THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Fri., Nov. 24 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Adams State (3-3) Alaska Anchorage (2-1)
&
Sat., Nov. 25 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Adams State at Alaska Anchorage
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
LIVE VIDEO: Both games free at youtube.com/UAASeawolves
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Senya Rabouin, 5-5, Jr. (8.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.0 spg, .429 3FG)
G—Jazzpher Evans, 5-6, So. (15.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 spg, .529 FG)
G—Kya Pearson, 5-8, Jr. (5.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 3.0 spg)
F—Kate Robertson, 6-2, So. (7.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.3 spg)
F—Jaisa Gamble, 6-0, Jr. (2.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.7 spg)
 
INTERSECTIONAL SHOWDOWNS: After a pair of exhibitions against Div. I competition last week, UAA returns to its D-II non-conference slate this weekend with a pair of games against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Adams State ... these will mark the first meetings between the programs in women's basketball.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Adams State, from Alamosa, Colo., has split its first six contests, coming off home losses to Eastern New Mexico (70-58) and Texas A&M Kingsville (69-66) last week … the Grizzlies are led by 5-8 So. G Harmanie Dominguez (13.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, .380 3FG) and 5-5 Jr. G Angeline Nageak (13.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, .500 3FG, .860 FT).
 
HAWAIIAN STYLIN': The Seawolves erased the bad taste from a season-opening upset loss at D-III foe Pacific (Ore.) by sweeping its NCAA Div. II competition Nov. 10-11 at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover in Honolulu ... on Friday, Jr. C Tori Hollingshead delivered 20 points (9-11 FG), 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks, and So. G Elaina Mack burned the nets for 17 points (5-5 3FG, 2-2 FT) to power a 66-48 win over Hawaii Pacific ... Jr. G Jazzpher Evans had 13 points (5-10 FG), 4 rebounds and 3 steals, and Jr. G Mia Ross had a timely 5 points, 3 assists and one turnover to help UAA overcome major foul trouble ... on Saturday, Jr. F Kate Robertson scored a career-high 15 points (6-13 FG, 3-4 FT) and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in a 78-50 victory over Hawaii-Hilo ... Evans had 14 points (5-10 FG) on her way to tournament MVP honors, while Hollingshead made the all-tournament team after posting 8 points (3-4 FG) in the finale ... UAA also got major bench contributions from Ross (10 pts, 4 rebs) and fellow newcomer Jr. G Ja'Niah Alexander (10 pts, 3-3 FG, 3-4 FT, 4 rebs).
 
ALL THAT JAZZ: UAA's third-leading scorer a year ago with 9.4 ppg, Jr. G Jazzpher Evans has continued her upward trajectory, pacing the team and ranking 9th in the GNAC with 15.7 points per game ... the Chicago native has scored at least 13 points and shot 50 percent from the floor in all three games, tying her career high from her Covid freshman season at Quincy with 20 points (8-14 FG, 4-4 FT) in the loss at Pacific ... Evans was named the MVP of the GNAC/PacWest Crossover after helping UAA to two wins in Honolulu with 13.5 ppg on .500 FG.
 
'HEAD OF THE CLASS: Jr. C Tori Hollingshead has made a major impact since transferring from Umpqua (Ore.) CC, ranking among the early GNAC stats leaders in scoring (12th, 13.7 ppg), rebounding (10th, 7.0 rpg), blocks (4th, 1.7), steals (3rd, 2.7 spg) and FG% (1st, .750), despite logging only 20 minutes per game thus far ... the Orem, Utah, product shot 9 of 13 and grabbed 9 rebounds to power the win over Hawaii Pacific, and she earned all-tournament spots at both the GNAC/PacWest Crossover and the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout.
 
'WOLF BITES: So. G Elaina Mack came one three-pointer shy of tying UAA's school record of 6-of-6 3FG accuracy, finishing 5 of 6 and with 17 points last week at Hawaii Pacific ... Mack ranks 3rd in the early GNAC stats with a .538 3FG% and 6th in 3FGs per game (2.3) ... other Seawolves among the GNAC stats leaders include Jr. G Kya Pearson  in steals (2nd, 3.0 spg), Jr. PG Senya Rabouin in 3FG% (7th, .429) and 3FGs per game (7th, 2.0), and Jr. F Kate Robertson in offensive rebounds per game (6th, 2.7).
 
RABB REHABBING: A transfer from fellow Div. II program Augustana (S.D.), Sr. F Vishe' Rabb made a huge impact in her new uniform last year, earning GNAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-GNAC honors ... prior to tearing her ACL in the final game of the year, Rabb paced UAA in scoring in 16 of her 26 appearances, while leading the way in rebounding 13 times ... a two-time GNAC Player of the Week and the ASRC/Great Alaska Shootout Most Outstanding Player, the Minnesota native scored double figures all but four times and grabbed at least five rebounds in all but three contests ... Rabb ranked 5th in the GNAC stats in scoring with 16.8 ppg, along with 8th in rebounding (6.3 rpg), 4th in steals (2.0) and 1st in FT% (.879, No. 2 on UAA's single-season list) ... after suffering through a midseason slump, Rabb finished on a hot streak, posting four 25-plus scoring efforts in the last seven games (22.7 ppg, 49-51 FT) and her third double-double in the win over Saint Martin's (25 pts/10 rebs) ... the Minnesota native is expected to return to the Seawolf lineup in December after finishing her rehabilitation.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 143-23 – including 67-12 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games over the last eight conference seasons (since Dec. 2014) ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 214-21 (.911) in the last 16 seasons on their home courts, including 105-11 (.905) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... UAA is 32-0 all-time against NCAA Div. II non-conference opponents at the Alaska Airlines Center in the regular season ... UAA's run of six straight GNAC regular-season titles was the longest of any basketball program – women's or men's – since the league was founded in 2001-02 ... 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 fell two victories shy of its eighth straight 20-win season (excluding 2020-21, when they played just three games); the Seawolves have produced 17 20-win seasons in 46 years of program history ... the Seawolves have won 69 of their last 72 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... UAA has posted 16 consecutive winning records and earned 14 NCAA Tournament appearances in its last 16 full seasons ... the Seawolves have never failed to qualify for the GNAC Tournament, winning six of the 12 titles since the event started in 2011.
 
MASTER OF MAYHEM: Entering his 12th season at UAA and 13th overall as head coach in 2022-23, Ryan McCarthy still stands among the top five active NCAA Div. II coaches in career winning percentage at .806 ... 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, eight straight NCAA Tournament berths (discounting the 2020-21 non-season), 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, and 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 through 2021-22 ... McCarthy sports head-coaching records of 262-54 (.831) at UAA and 276-67 (.806) overall, having served in an interim capacity at Northwest Nazarene in 2010-11 … McCarthy is assisted in 2023-24 by 12th-year associate head coach Shaina Afoa (the 2017-18 WBCA NCAA Div. II National Assistant Coach of the Year) and former UAA men's assistant Jalon McCullough (1st season).
 
2023-24 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
JAZZPHER EVANS
GNAC/PacWest Crossover MVP
Preseason All-GNAC Team
TORI HOLLINGSHEAD
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
GNAC/PacWest Crossover All-Tournament Team
VISHE' RABB
Preseason All-GNAC Team