THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
Thur., Jan. 24 — 7 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Saint Martin's (3-13, 1-7 GNAC) at #10 Alaska Anchorage (15-1, 7-1 GNAC)
&
Sat., Jan. 26 — 7 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, AK
Seattle Pacific (5-10, 4-4 GNAC [1/24 @UAF]) at #10 Alaska Anchorage
LIVE VIDEO & STATS: Both games at gnac.tv or portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAWBB Twitter feed for in-game updates & final scores.
PROBABLE UAA STARTERS (2018-19 stats)
G—Kian McNair, 5-5, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 3.4 spg, .434 FG, .667 FT)
or—Yazmeen Goo, 5-10, Jr. (9.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 3.5 spg, .615 FG, .700 FT)
G—Sydni Stallworth, 5-3, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.3 spg, .421 3FG, .766 FT)
G—Tara Thompson, 5-7, Sr. (9.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, .450 FG, .443 3FG)
F—Hannah Wandersee, 6-1, Sr. (14.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 bpg, .472 FG, .872 FT)
F—Sala Langi, 5-9, So. (7.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, .424 FG, .730 FT)
SCOUTING REPORT: Saint Martin's has lost seven straight since defeating Chaminade on Dec. 15 in Honolulu ... the Saints, whose lone GNAC win came over Concordia-Portland (81-68) on Dec. 1, are led by Saniah Simpson (14.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.6 spg, .411 FG, .639 FT) and Claire Dingus (12.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, .517 FG, .800 FT) ... Seattle Pacific has dropped four of five since getting off to a 3-0 GNAC start, splitting its home series against Western Washington (W, 61-59) and Simon Fraser (L, 69-60) last week ... the Falcons are led by Riley Evans (14.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .446 3FG, .913 FT) and Cici West (10.5 ppg, GNAC-best 9.5 rpg, .545 FG).
ALL-TIME vs SMU: UAA leads 29-15 overall, 16-6 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 95-60 (2/17/18 at UAA) / Streak: UAA 8
Notes: UAA has swept the last four season series and won 19 of the last 23 games overall ... UAA's 8-game winning streak is its longest against SMU ... UAA has won four straight in Anchorage ... SMU's last series win came by a 58-48 count in the 2014 GNAC Tournament quarterfinals in Lacey, Wash. ... UAA leads 22-12 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02) and 10-3 under Ryan McCarthy … teams have played at least once per season since 1997-98 ... first meeting was a 74-67 SMU win in Tacoma, Dec. 4, 1992.
ALL-TIME vs SPU: SPU leads 36-29 overall
In Anchorage: UAA leads 20-14
Last: SPU 74-65 (3/2/18 at UAA) / Streak: SPU 1
Notes: SPU snapped an 11-game losing skid in the series and took two of three from UAA last year, including a GNAC Tournament semifinals win in Anchorage ... UAA has won 14 of the last 17 overall, including 73-47 at home last year in the regular season ... teams have met 27 times since Jan. 2008, including three times in the NCAA Division II West Regionals and three times in the GNAC Tournament … SPU leads 19-15 in GNAC regular-season meetings, taking the first 11 encounters … UAA leads 12-2 under head coach Ryan McCarthy ... SPU is UAA's 2nd-most common opponent, squaring off at least once per season since 1990-91 … series started in 1979-80.
OREGON RECAP: The Seawolves ran their winning streak to eight games with road victories over Western Oregon (74-56) and Concordia-Portland (75-68) last week ... on Thursday, Sr. C Hannah Wandersee had 20 points and Sr. G Kian McNair tallied 11 points and 6 steals to help UAA extend its program-record win streak to 30 in a row over WOU ... Sr. G Sydni Stallworth added 10 points (3-5 FG, 2-2 3FG) and Jr. Gs Yazmeen Goo and Safiyyah Yasin combined for 14 points and 10 steals off the bench as UAA forced 33 turnovers ... on Saturday, Wandersee scored 10 of her 21 points in the 4th quarter and Yasin recorded 16 points (6-7 FG, 4-6 FT) and 4 steals as UAA improved to 7-0 all-time against the Cavaliers ... Sr. G Tara Thompson had 14 points (4-7 3FG) and 4 rebounds, while Stallworth and Goo combined for 7 assists and 7 steals.
