This Week in Alaska Anchorage Women's Basketball...
 
Thu., Jan. 2, 6:30 pm AST — Royal Brougham Pavilion — Seattle, Wash.
#10/13 Alaska Anchorage (12-1, 2-0 GNAC) at Seattle Pacific (2-8, 0-2 GNAC)
&
Sat., Jan. 4, 2 pm AST — Marcus Pavilion — Lacey, Wash.
#10/13 Alaska Anchorage at Saint Martin's (5-4, 0-2 GNAC [1/2 vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO: Both games at gnac.tv ... for Thursday's game, there is also an alternate feed (which includes playback) at youtube.com/user/SPUsports
 
LIVE STATS: Thursday at sidearmstats.com/spu/wbball ... Saturday at gnac.tv
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAWBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS
G—Yazmeen Goo, 5-10, Sr. (10.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.1 spg, .547 FG, .722 FT)
G—Safiyyah Yasin, 5-6, Sr. (14.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.9 spg, .444 FG, .395 3FG, .783 FT)
G—Nicole Pinckney, 5-5, So. (5.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.2 apg)
F—Sala Langi, 5-9, Jr. (5.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, .463 FG, .824 FT)
F—Tennae Voliva, 6-0, Jr. (10.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.9 bpg, 2.4 spg, .495 FG, .711 FT)
 
GNAC's BACK: The Seawolves get back into Great Northwest Athletic play this week for the remainder of the regular season, finishing with a 10-1 non-conference record, including an 8-1 mark against fellow NCAA Div. II foes.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Seattle Pacific snapped its season-opening 8-game losing skid with home victories over Cal State LA (80-67) and Academy of Art (76-50) in its last games before the holiday break ... the Falcons, who started GNAC play with road losses to Northwest Nazarene and Central Wasington, are led by Ashlynn Burgess (11.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, .543 FG) and Hailee Bennett (10.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, .375 3FG, .844 FT) ... Saint Martin's has posted four of its five wins over non-NCAA competition, earning its lone NCAA Div. II victory by a 75-60 count over Texas A&M International (75-60) on Dec. 1 ... the Saints, who also lost at CWU and NNU to start GNAC play, are led by Bria Thames (12.9 ppg, GNAC-best 10.8 rpg, .518 FG) and Claire Dingus (11.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, .426 FG).
 
THE SERIES
vs. SPU: SPU leads 36-31 overall, 22-9 in Seattle
Streak: UAA 2
Last: UAA 68-53 (2/21/19 at SPU)
Notes: UAA has won three of the last four overall and six of the last seven in Seattle ... this marks teams' ninth meeting since Jan. 2017, including matchups in the 2017 and 2018 GNAC Tournament semifinals ... SPU leads 19-17 in GNAC regular-season meetings, taking the first 11 encounters … UAA leads 14-2 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.
 
vs. SMU: UAA leads 31-15 overall, 13-9 in Lacey
Streak: UAA 10
Last: UAA 107-47 (2/23/19 at SMU)
Notes: UAA's victory in the most recent meeting set program records for margin of victory in both road and conference games ...  the Seawolves have swept the last five season series and won 21 of the last 25 meetings overall ... UAA's 10-game winning streak is the longest in the series ... UAA has won five straight in Lacey, all by double figures ... SMU's last win came by a 58-48 count in the 2014 GNAC Tournament quarterfinals in Lacey ... UAA leads 24-12 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 12-3 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.
 
