THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thursday, Dec. 19 – 4:30 pm AST – The Shark Tank – Honolulu, HI
Alaska Anchorage (9-1, 1-0 GNAC) at Hawaii Pacific (3-3, 1-1 Pac West)
&
Saturday, Dec. 20 – 4:30 pm AST – The Shark Tank – Honolulu, HI
Alaska Anchorage vs Daemen (8-3, 4-0 ECC)
 
LIVE VIDEO (PPV-$): passthaballlive.com/category/live-events/hawaii-classic-24/
LIVE STATS: hpusharks.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024-25 stats)
G—Emilia Long, 5-9, Sr. (13.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.6 apg, 5.2 spg, .488 FG, .733 FT)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Jr. (16.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.6 spg, .426 3FG, .769 FT)
F—Jaisa Gamble, 6-0, Sr. (7.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.5 spg, .475 FG, .769 FT)
F—Ashlyn Rean, 6-2, Fr. (7.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 spg, .545 FG)
C—Tori Hollingshead, 6-3, Sr. (12.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 2.2 spg, .528 FG, .645 FT)
 
HAWAIIAN STYLIN': The Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team takes a six-game winning streak into its non-conference finales this week, facing West Region opponent Hawaii Pacific on Thursday and first-time foe Daemen (N.Y.) on Friday at the Hoops In Hawaii Classic in Honolulu ... both games start at 4:30 pm AST.
 
KNOW THE FOES: Hawaii Pacific has dropped three of its last four after starting with wins over Hawaii Hilo and Alaska Fairbanks ... at 1-1 in the Pacific West Conference, the Sharks are led by Elle Berge (12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, .565 3FG) and Morgan Hawkins (9.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .824 FT) ... ranked 15th nationally in scoring defense at 52.7 ppg, Daemen has recovered from an 0-3 start with an 8-game winning streak, including victories in its first four East Coast Conference games ... the Wildcats, from Amherst, N.Y., are led by Danielle DiCintio (12.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.4 spg, .382 3FG, .857 FT) and Cecilia Lapertosa (10.1 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.3 bpg, .765 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs HPU: UAA leads 13-0 overall, 8-0 in Honolulu
Last: UAA 66-48 (11/10/23 at HPU)
Notes: This marks the fourth straight year the teams will meet in non-conference play ... teams have played twice in NCAA Tournament opening round, with UAA winning 76-69 in 2019 and 63-56 in 2017 ... first meeting was Jan. 29, 1984 ... teams did not meet between 1986-2013.
 
vs Daemen: First meeting
 
GNAC GIANTS: The Seawolves controlled their early-season Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers Dec. 5 & 7 at the Alaska Airlines Center, beating Saint Martin's 78-58 and setting multiple records in a 108-41 drubbing of Western Oregon ... in the first contest, Jr. G Elaina Mack had 16 points (4-8 3FG) and Sr. PG Emilia Long tallied 15 points (7-7 FT) and 4 steals as UAA handed SMU just its second loss ... Sr. F Jaisa Gamble added 6 points, 4 assists, 6 steals and no turnovers as eight of the nine active Seawolves scored at least six points ... on Saturday, Long collected a career-high 26 points (10-17 FG, 2-3 3FG, 4-4 FT), 8 assists, 9 steals (one shy of GNAC league-game record) and no turnovers as the Seawolves forced 33 WOU turnovers and led 48-13 at halftime ... Sr. G Jazzpher Evans dished a career-best 7 assists and came one shy of her career high with 20 points (4-6 3FG), while Fr. F Ashlyn Rean collected her first double-double with 14 points (7-11 FG) and 10 rebounds ... the win erased UAA's 113-51 loss at WOU (Dec. 6, 2003) from the record books as the most lopsided in a GNAC game, and topped a 107-47 victory at SMU (2/23/19) for the Seawolves' most points in a GNAC game.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the NCAA Div. II national stats in scoring offense (90.0), scoring margin (+47.6), turnover margin (+18.0) and A/T ratio (1.59), along with top-10 ranks in scoring defense (2nd, 42.4), steals (2nd, 20.7), assists (2nd, 20.4), rebound margin (2nd, +18.9), offensive rebounding (3rd, 20.4), TO forced (3rd, 30.8), bench points per game (8th, 36.7), rebounds (9th, 45.3) and fewest TO per game (10th, 12.8) ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in 13 categories and rank second in two others ...  UAA set or tied nine team records in its two games against Simpson to open the season, including fewest points allowed in half (4) and a quarter (0) ... the Seawolves accounted for 15 more school records with their 139-22 blowout of Stanton, including largest margin, most points, and largest halftime lead (79-7) ... the 48-13 halftime lead against Western Oregon was UAA's largest in a conference game.
 
