HONOLULU (Dec. 20) – Freshman forward Ashlyn Rean scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds Friday, propelling the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team to a 68-37 victory over Daemen in the Hoops In Hawaii Classic at the Shark Tank.

The Seawolves (11-2) and also got 16 points, four assists and five steals from senior point guard Emilia Long as they outrebounded the Buffalo, N.Y., club 44-29 and forced 23 turnovers.

The Wildcats (8-4) – who entered with an eight-game winning streak and two of its losses against nationally ranked teams – were led by 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from forward Ne'Vaeh Buntley. The rest of her teammates made just 6 of 31 from the floor, though, including 0 of 10 from long range.

"I thought we responded really well against an NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent today," said UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy, whose squad's six-game win streak was snapped 54-51 by Hawaii Pacific on Thursday. "We were consistent with our execution and our defensive effort was elite. We're happy to head into the break on a high note."

Featuring two teams unbeaten in their respective conferences and top-15 in the NCAA Div. II scoring defense stats, the Seawolves imposed their will early. UAA claimed a 15-5 edge when Hedda Koehne fed Rean for an inside basket, and turned up the pressure in the second quarter.

After a three-point play by Buntley made it 21-12 at the 6:25 mark, the East Coast Conference club could not score the rest of the half. Meanwhile, the Seawolves got four points apiece from Rean and junior wing Kenzie Sirowich during a 14-0 run that put things out of reach.

Rean, from Rangiora, New Zealand, shot 8 of 14 from the floor and 2 of 2 at the foul stripe, along with five offensive rebounds and two of UAA's 17 steals.

Junior guard Elaina Mack finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Ja'Niah Alexander snagged a season-high seven rebounds and matched her career high with five steals.

At 2-0 in league play, the Seawolves return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference action for the remainder of the season, starting a three-game road swing Jan. 2 against Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho.