THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 24 - Alaska Airlines Center - Anchorage, Alaska - 7:30 pm AST
Western Oregon (8-15, 4-12 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (18-5, 11-4 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 26 - Alaska Airlines Center - Anchorage, Alaska - 5:15 pm AST
Saint Martin's (11-13, 3-12 GNAC [2/24 @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: Both games free at youtube.com/c/UAASeawolves
LIVE STATS: goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAWBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com (all attendees required to wear masks)
PROMOTIONS: The first 150 fans at Thursday's men's/women's 5:15 pm doubleheader will receive a free mini-basketball, courtesy of game-night sponsor ConocoPhillips Alaska ... the first 125 fans at Saturday's doubleheader will get a free rally towel, also courtesty of ConocoPhillips Alaska.
 
CHASE ENDS WITH HOME FINALES: Thanks to Monday's key road win over Central Washington, the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team enters the final weekend of the regular season with a mathematical chance to earn its seventh straight GNAC regular-season title ... the Seawolves would need to sweep Western Oregon and Saint Martin's, while hoping for a Western Washington loss at Simon Fraser on Saturday ... while all 10 teams will qualify for this year's GNAC Tournament, the final league standings and tourney seeding is being determined by a 'points ranking system,' due to the pandemic-induced unbalanced schedule.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2021-22 stats)
G—Nicole Pinckney, 5-5, Jr. (8.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.3 spg)
G—Jahnna Hajdukovich, 5-8, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, .381 3FG)
F—Lauren Johnson, 5-7, Sr. (7.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, .851 FT)
F—Jazzpher Evans, 5-6, Fr. (6.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.8 spg)
C—Tennae Voliva, 6-0, Sr. (12.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.2 spg, .489 FG, .844 FT)
 
SCOUTING THE FOES: Both of this week's opponents are likely locked into the 8- or 9-seeds for the GNAC Tournament and will face each other in the first round Mar. 2 ... following a 7-5 start, Western Oregon has lost 10 of its last 11 and brings a 6-game losing streak to Anchorage, although its last two losses have come by scores of 64-63 (vs NNU) and 61-59 in overtime (vs SPU) ... WOU is led by Meadow Aragon (10.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 bpg, .494 FG) and Tresai McCarver (10.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.6 spg, .731 FT) ...  ... following a 9-2 start, Saint Martin's has dropped 11 of its last 13 contests entering Thursday's game at UAF ... the Saints are led by Claire Dingus (16.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.4 spg, .818 FT) and Tierney DeDonatis (11.4 ppg, 4.5 apg, .320 3FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs. WOU: UAA leads 38-8 overall, 19-5 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 34
Last: UAA 73-65 (2/8/22 at WOU)
Notes: The current 34-game win streak is UAA's longest against any opponent in any sport ... UAA has won 18 of the last 21 games by double digits … the Seawolves have won 16 straight in Anchorage (6-0 at the Alaska Airlines Center) ... WOU's last win came by a 64-58 score on Dec. 6, 2003 in Anchorage … UAA leads 34-5 in GNAC matchups (since 2001-02) and 17-0 under head coach Ryan McCarthy … teams have played each season since 1998-99 ... first meetings were in 1979-80.
 
vs. SMU: UAA leads 34-15 overall, 18-6 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 13
Last: UAA 66-58 (12/2/21 at SMU)
Notes: The Seawolves are aiming for their seventh straight season sweep ... UAA has won 24 of the last 28 meetings overall, including 59-56 in the last meeting in Anchorage, Jan. 30, 2020 ... UAA's winning streak is its 4th-longest against any opponent ... UAA has won all six games at the Alaska Airlines Center ... SMU's last win came by a 58-48 count in the 2014 GNAC Tournament quarterfinals in Lacey ... UAA leads 27-12 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 15-3 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.
 
