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Women vanquish Dominican, 91-36

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Rally lifts 'Wolves into GNAC title game

ANCHORAGE – Three Seawolves scored 15 points and reserve forward Kaylie Robison sank the go-ahead basket with just over one minute to play Wednesday to lift Alaska Anchorage to 68-66 victory over Seattle Pacific in the semifinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championships at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

With the victory, the Seawolves (25-6) – ranked No. 16 nationally and No. 6 in the NCAA Division II West Region – advance to Saturday's GNAC title game and virtually assure themselves of their fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth.

It took a record-setting effort to get there, however, as UAA erased a 39-24 halftime deficit and came back from as far down as 45-26 with 17:39 to play. The comeback broke the previous school record for largest halftime deficit overcome, fueled by a stifling defensive effort and timely three-point shooting.

The regionally 7th-ranked Falcons (20-8) were led by 17 points from reserve guard Jordan Harazin and shot 52 percent in the first half to build their lead. But after gaining a 53-37 on Melissa Reich's layup with 13:01 to play, the Seawolves would not allow a field goal until Harazin's 30-foot three-pointer with two seconds on the clock.

By then, the Seawolves had used three three-pointers from sophomore forward Alysa Horn and a succession of SPU turnovers to grab the lead. After Horn nailed consecutive treys to cut the deficit to 57-56 at the 5:42 mark, UAA missed three chances to take its first advantage since the opening moments, including a turnover on an offensive foul by Hanna Johansson with 2:49 left.

Johansson fouled out on the play, but that set the stage for Robison, who converted a layup off her own miss at the 1:02 mark, putting the Seawolves ahead 64-63. The Seawolves would miss eight of 12 free throws in the final 45 seconds but held on nonetheless.

Johansson finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while point guard Kaitlin McBride tallied 15 points (9-12 FT) and four assists. Horn and senior Nikki Aden led UAA with six rebounds apiece, and junior forward Tijera Mathews had five points – including a key three-pointer in the comeback surge – five rebounds, two blocks and a career-high five assists.

Robison finished with nine points, two blocks and four rebounds – on the offensive end.

The Seawolves will now travel to Bellingham, Wash., to face top-seeded Western Washington in Saturday night's title game (6 p.m. AST) at Carver Gymnasium. The winner earns the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships, set for Mar. 11-14.

NOTES: Seniors Aden, McBride and guard Sarah Herrin played their final home game at the WFSC … Aden broke the school record for games played with her 127th appearance, moving past former teammate Rebecca Kielpinski (2005-09) … the previous record for a halftime comeback was 12 points against Santa Clara in the 2007 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout title game.
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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
Tijera Mathews

#3 Tijera Mathews

G/F
5' 10"
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
Tijera Mathews

#3 Tijera Mathews

5' 10"
Junior
G/F
Kaylie Robison

#24 Kaylie Robison

6' 0"
Junior
F