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Seawolves cruise past Clan, into GNAC finals

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Seawolves cruise past Clan, into GNAC finals

LACEY, Wash. – Forwards Alysha Devine and Megan Mullings scored 17 points apiece to balance a balanced effort for nationally 6th-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Friday night, helping the Seawolves advance to the finals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament with an 82-47 blowout of Simon Fraser at Marcus Pavilion.

The top-seeded Seawolves (32-2) also got a game-high eight rebounds from sophomore forward Sierra Afoa to avenge their loss to SFU in last week's regular-season finale. Top-seeded UAA will try to defend its title Saturday when it plays 3rd-seeded Montana State Billings (21-9) in the championship game at 6:30 p.m. AST.

The Clan (16-11) – seeded No. 4 – were led by 14 points from guard Elisa Homer, but the Canadians fell behind 8-0 at the outset and were never able to recreate the effort that earned them a 67-66 road upset of UAA last week.

“I couldn't be more pleased with this win,” said UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy, whose team surpassed the school record for victories in a season. “They were just very eager to get out on the floor and compete. That's a special thing about our group – our edge is the way we compete. They just want to play ball.”

UAA led 21-10 after the first quarter and 42-18 at halftime as Devine scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The honorable mention All-GNAC junior finished 6 of 8 from the field, including 2 of 3 on three-pointers, and added seven rebounds in just 22 minutes.

Mullings – the GNAC Player of the Year – shot 8 of 16 from the field and tallied three blocks and three steals, while junior point guard Kiki Robertson added six points, five assists and three steals.

“I think we had better communication on the court tonight and we were really focused in practice all week,” said Robertson, who earned GNAC Tournament MVP honors in 2015. “Getting Alysha involved early was great because she's such a good shooter and she adds an extra dimension to our offense.”

UAA outshot SFU 51 percent to 33 percent and won the rebounding battle 43-25, along with grabbing tourney-record 18 steals on 27 Clan turnovers. The Seawolves also tied the tourney record for field goals in a game with 33.

The Seawolves got at least one field goal from 11 of their 12 players, while everyone grabbed at least one rebound. Senior guards Jenna Buchanan and Keiahnna Engel finished with nine points apiece – with Engel making her return from a knee sprain suffered Feb. 13 – and Adriana Dent sparked the defense with four steals.

Saturday's GNAC title game is set for 6:30 p.m. AST and can be seen live at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa. The winner earns the GNAC's automatic berth in next week's NCAA Div. II West Region Championships.

NOTES: UAA is back in the GNAC finals for the fourth time, having won the inaugural titles in 2011 and 2012, before capturing last year's tournament in Billings … MSU Billings – which beat No. 2 seed Western Washington 78-60 in the early semi – is the first program other than UAA, WWU or SFU to earn a title-game berth in the 6th annual event … UAA's last four meetings against SFU had been decided by a grand total of 10 points, including a 59-56 thriller in last year's GNAC semifinals … Buchanan shot 1 of 3 from long range to extend her NCAA Div. II single-season record to 34 straight games with at least one trey … Devine came up just two points shy of her career high … Mullings rose two spots to No. 15 on UAA's career scoring list, now with 972 points in less than two seasons … Mullings needs just one more block to reach 100 for her career … Jessica Madison moved up a pair of UAA career lists, tying Rebecca Kielpinski (2005-09) for No. 3 on the program's victory list with 97, and tying former teammate Kylie Burns (2010-14) for No. 4 in games played with 120 … Robertson – a three-time Second Team All-GNAC selection – added to her school-record assist total and moved into No. 2 on the GNAC's career list, now with 503; she trails only MSUB's Bobbi Knudsen (532 assists, 2010-14).

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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