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#1 Seawolves fend off 'Jackets, 74-64

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#1 Seawolves fend off 'Jackets, 74-64

ANCHORAGE – Junior center Megan Mullings had 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks Saturday as nationally top-ranked Alaska Anchorage overcame a slow start to finish the regular season with a 74-64 women's basketball victory over Montana State Billings at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (27-1, 17-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got a combined 27 points and 10 rebounds from the shooting-guard combo of Jenna Buchanan and Jessica Madison to earn their 15th straight victory.

The Yellowjackets (14-14, 6-12) were led by 16 points and eight assists from forward Alisha Breen, while senior center Kayleen Goggins had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists in her final collegiate game. The result leaves the Yellowjackets outside the postseason picture as only the top six teams in the league qualify for the GNAC Tournament, which starts Thursday in Billings.

Having clinched the GNAC title last week and earned a win over 19th-ranked Seattle Pacific on Thursday, the Seawolves came out flat against the Yellowjackets, who scored the game's first 11 points.

UAA recovered behind the defense of Mullings and hot shooting of Buchanan, slowly slicing the deficit and taking its first lead, 19-17, on a steal and layup by senior Alli Madison. After trading a pair of advantages, Mullings gave her team the lead for good with a layup at the 3:46 mark and a dish to Alysha Devine to make it 26-23.

The Seawolves led 29-27 at halftime and stretched to a 44-34 lead on another Devine layup with 14:35 left. Peoples kept her team close with a three-pointer to make it 47-42, but UAA answered with an 8-0 run and allowed the visitors to get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Mullings shot 5 of 9 from the field and matched her career-high in rebounds, while coming just one block shy of her personal best. Meanwhile, sophomore point guard Kiki Robertson scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, grabbed three steals and dished 10 assists to reach double figures for the fifth time in her career. The sophomore from Honolulu moved into fourth place on UAA's career assists list, now with 304 in less than two seasons.

Alli Madison finished with nine points, nine rebounds and two steals, and Devine added seven points and a pair of blocks off the bench.

The Seawolves will next take the court Friday, Mar. 6 at 12:15 p.m. AST in the GNAC semifinals in Billings, where they will play the winner of Wednesday night's game between No. 4 seed Simon Fraser (14-12, 10-8) and No. 5 seed Saint Martin's (11-15, 8-10).

Ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Div. II West Region as well, the Seawolves could earn the right to play at home again if they are chosen to host the regional tournament, set for Mar. 13-16. The announcement of the NCAA playoff field and regional host will be made Mar. 8 at 6 p.m. AST.

NOTES: The Seawolves have tied the second-longest win streak in program history, along with the 1987-88 club; the record is 22 straight in the 2008-09 season … Robertson joins Allegra Stoetzel (5 times, 1992-96) and Diane Dobrich (6 times, 1986-90) as the only Seawolves to dish double-figure assists at least five times … Robertson has totaled at least five assists in 12 straight games … Mullings scored double figures for the 14th straight time … UAA also secured the record for the fewest losses in a season, topping the mark of the 2007-08 squad that went 31-4.


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Players Mentioned

Alli Madison

#10 Alli Madison

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Jessica Madison

#RS Jessica Madison

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Jenna Buchanan

#12 Jenna Buchanan

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Alysha Devine

#15 Alysha Devine

F
6' 0"
Freshman
Kiki Robertson

#23 Kiki Robertson

G
5' 7"
Freshman
Megan Mullings

#11 Megan Mullings

F
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Alli Madison

#10 Alli Madison

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Jessica Madison

#RS Jessica Madison

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Jenna Buchanan

#12 Jenna Buchanan

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Alysha Devine

#15 Alysha Devine

6' 0"
Freshman
F
Kiki Robertson

#23 Kiki Robertson

5' 7"
Freshman
G
Megan Mullings

#11 Megan Mullings

6' 1"
Junior
F