HAYWARD, Calif. – Senior center
Tennae Voliva scored a game-high 20 points but 6th-seeded Alaska Anchorage could never overcome an early surge by 3rd-seeded Western Washington on Friday, falling 76-64 to the Vikings in the first round of the NCAA Div. II West Regional Women's Basketball Championships at Pioneer Gymnasium.
The Seawolves (20-7) also got nine points apiece from senior forwards
Lauren Johnson and
Sala Langi as they lost for the first time in their last five NCAA opening-round games.
The Vikings (21-5) were led by 19 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks by center Brooke Walling, while guard Riley Dykstra tallied 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting. WWU will face 2nd-seeded Central Washington in Saturday's regional semifinal at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, in a rematch of last week's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament title game.
"Western is a great team, we tip our hats to them," said UAA head coach
Ryan McCarthy, whose team finished runner-up to WWU in the GNAC regular-season race. "We just had trouble securing possessions by getting defensive stops, and that's something we've prided ourselves on this year. Credit to Western – every time we made a little run, they would come down and hit a big three or we would have some sort of defensive breakdown, and they'd punish us for it. And then on our end of it, we lose by 12 and we miss 11 free throws (in 26 attempts), and in the postseason that's going to come back to hurt you."
After falling to the Vikings 53-45 and 63-50 during the regular season, Friday's game followed a familiar pattern, with WWU earning a 17-12 in the opening 10 minutes. The GNAC regular-season champions stretched their advantage to 39-27 at halftime and 62-47 after three quarters, making 18 of their first 19 free throws.
Johnson scored all of her points in the second half, cutting UAA's deficit to 63-54 on a three-pointer with 6:56 remaining, but the Seawolves would get no closer.
Voliva – UAA's unanimous First Team All-GNAC performer – shot 7 of 15 from the floor and added seven rebounds in her final game, finishing her career with 921 points and tying for fifth on the Seawolves' career victories list with 110.
"It's tough right now, but I'll look back on the journey for me as a player, and as a leader I think I've grown a lot," Voliva said in the postgame press conference. "I really think I'm leaving here as the best version of myself, and that's the most important thing for a student-athlete. That, and the relationships I've built – I know it doesn't end here with this current team, or with these coaches and alumni. I'm just really grateful for those relationships."
The Seawolves' NCAA Tournament berth was their eighth consecutive in a non-pandemic season.
