HONOLULU, Hawaii (Nov. 11) – Junior forward
Kate Robertson scored a career-high 15 points to lead a balanced attack for the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team Saturday in a 78-50 victory over Hawaii Hilo in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover at the Shark Tank.
The Seawolves (2-1) also got 14 points from junior guard
Jazzpher Evans and 10 points apiece from newcomers
Ja'Niah Alexander and
Mia Ross as they outshot the Big Island squad .448 to .353 and outrebounded them 36-26.
The Vulcans (0-2) were led by 15 points from reserve guard Jeniece Harmon, but were hurt by 22 turnovers.
"We did a great job of withstanding a big run by them in the third quarter and executed our offense very well in the fourth quarter, showing the killer instinct that we need," said UAA head coach
Ryan McCarthy, whose team got scoring from all 10 active players. "Ja'Niah started to flash the potential that we know she possesses, and Mia showed for the second straight day how valuable she is going to be for us, not committing a turnover in 24 minutes."
Coming off a 66-48 victory over Hawaii Pacific on Friday, the Seawolves took the court just 18 hours later and jumped to 19-9 lead after one quarter, getting eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from Robertson in the opening 10 minutes. The 6-2 Wyoming native finished 6 of 13 from the field, 3 of 4 on free throws and grabbed game-high eight rebounds.
"Kate also had a really nice game and showed how versatile we can be in the post, along with
Tori Hollingshead (8 points, 3-4 FG, 4 rebounds)," McCarthy added.
The Seawolves led 38-23 at halftime and appeared on the way to a blowout when Hollingshead scored on consecutive trips for a 45-23 lead with 6:55 left in the third quarter.
The Vulcans would catch fire, however, making seven straight shots – including four three-pointers – to pull within 53-44.
UAA answered with the final three points of the quarter and still led just 60-48 with 6:43 to play, before outscoring the Vulcans 18-2 down the stretch.
Evans shot 5 of 10 from the field, Alexander made all three of her field-goal attempts, while she and Ross each nabbed four boards. Starting forward
Jaisa Gamble added six rebounds and tied teammate
Kya Pearson with a game-high three assists.
The Seawolves make their home debut with games against two NCAA Div. I opponents in the
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 18-19. The tournament tips off Saturday at 5:15 p.m. when UAB faces Eastern Kentucky, followed by UAA against No. 5 Utah and hometown All-American Alissa Pili.