ROAD RALLIES: The Seawolves finished with a 4-1 record in their two-week road swing, coming back from double-digit deficits to beat Simon Fraser and Central Washington on the road last week, while falling at league leader Western Washington ... on Thursday, Sr. C Tennae Voliva had 22 points (8-13 FG, 6-6 FT), 10 rebounds and 3 steals to help UAA overcome the largest 1st-quarter deficit (26-13) in program history in a 76-55 win over SFU ... So. G Rachel Ingram had 12 points (4-8 3FG) and 3 steals and Fr. G Jazzpher Evans added 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals as UAA outscored the Canadians 44-15 in the second half ... on Saturday, Voliva delivered 12 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high 4 blocks, but UAA could not make up an early deficit as WWU swept the season series, 63-50 ... on Monday, Voliva had 17 points (7-13 FG, 3-3 FT), 10 rebounds and 4 assists to help UAA tie the program's largest halftime comeback in a road game, beating regionally 2nd-ranked Central Washington 89-81 in Ellensburg ... Sr. F Lauren Johnson scored 14 points (4-8 FG, 4-4 FT), Jr. G Jahnna Hajdukovich had 11 points (3-5 3FG) and Jr. F Kimani Fernandez tallied 10 points (5-7 FG) as UAA erased deficits of 45-34 at halftime and 49-34 with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
 
WINNING WAYS: At 206-22 (.904), the Seawolves have the second-best winning percentage and fourth-most victories in NCAA Div. II since 2014-15, despite playing only three games in 2020-21 ... UAA is a combined 131-13 – including 62-7 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games over the last seven conference seasons (since Dec. 2014) ... UAA's 24-game win streak from Jan. 25, 2020 to Dec. 14, 2021 had been the longest in NCAA Div. II and finished two short of tying the school record set by the 2016-17 club ... the 12 straight road wins finished as the third-longest string in program history ...UAA's Jan. 17 loss to MSU Billings ended school-record win streaks of 33 straight home games and 41 straight regular-season conference home games ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 203-18 (.919) in the last 15 seasons on their home courts, including 94-8 (.922) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... the 2019-20 Seawolves earned the program's fourth 30-win season in five years, starting with an NCAA Div. II-record 38 victories in 2015-16 ... UAA's run of six straight GNAC regular-season titles is the longest of any program – women's or men's – since the league was founded in 2001-02 ... UAA has recorded 25 wins for six straight seasons (excluding 2020-21) and has produced 16 20-win seasons in 44 years of program history ... the Seawolves have won 63 of their last 66 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... UAA has clinched its 16th consecutive winning record and is aiming for its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in its last 15 full seasons ... the Seawolves have won six of the 10 GNAC Tournament titles since the event started in 2011.
 
NIFTY NUMBERS: The Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in steals (12.8 spg) and turnover margin (+6.17), and rank second or third in eight other categories ... of 297 teams nationally, UAA ranks top-40 in steals (12th), turnover margin (13th), turnovers forced (17th, 23.4) and assists (36th, 15.6 apg) ... the Seawolves are attempting to finish top-10 nationally in steals for the eighth straight non-pandemic season in 2021-22, having led NCAA Div. II for four straight years from 2013-14 to 2016-17.
 
TENNAE-CIOUS V: A unanimous Preseason All-GNAC selection, Sr. F/C Tennae Voliva is proving the prognosticators correct with team-high averages in points (12.6 ppg, 10th in GNAC), rebounds (7.0 rpg, 5th), steals (2.2 spg, 3rd), blocks (0.8 bpg, 9th), FG% (.489, 10th) and FT% (.844, 3rd) ... with double-figure scoring in 14 of 15 GNAC games, including a 17.3 ppg average in February, she has improved her league numbers to 14.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, .507 FG and .854 FT ... the East Anchorage HS product owns six double-doubles this year and 12 for her career, and she earned GNAC Player of the Week honors for Feb. 7-13 ... on UAA's career lists, Voliva stands 10th in rebounds (628), 7th in blocks (79), 12th in blocks per game (0.6), 12th in steals (162), 12th in FT made (243), 9th in games played (123), 17th in FG% (.490) and 6th in victories, sporting a 108-15 record in Green & Gold ... a four-time Academic All-GNAC honoree with a 3.89 undergrad GPA, Voliva recently repeated as as CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree and is a candidate for Academic All-America with a 4.00 graduate GPA in clinical psychology.
 
