THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thursday, Dec. 5 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Saint Martin's (6-1, 0-0 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (8-1, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Dec. 7 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Western Oregon (2-4, 0-0 GNAC [Thu. @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
LIVE VIDEO: Both games free at youtube.com/UAASeawolves
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024-25 stats)
G—Emilia Long, 5-9, Sr. (12.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.4 apg, 4.9 spg, .475 FG)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Jr. (16.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.7 spg, .422 FG, .418 3FG)
F—Jaisa Gamble, 6-0, Sr. (7.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.0 spg, .475 FG, .769 FT)
F—Ashlyn Rean, 6-2, Fr. (7.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.1 spg, .537 FG)
C—Tori Hollingshead, 6-3, Sr. (11.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.1 bpg, .554 FG, .600 FT)
 
GNAC TIME: Riding a four-game winning streak, the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team plays its annual early Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers this week, hosting Saint Martin's (Thur., 5:15 pm) and Western Oregon (Sat., 7:30 pm) at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
KNOW THE FOES: Saint Martin's comes north with a 5-1 mark against NCAA Div. II competition, including games against common foes Biola (W, 53-45) and Point Loma (L, 59-46) ... the Saints, from Lacey, Wash., are led by Jada Travis (12.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 872 FT) and Kiana Rios (12.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, .955 FT) ... Western Oregon heads into Thursday's matchup at UAF with a four-game losing skid and an 0-3 mark against D-II foes ... the Wolves, from Monmouth, Ore., are led by Bella Pedrojetti (15.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.3 apg) and Natalie Brown (11.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, .520 FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SMU: UAA leads 37-16 overall, 20-6 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 3
Last: UAA 64-50 (2/22/24 at SMU)
Notes: UAA has won 19 of the last 20 meetings, with SMU's win coming 66-65, Jan. 21, 2023 in Lacey ... UAA leads 8-0 at the Alaska Airlines Center since its opening in 2014-15 ... UAA leads 30-13 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 18-4 under Ryan McCarthy … teams have played at least once per season since 1997-98.
 
vs WOU: UAA leads 41-9 overall, 21-6 in Anchorage
Streak: WOU 1
Last: WOU 73-53 (1/25/24 at UAA)
Notes: Teams played only once last year due to WOU canceling its season with three weeks to play ... WOU's 73-53 upset in Anchorage 11 months ago snapped UAA's 37-game winning streak – the Seawolves' longest against any opponent in any sport ... UAA had also won 18 straight in Anchorage prior to that loss, and is now 8-1 against WOU at the Alaska Airlines Center) ... UAA leads 37-6 in GNAC matchups (since 2001-02, not including forfeits) and 20-1 under head coach Ryan McCarthy ... teams have played each season since 1998-99 ... first meetings were in 1979-80.
 
HARDROCKERS BLASTED: After two D-I exhibition opponents in the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout, UAA returned to its D-II regular-season schedule last week, blowing out South Dakota Mines 80-41 and 83-44 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... in the first game, UAA got 16 points (6-11 FG, 4-5 FT), 5 assists and 3 steals from Sr. G Jazzpher Evans and 14 points (7-12 FG), 7 rebounds from Sr. C Tori Hollingshead ... the Seawolves outscored the Hardrockers 23-2 in the second quarter, breaking the program record for largest second-quarter margin against a D-II foe ... on Saturday, Hollingshead and Jr. G Elaina Mack tallied 17 points apiece, while Sr. PG Emilia Long had 16 points, 7 assists and 4 steals ... Evans added 16 points and 6 rebounds as UAA again used a dominant second quarter, outscoring the RMAC club 22-5 to pull away.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the GNAC stats in 13 categories, including scoring defense (40.8), rebound margin (+19.6), turnover margin (+18.9) and steals per game (20.1) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA is No. 1 in scoring offense (89.3), scoring margin (+48.6), turnover margin and A/T ratio (1.64), along with top-10 ranks in scoring defense (3rd), steals (3rd), rebound margin (3rd), offensive rebounding (4th, 21.1), TO forced (6th, 30.8), assists (6th, 19.4), bench points per game (7th, 37.2) and fewest TO per game (9th, 11.9) ... 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).
 
MACK ATTACK: Jr. G Elaina Mack has started the year at a blazing pace, double figures in eight of nine games and ranking 4th in the GNAC with 16.6 ppg and leading the league with 3.7 3FGs per game (7th nationally) ... the King Cove native holds additional GNAC ranks in 3FG% (8th, .418) and steals (20th, 1.7), along with an impressive 4.4 rebounds per game ... boosted by seven treys in the Nov. 2 win over Simpson, Mack is 5th on UAA's career list for 3FGs per game at 1.92, along with career ranks of 11th in 3FGs made (117, needs eight to move into top 10) and 3FG% (14th, .364).
 
'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 seven of nine games and at least four rebounds in all but one contest so far ... the Orem, Utah, native and former Umpqua (Ore.) CC transfer holds GNAC ranks of 11th in rebounding (6.0 rpg), 5th in FG% (.554), 6th in blocks (1.1) and 11th in steals (1.9), while her average of 4.1 offensive rebounds lead the league by 1.3 per game ... Hollingshead's 62 career blocks already rank 10th all-time at UAA, while her career numbers of 1.6 bpg and .554 FG% are both on pace for top-3 program marks.
 
LONG GAME: The Seawolves have new floor general this year in Sr. G Emilia Long, who took over the NCAA Div. II lead last with 4.9 steals per game ... in the GNAC stats, Long is also 2nd in assists (4.4 apg), 14th in scoring (12.4 ppg) and 3rd in A/T ratio (3.0), 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 12.8 ppg and 3.5 apg ... the Chicago native has scored double figures in the last five games (15.6 ppg), surpassing 1,000 career points at the D-II level (1,007) with 16 against South Dakota Mines on Saturday ... she now ranks 32nd on UAA's all-time scoring list at 809, needing 12 more to reach the top 30 ... in the early GNAC stats, Evans is 12th in scoring (12.8 ppg), 8th in assists (3.5 apg), 7th in A/T ratio (1.6), 16th in FG% (.480) and 9th in 3FG% (.417).
 
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 three double-figure scoring efforts, including 16 points (7-12 FG) in the win over Cal Poly Humboldt ... a 6-2 forward, Rean holds GNAC ranks of 8th in FG% (.537), 12th in rebounding (5.8 rpg), 9th in steals (2.1 spg) and 15th in assists (2.7 apg) ... meanwhile, Koehne is posting 7.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg, along with a GNAC-best 2.0 blocks per game (22nd 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 13.9 ppg and 9.1 rpg ... Gamble ranks 3rd in the GNAC and 28th nationally with 3.0 steals per game, making a career-high six swipes in the first South Dakota Mines game and five against both Cal Poly Humboldt and Point Loma ... meanwhile, Sirowich has accounted for 6.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg, along with a solid 11/10 A/T ratio ... the Franklin Pierce transfer is 13th in the GNAC with 1.9 offensive boards per game, while shooting .500 (21-42) from the field and 6 of 7 at the FT line.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 156-29 – including 72-15 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 227-25 (.901) in the last 17-plus seasons on their home courts, including 118-15 (.888) 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 .800 (303-76) ... 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
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)
INDIVIDUAL
Game
Most Steals — 11, Emilia Long vs Simpson, Nov. 1 (old record: 10, Stacie Cepin vs The Master's, 2/15/98)
 
GNAC Records Broken/Tied in 2024-25
TEAM
Game
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)