This Week in Alaska Anchorage Women's Basketball...
 
Thu., Jan. 9, 5:15 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Central Washington (7-5, 2-2 GNAC) at #7 Alaska Anchorage (14-1, 2-0 GNAC)
&
Sat., Jan. 11, 7:30 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Northwest Nazarene (9-3, 4-0 GNAC [1/9 @UAF]) at #7 Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: gnac.tv
LIVE STATS: goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
TICKETS: AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAWBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS
G—Yazmeen Goo, 5-10, Sr. (10.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.9 spg, .557 FG, .682 FT)
G—Safiyyah Yasin, 5-6, Sr. (14.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.6 spg, .443 FG, .442 3FG, .768 FT)
G—Nicole Pinckney, 5-5, So. (5.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.1 apg)
F—Sala Langi, 5-9, Jr. (6.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 spg, .477 FG, .870 FT)
F—Tennae Voliva, 6-0, Jr. (9.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.1 bpg, 2.2 spg, .474 FG, .692 FT)
 
HOME SWEET HOME: The Seawolves are back at the Alaska Airlines Center for the first time in 33 days when they host fellow GNAC title contenders Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene this week ... should UAA defeat CWU on and NNU win at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, it would set up a Saturday showdown between the lone unbeaten teams in league play.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: GNAC preseason coaches poll favorite Central Washington saw a four-game win streak snapped with losses last week to NNU at home and MSUB on the road ... the Wildcats, from Ellensburg, Wash., are led by Kaelie Flores (13.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg, .496 FG, .452 3FG, .853 FT) and GNAC Preseason Player of the Year Alexis Pana (13.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.8 spg, .879 FT) ... defending GNAC Tournament champion and regionally 6th-ranked Northwest Nazarene has rebounded from a 2-3 start as it takes a seven-game winning streak into Thursday's contest in Fairbanks ... the Nighthawks, from Nampa, Idaho, are led by guards Avery Albrecht (16.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 spg, .504 FG, .429 3FG, .841 FT) and Marina Valles (14.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.7 apg, 3.8 spg, .516 FG, .385 3FG, .623 FT).
 
THE SERIES
vs. CWU: UAA leads 32-15 overall, 17-7 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 14
Last: UAA 70-52 (3/8/19 GNAC Tourney semis at WWU)
Notes: UAA has won 25 of the last 26 meetings, taking the last seven by double figures ... UAA won 69-51 last year in Anchorage ... CWU's lone win this decade came 74-64, Jan. 19, 2013 in Anchorage ... UAA leads 26-10 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 14-1 under head coach Ryan McCarthy … teams have played at least once per season since 1998-99 … teams played three times from 1979-81 and did not meet again until 1997.
 
vs. NNU: UAA leads 27-17 overall, 16-4 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 69-67 (3/16/19 NCAA Tourney 2nd Rd at UCSD)
Notes: Teams played seven times over last two seasons, meeting in the 2019 GNAC Tournament final (70-64 NNU win) and twice in the NCAA Tournament (both UAA two-point wins) ... UAA leads 22-14 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 11-6 under head coach Ryan McCarthy … series started in 2000-01 when both teams were in the Pacific West Conference.
 
STREAKS CONTINUE: The Seawolves stretched their  streaks to nine overall and 23 straight GNAC wins by taking care of Seattle Pacific (78-47) and Saint Martin's (73-63) last week in northwest Wasington ... on Thursday, Sr. G Safiyyah Yasin had 16 points (4-8 FG, 3-4 3FG, 5-6 FT) in just 18 minutes as UAA dominated from start to finish for its largest margin in 10 wins and 32 all-time meetings at Brougham Pavilion ... So. G Jahnna Hajdukovich scored 10 points (2-5 3FG) for the first back-to-back double-figure scoring games of her career, and Jr. G Stephanie Jackson added 9 points (4-6 FG), 4 assists and 2 steals as nine different Seawolves scored at least 6 points ... on Saturday, Yasin scored 18 points (3-5 3FG) and grabbed 6 rebounds and Sr. PG Yazmeen Goo tallied 13 points (4-5 FG) and 5 assists to help UAA pull away late in Lacey ... So. F Sala Langi tied her season high with 12 points (4-8 FG, 4-4 FT) and Fr. G Rachel Ingram hit three timely 3FGs in the second half as UAA beat SMU for the 11th time in a row.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is within three games of tying its longest conference winning streak ever, a 26-game string from Nov. 30, 2016 to Jan. 18, 2018 ... at 168-16 (.913), the Seawolves have the second-best winning percentage and second-most victories in NCAA Div. II since 2014-15, trailing Ashland (170-15, .919) for those honors ... UAA is a combined 103-8 – including 47-4 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 20 in six categories ­– 6th in scoring margin (+25.4), 8th in turnover margin (+9.4), steals per game (14.1) and scoring defense (51.7), 17th in turnovers forced per game (23.1) and 19th in A/T ratio (1.24) ... in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves lead in seven of the 21 categories, and rank second in five 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 10 nationally in steals, turnover margin and scoring defense ... in the GNAC stats, the Bay Area product ranks 4th in assists (4.2 apg), 5th in A/T ratio (1.7), 3rd in FG% (.557) and 5th in steals (1.9 spg), despite logging a modest 21.4 minutes per game in UAA's balanced system ... on UAA's career lists, Goo continues to rise the charts at 5th in assists (385), 9th in assists per game (4.0), 6th in steals (236, needs two more to reach top 5), 12th in steals per game (2.4), 8th in FTs made (276), 13th in FTs made per game (2.8), 18th in FG% (.488) and 13th in victories (86).
 
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 14.4 ppg on shooting numbers of .443 FG, .442 3FG and .768 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 (2.6 spg, 48th nationally), 4th in A/T ratio (1.7), 5th in 3FG%, 12th in FT% and 18th in FG%, scoring double figures in 13 of 15 games.
 
T.V. SHOW: 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 9.7 ppg and 8.7 rpg ... in the GNAC stats, she ranks 2nd in rebounding, 9th in blocks (1.1 bpg), 4th in steals (2.2) and 15th in FG% (.474) ... 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 16th in FG% (.490) and 15th in blocks (46).
 
PAW PRINTS: Fr. G Rachel Ingram has drained multiple three-pointers in eight of 15 games thus far, putting her on pace to shatter the UAA freshman record of 36 (Jessica Madison, 2012-13) ... the Colorado Springs native ranks 12th in the GNAC with her .390 3FG%, which is also 9th nationally among qualifying freshmen ... Ingram has already set the UAA single-game freshman record with seven 3FGs made in the win over Concordia-Portland ... a transfer from Santa Fe (Fla.) College, Jr. G Stephanie Jackson has made an impact in her first season on both sides of the court, ranking 12th in the league with 2.8 assists per game and 9th with 1.8 steals per contest ... Jr. F Sala Langi tallied double figures for the third time this season with her 12 points in last week's win at Saint Martin's ... at 20 of 23 (.890) from the free throw line thus far, Langi is on pace to break the UAA single-season record of .883, set last year by Hannah Wandersee.
 
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 (.820) 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 staying among the top 10 in steals each year since ... McCarthy sports head-coaching records of 204-35 (.853) at UAA and 218-48 (.820) 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