'WOLF BITES: Sr. F Sala Langi has continued her under-the-radar solid play in her final season, ranking top-5 on the team in scoring (7.4 ppg), rebounding (2.8 rpg), assists (1.9 apg), steals (1.7 spg, 13th in GNAC) and FT% (.759) ... Langi joined Voliva on this year's Preseason All-GNAC Team and trails her by just one game on UAA's career victories list with 107 ...  Jr. G Jahnna Hajdukovich has risen to 2nd the GNAC with her .381 3FG%, and ranks 8th in 3FGs per game (1.8) ... in November, Hajdukovich tied the second-most treys in Seawolf history with eight against UT Permian Basin ... the former Dimond High star now ranks in the top 15 in all UAA career 3FG categories, with 111 treys, 1.2 per game and a .358 3FG% ... Jr. PG Nicole Pinckney has taken her game to the next level in fifth season with the program ... the former Chugiak High star is 7th in the GNAC with 3.3 assists per game, 3rd in assist-turnover ratio (1.8), 12th in 3FG% and 14th in 3FGs per game (1.3), draining 5 of 10 treys for a career-high 21 points in the win at Northwest Nazarene ... Pinckney was the Most Outstanding Player of the Nov. 19-20 Seawolf Hoops Classic, totaling 23 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals and just 2 turnovers in 52 minutes ... So. G Rachel Ingram has drained at least one three pointer in 12 of the last 14 games, ranking 8th in the GNAC-only stats with a .361 3FG% and 1.9 3FGs per game ... in less than two full seasons, the Colorado native has moved onto UAA's career top-20 lists in 3FGs made (13th, 110), 3FG% (15th, .357) and 3FGs per game (5th, 1.9) ... other Seawolves among the GNAC stats leaders include Sr. Lauren Johnson at 2nd in FT% (.851), Fr. G Jazzpher Evans at 8th in steals (1.6 spg) and Jr. F Kimani Fernandez at 11th in offensive rebounding (2.0 orpg) ... Johnson has scored at least five points in 15 of the last 16 games, matching her season high with 14 points at Central Washington on Monday.
 
MASTER OF MAYHEM: In his 10th season at UAA and 11th as a head coach, Ryan McCarthy currently stands No. 3 among NCAA Div. II coaches in career winning percentage at .826 ... the winningest coach in UAA women's basketball history since coming north in 2012, McCarthy has led the Seawolf program to unprecedented heights, capturing six straight GNAC regular-season titles (five outright), four GNAC Tournament titles, seven 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 2019-20, McCarthy earned his fourth consecutive GNAC Coach of the Year honor and fifth in the last six 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 242-41 (.857) at UAA and 256-54 (.827) overall, having served in an interim capacity at Northwest Nazarene in 2010-11 … McCarthy is assisted in 2020-21 by 10th-year associate head coach Shaina Afoa (the 2017-18 WBCA NCAA Div. II National Assistant Coach of the Year) and former Seawolf great Kiki Robertson (1st season).
 
2021-22 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
KIMANI FERNANDEZ
GNAC All-Academic Team
JAHNNA HAJDUKOVICH
GNAC All-Academic Team
Seawolf Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team
RACHEL INGRAM
GNAC All-Academic Team
STEPHANIE JACKSON
GNAC All-Academic Team
SALA LANGI
Preseason All-GNAC Team
NICOLE PINCKNEY
GNAC All-Academic Team
Seawolf Hoops Classic Most Outstanding Player
TENNAE VOLIVA
CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Feb. 7-13
GNAC All-Academic Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2021-22
INDIVIDUAL
Game
Most 3FGs Made, 2nd Half — 7 by Rachel Ingram at Montana State Billings, 1/27 (old record: 6 by Jenna Buchanan vs Cal St. Dominguez Hills, 10/31/15; by Jackie Thiel vs Kuyper, 1/3/09; and by Ingram at Warner Pacific, 3/23/21)
Most 3FGs Made, Half — 7 by Rachel Ingram at Montana State Billings, 1/27 (ties record by Maria Nilsson vs Saint Martin's [1st half], 2/3/07)
TEAM
Game
Largest Halftime Deficit Overcome (road) — 11 (34-45) at Central Washington, Feb. 21 (ties record [22-33] set at Northwest Nazarene, Jan. 30, 2010)
Most Points, 2nd Quarter — 31 at Hawaii Pacific, Dec. 14 (ties record set vs William Jewell, 10/30/15 at Anaheim)
Most Points, 2nd Quarter (road) — 31 at Hawaii Pacific, Dec. 14 (old record: 27, twice, last at Western Oregon, Jan. 5, 2017)
Fewest Points Allowed, 1st Quarter — 2 vs Winston-Salem State, Nov. 27 (old record: 4, four times)
Misc.
Consecutive Wins, Alaska Airlines Center – 33, 11/16/19 to 1/15/22 (old record: 16, 11/5/15 to 2/25/16)
Consecutive Conference Regular-Season Home Wins – 41, 11/30/16 to 1/15/22