THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 1 – 6 pm AST – SFU West Gymnasium – Burnaby, B.C.
Alaska Anchorage (12-6, 6-3 GNAC) at Simon Fraser (11-11, 3-6 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 3 – 6 pm AST – Carver Gymnasium – Bellingham, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage at #13 Western Washington (16-3, 8-1 GNAC [2/1 vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO: Thursday at youtube.com/watch?v=IugvX9MLPTA
                       Saturday at youtube.com/@WWUVikingsAthletics
LIVE STATS: Thursday at athletics.sfu.ca/sidearmstats/wbball
                      Saturday at wwuvikings.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Senya Rabouin, 5-5, Jr. (11.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.2 spg, .338 3FG, .760 FT)
G—Jazzpher Evans, 5-6, Jr. (10.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 spg, .429 FG)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, So. (7.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, .345 3FG)
F—Vishe' Rabb, 5-9, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.6 spg, .800 FT)
F—Tori Hollingshead, 6-2, Jr. (13.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.8 spg, .560 FG)
 
SECOND-HALF SPRINT BEGINS: Standing alone in third place at the midway point of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season, the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team travels to Canada to face Simon Fraser (Thur., 6 pm AST) and Bellingham, Wash., to challenge league-leading No. 13 Western Washington (Sat., 6 pm AST) ... the top six teams at the end of the season qualify for the GNAC Tournament, Mar. 7-9 in Ellensburg, Wash.
 
KNOW THE FOES: Simon Fraser has gone 4-8 since posting a 7-game win streak in November, but looked strong in an 83-57 home win over Seattle Pacific on Saturday ... currently fighting for the final GNAC Tournament berth, the Red Leafs are led by GNAC third-leading scorer Jessica Wisotzki (17.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .355 3FG, .852 FT) and Sophia Wisotzki (15.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg, .790 FT) ... ranked No. 13 in the top-25 coaches' poll, Western Washington has recovered from its Jan. 4 loss at UAA to rip off seven straight wins, capped by a 76-68 home decision over then-No. 9 MSU Billings on Saturday ... now tied atop the league standings with MSUB, the Vikings are led by Brooke Walling (16.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.2 bpg, .634 FG) and Mason Oberg (11.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, .405 3FG, .830 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SFU: UAA leads 25-8 overall, 9-5 in Burnaby
Streak: UAA 10
Last: UAA 89-68 (1/6/24 at UAA)
Notes: UAA's current streak is the longest in series history ... SFU's last win came in a 90-80 upset of UAA in the 2017 NCAA Tournament Second Round in Anchorage ... UAA has won nine straight in Burnaby, including 86-69 last season ... UAA leads 19-5 in regular-season meetings since SFU joined the GNAC in the 2010-11 season and 18-5 under Ryan McCarthy ... first meeting was a 65-61 UAA win in Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 28, 1981.
 
vs WWU: Tied 29-29 overall; WWU leads 15-10 in Bellingham
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 61-54 (1/4/24 at UAA)
Notes: UAA's win last month snapped a five-game WWU win streak ... WWU has won three straight in Bellingham ... teams have played 31 times since Jan. 2011, including five meetings in the GNAC Tourney finals (all UAA wins) and NCAA 1st Round games in 2012 and 2022 ... UAA leads 22-21 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02) ... UAA leads 15-10 under Ryan McCarthy ... WWU won the first seven meetings in series history, which began Feb.13, 1997.
 
