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#8 UAA crushes UAF in GNAC finale

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#8 UAA crushes UAF in GNAC finale

ANCHORAGE – Senior Hanna Johansson posted another monster effort in her final home game Saturday to lead the 8th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to a 94-49 rout of Alaska Fairbanks at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (25-4, 16-2 GNAC) also got a 19-point effort from junior guard Haley Holmstead as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions capped their regular season with a sixth straight victory.

The Nanooks (6-22, 2-16) were led by 18 points and six points from senior center Nicole Bozek as they concluded their campaign with nine consecutive losses.

After defeating UAF 78-29 back on Dec. 3 in Fairbanks, UAA jumped to a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes Saturday and never looked back. The Seawolves led 33-8 at the midway point of the first half and finished the night with their most assists (31) in 11 years of GNAC play.

Johansson, a 6-2 center from Gothenburg, Sweden, completed her 4-year home career with 23 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a career-high four blocks. The GNAC Player-of-the-Year candidate shot 8 of 9 from the field and 7 of 8 at the free-throw line.

Senior forward Kaylie Robison was the fourth Seawolf in double figures, tallying 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, plus seven rebounds and two blocks.

UAA's point-guard tandem of Sasha King and Gritt Ryder were sharp as well, combining for 21 assists and nine steals. King matched her career-highs of 11 assists and seven steals, while Ryder approached triple-double territory with eight points, seven rebounds and a career-best 10 assists.

Tijera Mathews scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and fellow senior Torle Nenbee cracked the scoring column in her final home game with two points.

The Seawolves now travel to Lacey, Wash., for the second annual GNAC Women's Basketball Championships. UAA – the defending champion – will be the top seed and play either 4th-seeded Seattle Pacific or 5th-seeded Simon Fraser on Friday, Mar. 2 at 6:30 p.m. AST.

NOTES: Johansson posted her third game of 15-plus rebounds this year and moved up to No. 2 on UAA's career list, now with 779 … Johansson's double-double was her 11th this year and the 17th of her career … with her 127th appearance in Green & Gold, Johansson snapped a tie with former teammate Rebecca Kielpinski (2005-09) for No. 2 on UAA's all-time games-played list and now stands just three shy of the record of Nikki Aden (130 from 2007-11) … UAA's 31 assists tied for No. 6 on the program's single-game list and equaled the 3rd-best performance against a fellow D-II team … King – who tallied 11 assists two weeks ago against Simon Fraser – became the seventh player in program history post double-digit assists at least twice.

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Players Mentioned

Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

G/F
5' 8"
Freshman
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

F
6' 2"
Freshman
Torle Nenbee

#4 Torle Nenbee

G
5' 8"
Junior
Sasha King

#15 Sasha King

G
5' 6"
Junior
Tijera Mathews

#3 Tijera Mathews

G/F
5' 10"
Junior
Kaylie Robison

#24 Kaylie Robison

F
6' 0"
Junior
Haley Holmstead

#5 Haley Holmstead

G
5' 8"
Junior
Gritt Ryder

#11 Gritt Ryder

G
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

5' 8"
Freshman
G/F
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

6' 2"
Freshman
F
Torle Nenbee

#4 Torle Nenbee

5' 8"
Junior
G
Sasha King

#15 Sasha King

5' 6"
Junior
G
Tijera Mathews

#3 Tijera Mathews

5' 10"
Junior
G/F
Kaylie Robison

#24 Kaylie Robison

6' 0"
Junior
F
Haley Holmstead

#5 Haley Holmstead

5' 8"
Junior
G
Gritt Ryder

#11 Gritt Ryder

5' 10"
Freshman
G