THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
11th annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships
at Royal Brougham Pavilion – Seattle, Wash. & Marcus Pavilion – Lacey, Wash.
(times listed as Alaska Standard Time)
Wednesday, March 2 (First Round)
1:15 pm: #9 Saint Martin's (12-13) vs #8 Western Oregon (9-16) – at Lacey
1:15 pm: #10 Alaska Fairbanks (3-19) vs #7 Seattle Pacific (11-17) – at Seattle
Thursday, March 3 (Quarterfinals)
11 am: #5 Montana State Billings (16-11) vs #4 Northwest Nazarene (18-8) – at Lacey
11 am: #6 Simon Fraser (12-13) vs #3 Central Washington (20-7) – at Seattle
1:15 pm: SMU/WOU winner vs #1 Western Washington (18-4) – at Lacey
1:15 pm: UAF/SPU winner vs #2 Alaska Anchorage (19-5) – at Seattle
Friday, March 4 (Semifinals – at Lacey)
11 am & 1:15 pm – Matchups TBD
Saturday, March 5 (Title Game – at Lacey)
4 pm: Semifinal winners
 
LIVE VIDEO: All games free at gnac.tv

LIVE STATS: Thursday's game will be at spufalcons.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary ... the semifinals and final will be at smusants.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary

SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAWBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.

TICKETS: gnacsports.com/gnac/tickets
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2021-22 stats)
G—Nicole Pinckney, 5-5, Jr. (7.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.2 spg, .322 3FG)
G—Jahnna Hajdukovich, 5-8, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, .390 3FG)
F—Lauren Johnson, 5-7, Sr. (7.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, .857 FT)
F—Jazzpher Evans, 5-6, Fr. (7.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.7 spg)
C—Tennae Voliva, 6-0, Sr. (12.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.1 spg, .488 FG, .839 FT)
 
GNAC TITLE, NCAA BID ON THE LINE: After a one-year hiatus, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament resumes this season for its 11th edition, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament ... due to Covid cancelations, this year's tourney has been expanded to all 10 teams (instead of the usual six) ... with five teams among the top nine in last week's NCAA West Region rankings, the league is likely to gain multiple playoff bids.
 
NCAA OUTLOOK: The Seawolves earned two victories since last week's NCAA Regional rankings were released Feb. 23, possibly improving their 6th-place standing ... should the Seawolves remain sixth or fall lower, they would fall onto the playoff bubble should multiple teams 'steal' bids in the GNAC, Pac West Confernece or California Collegiate Athletic Association postseason tourneys ... the final publicized West Region rankings will be released Wednesday, and the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field will be made Sunday at 6 p.m. AST at ncaa.com.
 
GNAC TOURNEY HISTORY: The Seawolves have captured six of the first 10 GNAC Championships titles ... UAA has a 14-4 record in GNAC tourney games, including 7-1 in the semifinals and 6-1 in the finals ... in 2020, UAA was the No. 1 seed and beat 5th-seeded Central Washington 79-77 in the semifinals and 3rd-seed Western Washington 89-68 in the title game in Seattle ... the 2021 GNAC Tournament was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
GNAC Women's Basketball Championships Results
Year Champ Rnr-Up Score Site MVP
2021 No Tournament (Covid-19)
2020 UAA   WWU    89-68 SPU  Safiyyah Yasin, UAA
2019 NNU   UAA    70-64 WWU  Ellie Logan, NNU
2018 MSUB  SPU    71-61 UAA  Alisha Breen, MSUB
2017 UAA   WWU    79-70 SMU  A.Williams, UAA
2016 UAA   MSUB   77-57 SMU  Kiki Robertson, UAA
2015 UAA   WWU    71-58 MSUB Kiki Robertson, UAA
2014 WWU   SFU    78-74 SMU  Jenni White, WWU
2013 WWU   SFU    60-40 SMU  T.Williams, WWU
2012 UAA   WWU    67-52 SMU  H. Holmstead, UAA
2011 UAA   WWU    68-67 WWU  K. McBride, UAA
 