HAWAIIAN BUNCH: The Seawolves stretched their winning streak to seven games by sweeping their final three non-conference contests in Hawaii, Dec. 18-22 ... in the opener in Honolulu, Sr. PG Yazmeen Goo scored 14 points as UAA raced to a 14-0 lead and blasted NAIA 22nd-ranked Menlo College 86-37 ... Fr. G Rachel Ingram and Sr. G Safiyyah Yasin added 12 points apiece to help head coach Ryan McCarthy collect his 200th victory at UAA ... the following day, Jr. C Tennae Voliva had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals and Goo delivered 11 points, 6 assists and 2 steals to win an important out-of-region victory over Northwest Missouri State, 56-45 ... Goo and Voliva both shot 5 of 7 from the field and Jr. G Kedranea' Addison added 7 points (3-3 FG) ... in the finale at Hawaii Hilo, So. G Jahnna Hajdukovich scored a season-high 19 points and Yasin had 15 points and a career-high 8 rebounds to bring UAA back from a 37-27 3rd-quarter deficit to earn a 59-47 win over the Vulcans ... Addison scored all seven of her points in the 4th quarter and Goo made 4 steals as the Seawolves survived despite shooting .276 from the field and .182 (4 of 22) from deep.
 
WINNING WAYS: At 166-16 (.912), the Seawolves have the second-best winning percentage and second-most victories in NCAA Div. II since 2014-15, trailing Ashland (168-15, .918) for those honors ... UAA is a combined 101-8 – including 45-4 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games over the last six seasons (since Dec. 2014) ... UAA has stretched its Alaska Airlines Center win streak to a record 20 games, suffering its last home loss to Seattle Pacific in the 2018 GNAC Tournament semifinals ... the Seawolves have won 32 consecutive GNAC regular-season home contests, posting 10-0 marks the last three seasons ... UAA has gone a combined 188-16 (.922) in the last 13 seasons on its home courts, including 79-6 (.929) 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 57 of their last 59 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... UAA is aiming for the program's 14th consecutive winning season and 13th NCAA Tournament berth in 14 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 among the NCAA Div. II national stats leaders, ranking among the top 25 in seven categories ­– 5th in scoring margin (+26.2), 7th in turnover margin (+9.4) and steals per game (14.5), 9th in scoring defense (51.2), 15th in A/T ratio (1.24), 16th in turnovers forced per game (23.4) and 17th in assists per game (17.3) ... in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves lead in seven of the 21 categories, and rank 2nd in six others.
 
GOO NEWS: 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 top 20 nationally steals and assists per game, and earning Most Outstanding Player of the Seawolf Hoops Classic ... in the GNAC stats, the Bay Area product ranks 4th in assists (4.3 apg), 3rd in A/T ratio (1.9), 4th in FG% (.547) and 5th in steals (2.1 spg) ... on UAA's career lists, Goo continues to rise the charts at 5th in assists (378), 9th in assists per game (4.0), 6th in steals (234, needs four more to reach top 5), 10th in steals per game (2.5), 8th in FTs made (270), 13th in FTs made per game (2.8), 18th in FG% (.484) and 13th in victories (84).
 
YASIN HER LATELY: Another Preseason All-GNAC selection, Sr. G Safiyyah Yasin (suf-FEE-yuh ya-SEEN) is wreaking havoc on opposing defenses, ranking 6th in the GNAC with 14.0 ppg on shooting numbers of .444 FG, .395 3FG and .783 FT ... a key reserve in all 33 games last year, the Diablo Valley (Calif.) College transfer has already topped her previous career high three times, scoring 22 points in the opener at St. Andrews, 25 points in the win over S.F. State and 21 points against Western Oregon ... in addition to her scoring, Yasin also holds GNAC ranks of 2nd in steals (2.8 spg), 5th in A/T ratio (1.8), 11th in FT%, 13th in 3FG% and 18th in FG%, scoring double figures in 11 of 13 games.
 
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 10.3 ppg and 8.7 rpg ... in the GNAC stats, she ranks 2nd in rebounding, 10th in blocks (0.9 bpg), 4th in steals (2.2), 12th in FG% (.495) and 20th in FT% (.711) ... 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 13th in FG% (.498) and 18th in blocks (42).
 
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 (.818) 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 ... in 2018-19, McCarthy earned his third consecutive GNAC Coach of the Year honor and fourth in the last five seasons ... 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 202-35 (.852) at UAA and 216-48 (.818) 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.
 
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