WINNING WAYS: At 139-13 (.914), the Seawolves have the second-most victories and second-best winning percentage in NCAA Div. II since 2014-15, trailing only Ashland (145-13, .918) ... UAA is a combined 86-7 – including 39-4 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games over the last five seasons ... the Seawovles have won 24 consecutive GNAC regular-season home contests, posting perfect 10-0 marks the last two seasons ... UAA has gone a combined 176-16 (.917) in the last 12 seasons on its home courts, including 67-6 (.918) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... the Seawolves have won 49 of their last 50 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... the Seawolves are aiming for the program's 13th consecutive winning season and their 12th NCAA Tournament berth in 13 years ... UAA joined Seattle Pacific last year as the only programs to win at least a share of four straight GNAC regular-season titles ... the Seawolves have won five of the eight GNAC Tournament titles since the event started in 2011 ... the Seawolves have won at least 25 games for a program-record four straight seasons.
NIFTY NUMBERS: UAA leads the GNAC stats in scoring defense (57.6 ppg), steals per game (14.6), assist-turnover ratio (1.2) and turnover margin (+8.1), while ranking second in scoring margin (+16.6), assists per game (18.3), offensive rebound percentage (.363) and 3FG% defense (.291) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves hold top-30 ranks in steals per game (3rd), turnovers forced per game (7th, 22.1), turnover margin (8th), assists per game (11th), A/T ratio (16th), scoring margin (19th) and scoring defense (27th).
WONDERFUL WANDERSEE: The 2018-19 GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and a unanimous All-GNAC selection last year, Sr. C Hannah Wandersee recently became one of just 10 Seawolf players with at least 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds, and one of three with 1,000 pts/500 rebs and 100 blocks ... Wandersee began the year by capturing all-tournament honors at the Gator Invitational and Seawolf Hoops Classic, MVP honors at the DII Coast to Coast Classic, and GNAC Player of the Week for Nov. 19-25, and she added another GNAC POW award Jan. 7-13 ... UAA's leading scorer and rebounder, she is 6th in scoring (14.4 ppg), 12th in rebounding (5.9 rpg), 6th in blocks (1.2 bpg), 3rd in FT% (.872) and 19th in FG% (.472) in the GNAC stats ... with season highs of 20 and 21 points in her last two outings, the Kodiak product now has nine career 20-plus scoring efforts and owns UAA career top-20 marks in scoring (13th, 1,113 points), rebounds (14th, 529), FT% (3rd, .822), (FG%, 8th, .510), blocks (6th, 107), blocks per game (7th, 0.9), field goals made (10th, 447), free throws made (17th, 198), games played (9th, 119) and victories (4th, 108).
GOO STUFF: A unanimous Preseason All-GNAC selection, Jr. PG Yazmeen Goo made her return to the lineup on Jan. 10 after missing 10 games with a hand injury ... an Honorable Mention All-GNAC pick last year, Goo has tallied double figures in 13 of her the last 30 games ... the Bay Area native earned all-tournament honors at the Seawolf Hoops Classic, the Great Alaska Shootout and the NCAA West Regional Championships last year, and she opened 2018-19 with MVP honors at the Gator Invitational ... last year, Goo led the GNAC in steals per game (2.9 spg, 19th nationally) and assist-turnover ratio (2.1, 28th nationally), and ranked 5th in assists per game (4.3) ... on UAA's career lists, she already stands 6th in assists per game (4.1), 8th in assists (269), 12th in steals per game (2.4) and 10th in steals (160).
BEWARE OF T.N.T.: Whether it's her deadeye three-point stroke or her solid all-around game, Sr. G Tara (N.) Thompson has been one of the most effective contributors to UAA's run of success, tied for 5th in program history with 106 victories ... one of two remaining active players from UAA's 2016 NCAA Runner-Up squad, Thompson ranks 9th in the GNAC and 24th nationally in 3FG% (.443), along with other league ranks of 5th in 3FGs per game (2.4, 70th nationally) and 1st in assist-turnover ratio (2.8) ... with a .402 career 3FG%, Thompson ranks 6th in UAA history and top 15 in GNAC history, while her 202 total 3FGs are 3rd on the all-time Seawolf list and just 14 shy of former teammate Jessica Madison (216, 2012-16) for the No. 2 spot.
SENIORS STEPPIN' UP: After learning the system as transfers last year, Sr. G Kian McNair (Portland State) and Sr. G Sydni Stallworth (2-time 1st Team NJCAA All-American at Pima CC) are making major impacts in their final season ... a starter in 40 of 46 career games, McNair leads the GNAC and is 6th nationally with 3.4 steals per game, boosted by a record-tying 9-steal game against Simon Fraser ... in addition to her current streak of eight straight games with at least three steals, she also ranks 11th in assists per game (3.4) in the GNAC ... McNair started the year with Most Outstanding Player honors in the Seawolf Hoops Classic (22 points, 9 assists and 7 steals against CSU East Bay and CSU Dominguez Hills), and she was named all-tourney at the DII Hoops Classic ... meanwhile, Stallworth has provided a big lift both off the bench and as starting point guard in place of Goo, posting career-highs of 23 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals to pace the win over Dominguez Hills ... the Tucson, Ariz., native is in the top 20 in the GNAC stats at 10th in assists per game (3.6), 4th in A/T ratio (2.1), 5th in steals per game (2.3) 11th in 3FG% (.421) and 19th in FT% (.766).