SCOUTING THE FOES: Tenth-seeded Alaska Fairbanks has earned all three of its wins this season by two points, including a recent upset of Simon Fraser ... with leading scorer Pearle Green sidlined due to injury, the Nanooks are led by Destiny Reimers (11.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.6 spg) and Claudia Diez Marti (9.4 ppg, 2.0 apg, .753 FT) ... Seattle Pacific has played 11 one- or two-possession contests this season and has played five overtime contests ... the Falcons enter GNACs with five losses in the last six games, although they own an impressive win over Central Washington (69-65, Dec. 2) and close losses to regionally ranked foes Cal State San Marcos, Cal State East Bay and Azusa Pacific ... SPU is led by Natalie Hoff (11.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .793 FT) and Ashley Alter (10.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, .714 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs. SPU: SPU leads 36-35 overall; SPU leads 22-12 in Seattle
Streak: UAA 6
Last: UAA 69-61 (1/30/22 at SPU)
Notes: Due to the Dec. 30 meeting being postponed due to Covid, both meetings this season occured in Seattle, Jan. 29-30 ... this will mark the first time in series history that the teams have played three times at one venue ... teams have played three times in the GNAC Tourney – all semifinals – with UAA holding a 2-1 edge ... UAA leads 20-19 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 17-2 under 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. UAF: UAA leads 74-30 overall; tied 1-1 on neutral floors
Streak: UAA 28
Last: UAA 74-62 (2/12/22 at UAF)
Notes: UAA's current win streak is the longest in the series and the Seawolves' 2nd-longest against any program … UAF's last win was an 85-83 overtime decision, Jan. 27, 2007 in Fairbanks ... the last neutral-court meeting was a 65-62 UAF win at the Pac West Conference Tournament, Feb. 25, 1999 … UAA has won 15 straight and 27 of the last 28 meetings by double digits (+26.7 margin) ... UAA leads 33-7 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 18-0 under Ryan McCarthy … teams have played at least twice per season since 1979-80, not counting the basically non-existent 2020-21 campaign.
 
GOING OUT WITH A BANG: The Seawolves finished their home season with the most thrilling ending to any game this season, earning a 66-65 victory over Western Oregon on Feb. 24 when Jr. G Jahnna Hajdukovich drained a three-pointer off an inbounds pass from Sr. G Stephanie Jackson with 1.9 seconds remaining ... Sr. C Tennae Voliva led UAA with 15 points and 6 rebounds in a contest that featured eight ties and 14 lead changes, while Fr. G Jazzpher Evans delivered 13 points (6-11 FG), 2 assists and no turnovers, and Sr. F Lauren Johnson had 11 points and a career-high 6 rebounds ... in addition to avoiding their first three-loss season at the Alaska Airlines Center, the win extended UAA's program-record streak to 35 in a row over WOU.
 
WINNING WAYS: Prior to falling 0.04 ranking points shy of this year's top seed, UAA's run of six straight GNAC regular-season titles was the longest of any program – women's or men's – since the league was founded in 2001-02 ... the Seawolves have won six of the 10 GNAC Tournament titles since the event started in 2011 ... at 207-22 (.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 132-13 – 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 204-18 (.919) in the last 15 seasons on their home courts, including 95-8 (.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 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.
 
NIFTY NUMBERS: The Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in steals (12.4 spg) and turnover margin (+6.0), and rank second or third in eight other categories ... of 297 teams nationally, UAA ranks top-40 in steals (14th), turnover margin (13th), turnovers forced (18th, 22.0) and assists (33rd, 15.7 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 has proven the prognosticators correct with team-high averages in points (12.7 ppg, 10th in GNAC), rebounds (7.0 rpg, 6th), steals (2.1 spg, 3rd), blocks (0.8 bpg, 12th), FG% (.488, 9th) and FT% (.839, 3rd) ... with double-figure scoring in 15 of 16 GNAC games, including a 17.6 ppg average in February, she has improved her league numbers to 14.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, .503 FG and .846 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 (634), 7th in blocks (79), 12th in blocks per game (0.6), 12th in steals (162), 12th in FT made (244), 8th in games played (124), 17th in FG% (.490) and 6th in victories, sporting a 109-15 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 (7.3 ppg), rebounding (2.8 rpg), assists (1.8 apg), steals (1.5 spg, 14th 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 108 ...  Jr. G Jahnna Hajdukovich has risen to 2nd the GNAC with a .390 3FG%, and ranks 8th in 3FGs per game (1.6) ... in November, Hajdukovich tied the second-most treys in Seawolf history with eight against UT Permian Basin, and she knocked down the game-winner at the buzzer to beat Western Oregon on Feb. 24 ... the former Dimond High star now ranks in the top 15 in all UAA career 3FG categories, with 113 treys (t-9th), 1.2 per game (13th) and a .361 3FG% (14th) ... Jr. PG Nicole Pinckney has taken her game to the next level in fifth season with the program ... the former Chugiak High star is 6th in the GNAC with 3.3 assists per game, 3rd in assist-turnover ratio (1.9), and 16th in 3FG% (.322) and  3FGs per game (1.2), 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 13 of the last 15 games, ranking top 10 in the GNAC-only stats with a .351 3FG% and 1.8 3FGs per game ... in less than two full seasons, the Colorado native has moved onto UAA's career top-20 lists in 3FGs made (12th, 111), 3FG% (17th, .355) and 3FGs per game (5th, 1.9) ... other Seawolves among the GNAC stats leaders include Sr. Lauren Johnson at 2nd in FT% (.857), Fr. G Jazzpher Evans at 8th in steals (1.7 spg) and Jr. F Kimani Fernandez at 10th in offensive rebounding (2.0 orpg) ... Johnson has scored at least five points in 16 of the last 17 games, matching a season-high 14 to power UAA's comeback victory at Central Washington.
 
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) between 2015-20, 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 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 243-41 (.856) at UAA and 257-54 (.826) 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