ANCHORAGE – Junior forward
Vishe' Rabb scored 29 points and Alaska Anchorage used a huge first-quarter run Saturday to propel an 80-58 women's basketball victory over Western Oregon on 'senior night' at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Seawolves (16-9, 8-8 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 13 points and three steals from sophomore guard
Jazzpher Evans as they moved into a fourth-place tie with Seattle Pacific with two games remaining.
The Wolves (11-13, 5-11) were led by 17 points from guard Cali McClave, but the visitors from Monmouth could never recover from a 20-0 Seawolf run midway through the first quarter.
"We did a great job at turning our defense into easy baskets on the other end during that stretch in the first quarter," said UAA head coach
Ryan McCarthy, whose team extended its school-record win streak to 37 straight over WOU. "It's very satisfying when you can send your seniors out on a high note in their last home game. All five of them were locked in and focused tonight, and they all made big contributions, so I couldn't be happier for them."
After putting the Wolves away late in a 69-61 win last month in Oregon, the Seawolves jumped on their opponents early in the rematch, turning a 7-5 deficit into a 25-7 lead in a span of 3 minutes, 35 seconds.
UAA's 29-10 lead after one quarter tied its seventh-largest since the women's game went to quarters in 2015-16, and the Seawolves built a 48-26 advantage at the half.
The Wolves cut their deficit to 57-46 on two McClave free throws with 2:35 left in the third quarter, but Rabb answered with four straight charities of her own, and UAA led by at least 14 the rest of the way.
Rabb scored the second-most points of her career, shooting 9 of 14 from the field and 9 of 10 at the foul stripe, along with five rebounds and four assists. The Augustana (S.D.) transfer equaled her most points in regulation as she topped the 25-point plateau for the fifth time this year, including three of the last four games.
UAA got an early boost from the interior play of sophomore
Kate Robertson, who shot 5 of 7 from the field and finished with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and a block.
Senior guard
Jahnna Hajdukovich suffered through a 1-of-7 shooting night in her final home game, but the former Dimond High star managed to contribute eight points, five rebounds and three steals, while tying her career high for the fourth time with five assists.
Sixth-year senior point guard
Nicole Pinckney had nine points, four rebounds, five assists and just one turnover, and senior guard
Ra'Anaa Bey snagged a career-high five rebounds.
UAA faces Seattle Pacific and nationally ranked Montana State Billings in its final road games Thursday and Saturday. Surf to GoSeawolves.com for links to live video and stats.