'WOLF BITES: So. F Sala Langi has stepped into a full-time starter's role this season, delivering 7.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game ... with multiple assists in 10 games, 7-plus rebounds in four games and double-digit scoring in five games, Langi has shown equal proficiency as a scorer, passer and rebounder ... one of five Bay Area natives on the roster, she posted a career-high 10 rebounds in the second win over Holy Names, and she delivered a career-high 17-point effort Thursday, while dishing four assists without a turnover against MSUB ... So. F/C Tennae Voliva is also filling a larger role in her second season, accounting for at least five points in seven games and at least three rebounds in 13 contests ... Voliva equaled her career-high 7 rebounds for the fourth time against UAF, and the former East High star scored double figures for the first time with 12 points (4-5 FG, 4-6 FT) in the blowout of MSUB ... the Seawolves have added another scoring threat with Jr. G Safiyyah Yasin, who redshirted in 2017-18 after transfering from Diablo Valley (Calif.) College ... prior to her breakout performances against SFU and WWU in early January, Yasin led UAA with 16 points in her debut against Holy Names, and she delivered a clutch 16 points to help fend off Hawaii Pacific ... along with double-figure scoring efforts in seven of the last 11 games, Yasin ranks 3rd in the GNAC and 69th nationally with 2.3 steals per game, making 19 swipes over the last five contests ... UAA got another boost recently with the addition of So. F Cameron Fernandez to the lineup on Dec. 18, following a preseason injury ... the first Seawolf transfer ever from a Pac-12 Conference program, the former Washington State Cougar debuted in Green & Gold with 9 points against Holy Names and a team-high 13 points against Hawaii Hilo, doing all of her damage in just 32 combined minutes.
McCARTHY IN CHARGE: Now in his seventh season at UAA, Ryan McCarthy stands on the verge of becoming the program's all-time coaching victories leader, needing just one more to equal Linda Bruns, who accumulated 176 wins from 1979-91 ... since coming north in 2012, McCarthy has led the Seawolf program to unprecedented heights, capturing four straight GNAC regular-season tournament titles, five straight NCAA Tournament berths, and ascending as high as No. 1 or No. 2 in the national rankings every season from 2014-15 through 2017-18 ... last year, McCarthy earned his second consecutive GNAC Coach of the Year honor and third in the last four seasons, while his three-year reign as WBCA NCAA Div. II West Region Coach of the Year came to an end ... in 2016-17, the Anchorage native led UAA to its third straight top-2 regional seed and its second straight 30-win season (30-2), while recording the first 20-0 league record in GNAC history ... the previous season, McCarthy's crew set an NCAA Div. II record with 38 victories, advancing all the way to the 2016 National Title Game in Indianapolis ... his 2014-15 club claimed what was then the best winning percentage in program history with a 29-2 (.935) mark, sweeping both GNAC titles as well ... McCarthy led UAA to an improvement in overall wins (17, 19, 29, 38) his first four seasons and increased the Seawolves' GNAC victory total in each of his first five campaigns (11, 12, 17, 18, 20) … playing its up-tempo 'Mayhem' style, McCarthy's crews led the nation in steals per game for four straight seasons (2013-14 to 2016-17) ... McCarthy sports head-coaching records of 175-32 (.845) in seven-plus seasons at UAA and 189-45 (.808) in eight-plus seasons overall, having served in an interim capacity at Northwest Nazarene in 2011-12 … McCarthy is assisted by 7th-year associate head coach Shaina Afoa, who was voted by her peers as the 2017-18 WBCA NCAA Div. II National Assistant Coach of the Year, 1st-year assistant and former Seawolf standout Sierra Afoa, and 5th-year volunteer assistant Patrick Flanigin.
2018-19 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Yazmeen Goo
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
Gator Invitational MVP
Kian McNair
Seawolf Hoops Classic Most Outstanding Player
D-II Coast to Coast Classic All-Tournament Team
Sydni Stallworth
Seawolf Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team
Tara Thompson
D-II Coast to Coast Classic All-Tournament Team
Hannah Wandersee
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
GNAC Preseason Player of the Year
Gator Invitational All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team
D-II Coast to Coast Classic Most Outstanding Player
GNAC Player of the Week, Nov. 19-25
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 7-13
