This Week in Alaska Anchorage Women's Basketball...
 
Thu., Dec. 5, 5:15 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Ctr. — Anchorage, Alaska
Concordia-Portland (1-7, 0-0 GNAC) at #13/18 Alaska Anchorage (7-1, 0-0 GNAC)
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Sat., Dec. 7, 7:30 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Ctr. — Anchorage, Alaska
Western Oregon (2-4, 0-0 GNAC [12/5 @UAF]) at #13/18 Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: gnac.tv
 
LIVE STATS: goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
TICKETS: AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com
 
FOOD BANK NIGHT: Fans who bring at least one non-perishable food item for the Food Bank of Alaska will receive a $5 ticket (half off) to Thursday's doubleheader.
 
TITLE DEFENSE BEGINS: The Seawolves take a break from non-conference play for their annual early-season Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers, facing Concordia-Portland and Western Oregon at the Alaska Airlines Center this week ... UAA is aiming for its sixth consecutive GNAC regular-season title in 2019-20.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS
G—Yazmeen Goo, 5-10, Sr. (9.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.3 spg, .537 FG, .688 FT)
G—Safiyyah Yasin, 5-6, Sr. (14.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.8 spg, .453 FG, .419 3FG, .788 FT)
G—Nicole Pinckney, 5-5, So. (7.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.3 spg, .386 FG, .370 3FG)
F—Sala Langi, 5-9, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.3 spg, .457 FG, 8-8 FT)
F—Tennae Voliva, 6-0, Jr. (11.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.4 bpg, 2.4 spg, .479 FG, .742 FT)
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Coming off the program's first GNAC Tournament berth last year, Concordia-Portland has struggled to replace a pair of valuable departed seniors, picking up its lone win of the season with a 76-65 neutral-court victory over Regis on Nov. 22 ... the Cavaliers are led by G Olivia Vezaldenos (13.5 ppg, 1.8 apg, 1.3 spg, .349 3FG, .824 FT) and Dorcas Wu (9.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .396 FG, .588 FT) ... Western Oregon, which plays Thursday at UAF, has dropped three in a row since posting impressive West Region victories over Cal State East Bay (65-49) and at Sonoma State (60-52) ... from Monmouth, Ore., the Wolves are led by Shariah Green (10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, .467 3FG, .909 FT) and Keyonna Jones (9.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, .737 FT).
 
THE SERIES
vs. CU: UAA leads 8-0 overall, 4-0 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 71-47 (2-14-19 at UAA)
Notes: The Seawolves have won five of the eight meetings by double figures ... first meeting was a 76-49 UAA home win, Jan. 9, 2016, in CU's first year of GNAC and D-II membership.
 
vs. WOU: UAA leads 35-8 overall, 18-5 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 97-52 (2-16-19 at UAA)
Notes: The current 31-game win streak is UAA's longest against any opponent in program history ... UAA has won 16 of the last 18 games by double digits … the Seawolves have won 15 straight in Anchorage ... WOU's last win came 64-58 on Dec. 6, 2003 in Anchorage … UAA leads 31-5 in GNAC matchups (since 2001-02) and 14-0 under head coach Ryan McCarthy … teams have played each season since 1998-99, although they went 19 years after the first meetings in 1979-80.
 
LONG, STRANGE TRIP: The Seawolves traveled nearly 4,000 miles on the program's farthest road trip in 19 seasons, finishing 2-1 against Sunshine State Conference opponents last week ... on Wednesday, UAA took a 36-20 lead in the 3rd quarter but went cold from there, suffering a 53-52 upset to host Lynn in Boca Raton ... Sr. PG Yazmeen Goo led UAA with 11 points and 3 assists but the visitors shot just .279 FG and .091 3FG (2-22) as they suffered just their second loss in the last 55 regular-season games against non-conference Div. II foes ... on Friday, Goo scored 13 points and Sr. G Safiyyah Yasin had 11 points and 3 assists to power a 60-41 road win over Barry in Miami Shores ... Jr. C Tennae Voliva added 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks as UAA held the Buccaneers to .263 FG ... in Saturday's finale, the Seawolves got 13 points (5-10 FG) from So. G Nicole Pinckney and picked up 24 steals on 34 turnovers to rout Nova Southeastern in a neutral-court contest at Barry ... Jr. F Sala Langi had her best game of the season with 12 points (6-7 FG) adn 3 steals, Jr. G Stephanie Jackson scored a season-high 11 points (4-7 FG), and Voliva collected 8 points and 9 rebounds in the victory.
 
WINNING WAYS: At 161-16 (.910), the Seawolves have the second-best winning percentage and second-most victories in NCAA Div. II since 2014-15, trailing Ashland (162-15, .915) for those honors ... UAA is a combined 99-8 – including 45-4 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games over the last five seasons (since Dec. 2014) ... the Seawolves have won 30 consecutive GNAC regular-season home contests, posting 10-0 marks the last three seasons ... UAA has gone a combined 186-16 (.921) in the last 13 seasons on its home courts, including 77-6 (.928) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... the Seawolves have won at least 30 games in three of the last four seasons, starting with their NCAA Div. II-record 38 victories in 2015-16 ... last year UAA became the first basketball program to win at least a share of five straight GNAC regular-season titles (four outright, tied in 2018) ... UAA has recorded 25 wins for five straight seasons and produced 15 20-win seasons in 42 years of program history ... the Seawolves have won 55 of their last 57 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... last year's Seawolves earned the program's 13th consecutive winning season and 12th NCAA Tournament berth in 13 years ... the Seawolves have won five of the nine GNAC Tournament titles since the event started in 2011.
 
