeded No. 4 and ranked No. 14 nationally.

The Vikings (26-4) were led by 11 points and nine rebounds from senior forward Gabby Wade, plus eight points and 11 rebounds from senior center Lauren Hefflin. WWU was the regular-season GNAC champion with a 17-1 league record, but the Seawolves knocked off the Vikings 68-67 in last Saturday's GNAC Tournament title game.

Friday's game was to keep the season going for the victor, however, and the Seawolves now move to face top-seeded and host Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos defeated rival Cal State-San Bernardino 71-43 in Friday's late quarterfinal.

UAA, which earned its fifth straight first-round NCAA win, had to overcome a slow start to do it. The Seawolves missed 22 of their first 25 shots and trailed 26-14 with 2:31 left in the first half. McBride nailed a jumper, though, and freshman Kylie Burns drained consecutive three-pointers to get the Seawolves back into the game.

WWU led 29-22 at halftime, but the Seawolves clamped down on defense, using a 17-4 run to take the lead for good. Junior forward Kaylie Robison converted a layup off a backdoor pass from Johansson to give the Seawolves their largest lead, 45-36, with 5:38 remaining, before the Vikings made a last charge.

The Vikings scored five straight points and then sliced their deficit to 46-43 on a layup by Megan Pinske at the 2:43 mark. Johansson answered immediately with a short jumper in the lane, however, and WWU could not make it a single-possession game the rest of the way. McBride sealed things from the free-throw stripe where she hit 8 of 11, while last week's GNAC Tournament MVP also shot 7 of 12 from the floor in 40 minutes of action.

Johansson, UAA's first-team All-GNAC honoree, shot 6 of 13 from the floor and posted her team-leading fifth double-double of the season, while Robison added 10 rebounds off the bench. Burns, a freshman from Kansas City, Kan., also picked a good time for one of her best games with six points and a career-high six rebounds.

UAA outrebounded WWU 49-42 and prevailed in with its typical tough defense, holding the Vikings to just 29.6 percent (16 of 54) from the field. The Seawolves shot just 31.3 percent (20 of 64) themselves, but committed two fewer turnovers.

The Seawolves will play in the late regional semifinal Saturday night at Kellogg against Cal Poly Pomona at 6 p.m. Alaska Standard Time.


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Players Mentioned

Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

F
6' 2"
Freshman
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

G
5' 7"
Junior
Kylie Burns

#43 Kylie Burns

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Kaylie Robison

#24 Kaylie Robison

F
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

6' 2"
Freshman
F
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

5' 7"
Junior
G
Kylie Burns

#43 Kylie Burns

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Kaylie Robison

#24 Kaylie Robison

6' 0"
Junior
F