ANCHORAGE - Alysa Horn scored 19 points and Hanna Johansson posted another double-double Thursday as 9th-ranked Alaska Anchorage overcame an upset bid by Montana State Billings to post a 59-50 women's basketball victory at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (13-2, 4-0 GNAC) also got 10 points and nine rebounds from senior forward Kaylie Robison as they won for the ninth straight time, both overall and against MSUB. Junior point guard Sasha King added five points, five assists, no turnovers and two steals to help UAA win despite a season-low .345 (20 of 58) field-goal percentage.
The Yellowjackets (10-6, 2-3) got a game-high 20 points, plus nine rebounds from sophomore guard Bobbi Knudsen, while senior guard Kalli Stanhope added nine points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting. MSUB was a perfect 10 of 10 at the free-throw line but could not overcome 20 turnovers and a 40-28 rebounding disadvantage.
The first half featured five lead changes and four ties, ending at 26-26. Knudsen gave the Yellowjackets an early edge with the first basket of the second half before UAA made its run, getting six straight points from Horn during a 12-2 spurt that eventually decided the outcome.
Horn, an All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference Second Team selection as a sophomore last year, knocked down a three-pointer to put UAA up 50-38 at the 5:52 mark, and Johansson added a rebound basket for the Seawolves' largest lead, 53-40, with 4:05 to play.
The Yellowjackets sliced it to 53-48 on a deep three-pointer from Stanhope with 1:47 left, but King and Johansson answered with four straight free throws to ice the win - UAA's 14th straight at the WFSC.
Following her school-record 8-of-8 shooting in Saturday's road win over Northwest Nazarene, Johansson shot just 3 of 9 from the field. The senior center was 5 of 6 at the free-throw line, however, and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for her third straight double-double.
Horn shot 8 of 14 from the field and Robison was 4 of 6.
The UAA victory sets up Saturday's home showdown against longtime rival Seattle Pacific (10-3, 4-1) for first place in the early GNAC standings. That game tips at 7 p.m. AST.