NIFTY NUMBERS: UAA has assumed its familiar position in the top 20 of the NCAA Div. II national stats in multiple categories, ranking 5th in steals per game (15.9), 6th in scoring margin (+26.1), 8th in turnover margin (+10.8), 9th in turnovers forced per game (25.0), 13th in assists per game (18.5), 14th in offensive rebounding (17.2), 18th in A/T ratio (1.30) and 20th in scoring offense (81.5) ... in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves lead in nine of the 21 categories, and rank 2nd in four others.
 
OH MY GOO-NESS: An honorable mention All-GNAC selection the past two seasons and a Preseason All-GNAC Team pick this year, Sr. PG Yazmeen Goo has been impressive thus far, helping UAA rank 5th nationally steals, and earning Most Outstanding Player of the Seawolf Hoops Classic ... in the early GNAC stats, the Bay Area product ranks 5th in assists (4.5 apg), 4th in A/T ratio (2.0), 5th in FG% (.537) and 7th in steals (2.3 spg) ... on UAA's career lists, Goo continues to rise the charts at 5th in assists (356), 9th in assists per game (4.0), 6th in steals (225), 10th in steals per game (2.5), 10th in FTs made (256), 13th in FTs made per game (2.8) and 18th in FG% (.474).
 
YASIN HER LATELY: Another Preseason All-GNAC selection, Sr. G Safiyyah Yasin (suf-FEE-yuh ya-SEEN) is wreaking havoc on opposing defenses through five games, ranking 5th in the GNAC with 14.6 ppg on shooting numbers of .453 FG, .419 3FG and .788 FT ... a key reserve in all 33 games last year, the Diablo Valley (Calif.) College transfer has already topped her previous career high twice, scoring 22 points in the opener at St. Andrews and 25 points in the win over S.F. State, along with a career-high 7 rebounds against the Gators ... in addition to her scoring, Yasin also holds early GNAC ranks of 3rd in A/T ratio (2.5, 31st nationally), 9th in assists per game (3.1), 2nd in steals per game (2.9), 17th in FG%, 9th in FT% and 8th in 3FG%.
 
TENNAE FOR EFFORT: A key reserve in her first season and a half, Jr. F/C Tennae Voliva (t'NAY voh-LEE-vuh) has taken her game to the next level, nearly averaging a double-double with 11.4 ppg and a GNAC-leading 9.6 rpg ... in the GNAC stats, she also ranks 18th in scoring, 4th in blocks (1.4 bpg), 5th in steals (2.4), 12th in FT% (.742) and 13th in FG% (.479) ... with her first three career double-doubles in the opening four contests, Voliva has already established new career highs in points (20 vs. S.F. State), rebounds (12 vs St. Andrews and Chaminade), steals (6 at St. Andrews) and blocks (3 vs S.F. State), and she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the D2 West Coast Classic and all-tourney at the Seawolf Hoops Classic ... on UAA's career lists, the former East Anchorage HS star stands 15th in FG% (.494) and 19th in blocks (41).
 
PAW PRINTS: The Seawolves have gotten a huge boost from the return of redshirt So. G Nicole Pinckney, who has recovered from fall 2018 knee surgery to average 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals thus far, while shooting .370 from long range ... Jr. G Stephanie Jackson delivered her first double-figure scoring effort with 11 points in the win over Nova Southeastern, and the JC transfer is making an impact in the GNAC stats, ranking 8th in assists (3.3 apg), 7th in A/T ratio (1.5) and 11th in steals (1.9 spg) ... another JC transfer, Jr. G Kedranea' Addison has emerged as the team's 5th-leading scorer at 7.5 ppg, shooting an impressive .867 at the FT line and holding GNAC ranks of 13th in A/T ratio (1.4) and 20th in 3FG% (.346).
 
MASTER OF MAYHEM: In his eighth season at UAA and ninth season as a head coach, Ryan McCarthy has ascended to the top of two impressive lists, as the NCAA Div. II active leader in career winning percentage (.815) and the all-time winningest coach in UAA women's basketball history ... since coming north in 2012, McCarthy has led the Seawolf program to unprecedented heights, capturing five straight GNAC regular-season titles (four outright), three GNAC Tournament titles, six 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 ... this year McCarthy earned his third consecutive GNAC Coach of the Year honor and fourth in the last five seasons, while he was the WBCA NCAA Div. II West Region Coach of the Year three straight times from 2015-17 ... 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), while ranking 6th last year and 2nd this year ... McCarthy sports head-coaching records of 197-35 (.849) at UAA and 211-48 (.815) overall, having served in an interim capacity at Northwest Nazarene in 2010-11 … McCarthy is assisted by 8th-year associate head coach Shaina Afoa (the 2017-18 WBCA NCAA Div. II National Assistant Coach of the Year), 2nd-year assistant and former Seawolf Sierra Afoa, and 6th-year volunteer assistant Patrick Flanigin.
 
2019-20 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
YAZMEEN GOO
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
Seawolf Hoops Classic Most Outstanding Player
NICOLE PINCKNEY
D2 West Coast Classic All-Tournament Team
TENNAE VOLIVA
D2 West Coast Classic Most Outstanding Player
Seawolf Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team
SAFIYYAH YASIN
Preseason All-GNAC Team
D2 West Coast Classic All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team