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#3 UAA survives scare at Simon Fraser, 76-74

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#2 Seawolves surge past NNU in 2nd half, 95-71

NAMPA, Idaho – Playing just down the road from her former school, Alaska Anchorage senior Keiahnna Engel scored a season-high 22 points to help the nation's 2nd-ranked Div. II women's basketball team pull away for a 95-71 victory over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at the Johnson Sports Center.

The Seawolves (20-1, 7-1 GNAC) also got 25 points and a career-high 11 rebounds from senior guard Jenna Buchanan, who propelled a second-half charge with 5-of-10 three-point shooting. The Galena native added three assists and no turnovers in a team season-high 36 minutes as UAA exploded for its most points in any quarter this season, outscoring the hosts 34-19 in the fourth.

The Crusaders (5-9, 3-5) were led by 20 points from Ellie Logan, plus 12 points and seven assists from Taylor Simmons, although the hosts could not recover from 24 turnovers. Engel – who played three seasons at nearby Div. I program Boise State – shot 10 of 16 from the field and had a team-high four steals, helping UAA attempt 28 more shots than the Crusaders.

With their eighth straight victory, the Seawolves retained a share of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, alongside Montana State Billings and Western Washington, both of whom also won Saturday night.

UAA led 37-30 at halftime after Jessica Madison sank a three-pointer with 10 seconds left on the clock, but the Crusaders charged out of the locker room with a 9-1 run, taking a 39-38 advantage on Simmons's layup at the 7:45 mark. Simmons made a steal and fed Logan for a layup to go ahead 45-41, however that would be the final highlight for NNU.

Megan Mullings started the deciding surge with a layup and Buchanan hit a short jumper in the lane to tie it. After an NNU free throw, Buchanan swished another jumper, and Engel turned back-to-back steals into easy layups. A Mullings putback made it 53-46, and the Seawolves took a 61-52 lead into the final quarter.

Buchanan – the Seawolves' career leader in three-pointers – hit a trey to start the fourth, followed by back-to-back buckets from Engel and senior guard Adriana Dent to end any remaining drama. Junior forward Alysha Devine did much of her damage in the second half to finish with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and seven rebounds, while Dent – a former JC All-American at College of Southern Idaho – collected 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and three steals.

Mullings collected 11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals and junior point guard Kiki Robertson had four assists, three steals and no turnovers. Sophomore forward Sierra Afoa added six rebounds to help the Seawolves to a 44-31 advantage on the boards.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center next week to conclude the first half of league play with games against Seattle Pacific (Thur., Jan. 21) and Saint Martin's (Sat., Jan. 23). Both games tip at 7 p.m. AST. For tickets, call 907-786-1562 or visit GoSeawolves.com for more information.

NOTES: The Seawolves reached 20 wins for the 12th time in program history … UAA's previous high in any quarter was 32 points on Nov. 13 against Dixie State … Buchanan's last trey brought her to 200 for her career – No. 8 on the GNAC's all-time list … with the second-highest total of her career (and highest in a GNAC game), Buchanan moved up two spots to No. 12 on UAA's career scoring list, now with 1,083 points … UAA won for the second straight year and the fifth time in the last six trips to Nampa … Robertson moved alone into fourth place on UAA's career steals list, now with 241.

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Players Mentioned

Jessica Madison

#RS Jessica Madison

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Jenna Buchanan

#12 Jenna Buchanan

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Sierra Afoa

#RS Sierra Afoa

F
5' 9"
Freshman
Adriana Dent

#RS Adriana Dent

G
5' 9"
Junior
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
Keiahnna Engel

#21 Keiahnna Engel

G
5' 7"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Jessica Madison

#RS Jessica Madison

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Jenna Buchanan

#12 Jenna Buchanan

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Sierra Afoa

#RS Sierra Afoa

5' 9"
Freshman
F
Adriana Dent

#RS Adriana Dent

5' 9"
Junior
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
Keiahnna Engel

#21 Keiahnna Engel

5' 7"
Senior
G