UNSATISFYING SPLIT: The Seawolves managed a split of their home games against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's last week at the Alaska Airlines Center ... on Thursday, UAA saw its nine-game winning streak snapped and lost to WOU for the first time since 2004 (37 straight wins), falling 73-53 despite a career-high 14 points from Jr. G Kya Pearson ... Jr. G Jazzpher Evans had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers, but the Seawolves shot just .283 from the field and were hurt by 20 turnovers ... on Saturday, Jr. C Tori Hollingshead had 18 points (6-8 FG, 6-7 FT) and 6 rebounds as UAA handled the Saints, 62-41 ... Sr. F Vishe' Rabb had 12 points and 9 rebounds and Jr. F Jaisa Gamble had 8 points (2-4 FG, 4-4 FT) and 3 steals as UAA posted a season-best plus-22 rebounding advantage and set a program record by allowing just eight first-half points in a conference game.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC in steals per game (13.6, 10th nationally), turnover margin (+5.1, 23rd nationally), offensive rebounds per game (15.2, 22nd nationally) and offensive rebounding percentage (.389), and rank top-3 in scoring defense (58.7), scoring margin (+12.7), FG% defense (.379), 3FG% defense (.292), rebounds per game (40.2), rebound margin (+5.8) and rebounds allowed (34.3) ... the 33 points allowed against Clarion equaled UAA's 10th-fewest against a fellow NCAA Div. II opponent ... the eight first-half points allowed against Saint Martin's set a program record for fewest against a conference opponent in either half ... UAA's four-game losing skid from Nov. 24-Dec. 2 was its longest since dropping seven straight from Jan. 7-28, 2006 ... the Seawolves' four one-possession losses mark the first time that has happened since the 2007-08 squad suffered four of its five losses that year by three points or fewer.
 
'WOLF BITES: A Preseason All-GNAC pick, Jr. G Jazzpher Evans ranks 19th in the GNAC with 10.7 points per game, along with 11th in steals per game (1.5), 17th in assists per game (2.5) and 16th in FG% (.429) ... the Chicago native tied her career high from her Covid freshman season at Quincy with 20 points (8-14 FG, 4-4 FT) in the loss at Pacific, and topped that with 21 points against Adams State ... 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 ... Jr. PG Senya Rabouin has settled into her role since transferring from Central Arizona College, earning her first GNAC Player of the Week award for her effort against WWU and SFU ... the Arizona native already has four 20-plus scoring efforts to her credit, moving up in the GNAC stats to 13th in scoring (11.8 ppg), 2nd in assists (4.2 apg), 4th in steals (2.2 spg), 12th in FT% (.760), 15th in 3FG% (.338), 14th in 3FGs per game (1.5) and 7th in A/T ratio (2.9) ... Rabouin's 10 assists Dec. 8 against Clarion were the first double-digit performance by a Seawolf since Nov. 2017 ... Jr. C Tori Hollingshead has made a major impact since transferring from Umpqua (Ore.) CC, ranking among the GNAC leaders in scoring (11th, 13.0 ppg), rebounding (8th, 7.2 rpg), blocks (3rd, 2.2 [16th nationally]), steals (5th, 1.8 spg) and FG% (3rd, .567 [20th nationally]) ... 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 ... Hollingshead's 2.2 blocks per game are on pace for No. 3 on UAA's single-season list and easily the most in the Ryan McCarthy era (since 2012-13) ... other Seawolves among the GNAC stats leaders are Jr. G Kya Pearson (7th, 1.7 spg), Jr. F Jaisa Gamble (6th, 1.8 spg) and So. G Elaina Mack (3rd, 2.2 3FG per game; 13th, .348 3FG%) ... Mack nailed at least one three-pointer in the first 17 games (t-7th-longest streak in program history), including a 5-of-6 (17 pts) effort in the win at Hawaii Pacific, and 5 of 10 in the first game against Adams State.
 
RABB RETURNS: After 10 months of rehab following a torn ACL in the 2023 GNAC Tournament, Sr. F Vishe' Rabb made her season debut with a team-high 16 points (7-10 FG), 3 assists and 3 steals in UAA's victory over No. 14 WWU on Jan. 4, and forged a 14-point/10-rebound double-double to aid the win at Central Washington ... the Augustana (S.D.) transfer made a huge impact in her new uniform last year, earning GNAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-GNAC honors ... 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).
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 149-26 – including 69-14 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 220-24 (.902) in the last 16-plus seasons on their home courts, including 111-14 (.888) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... UAA had been 32-0 all-time against NCAA Div. II non-conference opponents at the Alaska Airlines Center in the regular season prior to the losses to Adams State ... UAA's run of six straight GNAC regular-season titles is 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 71 of their last 76 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: In his 12th season at UAA and 13th overall as head coach in 2022-23, Ryan McCarthy still stood among the top five active NCAA Div. II coaches in career winning percentage (.806) at the outset of the campaign ... 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 274-59 (.822) at UAA and 288-72 (.800) 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
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 15-21
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
GNAC/PacWest Crossover All-Tournament Team
VISHE' RABB
Preseason All-GNAC Team
SENYA RABOUIN
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 1-7