ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Senior point guard Yazmeen Goo tied her career high with 16 points and 8th-ranked Alaska Anchorage shut down Central Washington's offense over the final three quarters to earn a 67-59 women's basketball victory Saturday at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Seawolves (23-2, 13-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 12 points, five rebounds and three steals from junior center Tennae Voliva as they shot 54 percent from long range and committed just nine turnovers. Senior guard Safiyyah Yasin finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and no turnovers, despite being held scoreless in the first half.

The Wildcats (13-9, 8-6) were led by 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and four assists from GNAC Preseason Player of the Year Alexis Pana, but the hosts could not capitalize on an early 19-11 lead, falling for the 16th straight time to UAA.

"Central came out with a nice defensive game plan against Safiyyah, but the rest of our scoring options – Nicole (Pinckney) and Jahnna (Hajdukovich), everyone really – stepped up and put us in a position to get this win," said UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy, whose team retained a two-game lead in the GNAC with six games remaining. "We also did a great job at executing to our defensive standards after their hot start. We are excited to take this momentum home and play in front of our crowd on Tuesday."

After posting a 68-54 win over Central Washington last month in Anchorage, the Seawolves fell behind from the outset in the rematch when the hosts nailed eight of their first 10 shots. Pana's three-pointer gave her team a 19-11 lead late in the first quarter, and the Wildcats went up 27-20 on Kassidy Malcolm's jumper with eight minutes left in the half.

UAA's defense – which came in allowing less than 54 points per game – would lock down at that point, however, and Goo scored five points during a 13-0 run that claimed the lead for good.

The Seawolves opened the second half with seven straight points and stretched the lead to 52-40 on Hajdukovich's third and final three-pointer with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Central would make one more run, reeling off nine points before Hajdukovich fed Amelia Motz for a layup to push to lead to 54-49. Goo followed with two free throws and dished to Lauren Johnson for a layup to continue a 10-0 spurt for UAA, and the Wildcats could get no closer than 65-59 with less than 100 seconds remaining.

Hajdukovich finished with nine points (3-3 3FG), while Pinckney and Johnson added five points apiece.

With the victory, the Seawolves retain their two-game lead over Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene atop the GNAC standings, while extending to a three-game lead over Western Washington, which was upset at Saint Martin's on Saturday.

With six games remaining in the regular season, UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to host Alaska Fairbanks. Surf to AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com for tickets.