MACK ATTACK: Jr. G Elaina Mack has started the year at a blazing pace with double figures in 10 of 11 games, ranking 5th in the GNAC with 16.0 ppg and 2nd nationally with 3.6 3FGs per game ... the King Cove native has grabbed at least four rebounds in nine of 11 games and holds a 2-to-1 A/T ratio; she has committed  zero turnovers in six of the last seven games and just nine all year, despite playing 40 more minutes than her next-closest teammate ... boosted by seven treys in the Nov. 2 win over Simpson, Mack is 5th on UAA's career list for 3FGs per game at 1.98, along with career ranks of 11th in 3FGs made (124, needs one to move into top 10) and 3FG% (13th, .369).
 
'HEAD BANGER: UAA's lone representative on the 2024-25 Preseason All-GNAC Team, Sr. C Tori Hollingshead has accounted for double-figure scoring in nine of 11 games and at least four rebounds in all but two contests ... the Orem, Utah, native and former Umpqua (Ore.) CC transfer holds GNAC ranks of 16th in scoring (12.0 ppg), 15th in rebounding (6.0 rpg), 6th in FG% (.528), 3rd in blocks (1.2) and 8th in steals (2.2), while her average of 4.0 offensive rebounds lead the league by 1.1 per game ... Hollingshead's 65 career blocks already rank 9th all-time at UAA, while her career numbers of 1.6 bpg and .553 FG% are both on pace for top-3 program marks.
 
LONG GAME: The Seawolves have a new floor general this year in Sr. G Emilia Long, who owns the NCAA Div. II lead with 5.2 steals per game ... in the GNAC stats, Long is also 3rd in assists (4.6 apg), 11th in scoring (13.9 ppg), 11th in FG% (.488) and 1st in A/T ratio (2.1), accounting for at least 7 points and multiple steals in every game ... in addition to recording 21 points and a school-record 11 steals in the season opener against Simpson, Long helped UAA to a 1-1 mark against D-I foes in the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout, making the all-tournament team ... originally from Port Angeles, Wash., and a former JC star at Peninsula College, Long was the 2023-24 CCAA Newcomer of the Year in both soccer and basketball at Cal Poly Humboldt, prior to transferring to UAA.
 
ALL THAT JAZZ: UAA's most experienced player, Sr. G Jazzpher Evans (four years at UAA/2020-21 Covid season at Quincy) has leant a steady hand thus far, tallying 13.1 ppg and 3.9 apg ... the Chicago native has scored double figures in eight of 11 games, surpassing 1,000 career points at the D-II level (now 1,036) on Nov. 30, and tallying a season-high 20 points (4-6 3FG) against Western Oregon ... she now ranks 28th on UAA's all-time scoring list at 838, needing 18 more to reach the top 25 ... in the early GNAC stats, Evans is 13th in scoring, 4th assists (3.9 apg) and A/T ratio (1.9), 4th in 3FG% (.455), 13th in 3FGs per game (1.5), 12th in steals (1.9) and 18th in FG% (.465).
 
FOREIGN BLOCKADE: The Seawolves have found success in the international route, getting major contributions from newcomers Ashlyn Rean (Rangiora, New Zealand) and Hedda Koehne (Lette, Germany) on the interior ... after joining the Seawolves as a redshirt in January, Rean has debuted this fall with four double-figure scoring efforts, including 16 points (7-12 FG) in the win over Cal Poly Humboldt and 14 points/10 rebounds in the win over Western Oregon ... a 6-2 forward, Rean holds GNAC ranks of 4th in FG% (.545), 12th in rebounding (6.0 rpg), 14th in steals (1.8 spg) and 16th in assists (2.5 apg) ... meanwhile, Koehne is posting 7.7 ppg and 4.3 rpg, along with a GNAC-best 1.9 blocks per game (23rd nationally) ... with five blocks against Jessup, Koehne joined Tori Hollingshead as one of just six Seawolves to swat that many against an NCAA Div. II opponent.
 
UNSUNG HEROES: The Seawolves have gotten low-key contributions from a pair of veterans thus far, with Sr. F Jaisa Gamble and Jr. G Kenzie Sirowich combining for 13.4 ppg and 10.0 rpg ... Gamble ranks 2nd in the GNAC and 12th nationally with 3.5 steals per game, with at least four steals in seven of 11 contests ... meanwhile, Sirowich has accounted for 6.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg, along with a solid 15/14 A/T ratio ... the Franklin Pierce transfer is 8th in the GNAC with 2.0 offensive boards per game and 17th in overall rebounding, while shooting .500 (25-50) from the field and 10 of 11 at the FT line.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 158-29 – including 72-15 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 229-25 (.902) in the last 17-plus seasons on their home courts, including 120-15 (.890) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... UAA is 36-2 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 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 ... the Seawolves have produced 17 20-win seasons in 47 years of program history prior to this season ... the Seawolves have won 76 of their last 82 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... UAA has 17 consecutive winning records and is seeking a 15th NCAA Tournament appearance in its last 18 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: Now in his 13th season at UAA and 14th overall as head coach in 2024-25, Ryan McCarthy stands No. 4 on the NCAA Div. II lists for both active winning percentage and all-time winning percentage at .801 (305-76) ... the winningest coach in UAA women's basketball history (289-63) 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 served in an interim capacity at his alma mater Northwest Nazarene in 2010-11, leading an undermanned Nighthawks squad to a 14-13 mark … McCarthy is assisted by 13th-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 (2nd season).
 
2024-25 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
TORI HOLLINGSHEAD
Preseason All-GNAC Team
EMILIA LONG
GNAC Player of the Week, Dec. 2-8
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Oct. 28-Nov. 3
ASHLYN REAN
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
 
UAA School Records Broken/Tied in 2024-25
TEAM
Game
Most Points – 139 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 133 vs LSU Shreveport, 1/12/95)
Most Points, 1st Half – 79 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 68 vs Crow College, 11/17/95)
Most Points, Either Half – 79 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 73 vs LSU Shreveport, 1/12/96)
Largest Victory Margin – 117 at Stanton (old record: 97 vs Crown College, 11/17/95)
Fewest Points Allowed, 2nd Half — 4 vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (old record: 9 vs Warner Pacific, 11/6/98)
Fewest Points Allowed, Either Half — 4 vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (ties record: 4 vs Lincoln Christian, 11/3/07)
Fewest Rebounds Allowed – 14 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 15 vs Colorado Christian, 12/3/05; & vs Kuyper College, 1/2/09)
Rebound Margin – +40 [54-14] at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: +37 vs Kuyper College, 1/2/09)
Most Points, 1st Qtr – 45 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 32 at Western Oregon, 1/5/17)
Most Points, 2nd Qtr — 34 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 31 vs Simpson, 11/1/24; at Hawaii Pacific, 12/14/21; & vs William Jewell, 10/30/15)
Most Points, 3rd Qtr – 37 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 33 vs Saint Martin's, 2/16/23)
Most Points, Any Qtr – 45 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 34 at NW Nazarene, 1/16/16)
Fewest Points Allowed, 1st Qtr: 2 vs Simpson, Nov. 2 (ties record set vs Winston-Salem State, 12/27/21)
Fewest Points Allowed, 3rd Qtr: 0 vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (ties record set vs MSU Billings, 1/18/20)
Fewest Points Allowed, Any Qtr: 0 vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (ties record set vs MSU Billings, 1/18/20; & vs New Hope Christian, 11/6/15)
Fewest Points Allowed, 4th Qtr: 4 vs Simpson, Nov. 1; and at Biola, Nov. 18 (ties record set vs Hawaii Hilo, 11/20/15)
Largest Differential, 1st Qtr: 42 (45-3) at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 23 vs MSU Billings, 1/18/20)
Largest Differential, 2nd Qtr: 30 (34-4) at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 27 vs New Hope Christian, 11/6/15)
Largest Differential, 3rd Qtr: 29 (37-8) at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old records: 27 vs Simpson, Nov. 1; and 25 vs New Hope Christian, 11/6/15)
Largest Differential, Any Qtr: 42 (45-3) at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old records: 27 vs Simpson, Nov. 1; & vs New Hope Christian, 11/6/15)
Largest Halftime Lead – 72 (79-7) at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 56 [68-12] vs Crown College, 11/17/95)
Largest Halftime Lead (conference game): 35 [48-13] vs Western Oregon, Dec. 7 (old record: 33, twice vs UAF)
INDIVIDUAL
Game
Most Steals — 11, Emilia Long vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (old record: 10, Stacie Cepin vs The Master's, 2/15/98)
Most Steals vs D-II Opponent – 9, Emilia Long vs Western Oregon, Dec. 7 (ties record set six times previously)
 
GNAC Records Broken/Tied in 2024-25
TEAM
Game
Victory Margin (conference game): 67 [108-41] vs Western Oregon, Dec. 7 (old record: at WOU 113, UAA 51, 12/6/03)
Most Points – 139 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 127 by Northwest Nazarene vs Walla Walla, 11/27/01)
FG Made – 60 at Stanton, Nov. 16 (old record: 58 by Northwest Nazarene vs Walla Walla, 11/27/01)
Fewest FG Attempts Allowed — 25 vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (old record: 28 by UAA at Chaminade, 12/30/09)
INDIVIDUAL
Game
Most Steals — 11, Emilia Long vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (old record: 10, Shantell Marquis, MSU Billings vs Northwest Nazarene, 1/26/08; and Marina Valles, Northwest Nazarene vs Colorado Mesa, 11/23/19)