THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 15 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Northwest Nazarene (8-12, 5-8 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (14-7, 8-4 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 17 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Central Washington (15-10, 6-7 GNAC [Thu. @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: Both games free at youtube.com/uaaseawolves
LIVE STATS: goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Senya Rabouin, 5-5, Jr. (13.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.4 spg, .365 3FG, .758 FT)
G—Jazzpher Evans, 5-6, Jr. (10.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.4 spg, .415 FG)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, So. (7.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, .328 3FG, .750 FT)
F—Vishe' Rabb, 5-9, Sr. (8.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.8 spg, .762 FT)
F—Kate Robertson, 6-2, Jr. (5.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.0 spg, .408 FG, .852 FT)
 
PLAYOFF CHASE HEATS UP: Still alone in third place in the GNAC standings with six games remaining, the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team returns to the Alaska Airlines Center this week to face Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington ... the top six teams in the final GNAC standings qualify for the GNAC Tournament, Mar. 7-9 in Ellensburg, Wash., and the top eight teams in the region make the NCAA West Regional Championships.
 
THE SERIES...
vs NNU: UAA leads 32-18 overall, 19-4 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 79-63 (1/20/24 at NNU)
Notes: UAA has won seven of the last eight meetings, with NNU's lone victory coming in OT last year in Nampa ... the Seawolves home won seven straight in Anchorage since NNU became the first GNAC visitor ever to win at the Alaska Airlines Center on Jan. 1, 2015 ... UAA won 68-58 at home last year ... UAA leads 28-15 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 17-7 under head coach Ryan McCarthy, an NNU alum … series started in 2000-01 when both teams were in the PacWest Conference.
 
vs CWU: UAA leads 38-18 overall, 19-8 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 68-62 (1/19/24 at CWU)
Notes: CWU stopped an 8-game losing skid in Anchorage with last year's 71-47 win at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA won 19 straight from 2013-22 ... UAA leads 31-12 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 19-4 under head coach Ryan McCarthy … teams have played at least once per season since 1998-99 … teams played three times from 1979-81 and did not meet again until 1997.
 
KNOW THE FOES: Northwest Nazarene has lost four in a row to fall one game outside the bubble for GNAC Tournament qualification ... with five games remaining, the Nighthawks are led by Madeline Gebers (13.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .467 3FG, .909 FT) and Kendall Clark (12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .521 FG) ... Central Washington takes a 1-4 mark in its last five games into Thursday's contest at UAF, trying to stay on the right side of the bubble (currently tied for 5th) in the GNAC standings ... the Wildcats are led by Asher Cai (GNAC-best 20.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, .368 3FG, .875 FT) and Valerie 'Sunshine' Huerta (18.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 spg, .385 3FG, .826 FT).
 
SWEET SURVIVAL: The Seawolves managed to avoid the upset in their most recent outing, scoring the game's final four points in a 78-75 road victory over last-place Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday ... Jr. PG Senya Rabouin had 22 points, 3 steals and dished the game-winning assist to Tori Hollingshead with 43 seconds remaining as UAA beat UAF for the 31st time in the last 32 meetings ... Hollingshead had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks for her third double-double of the season, while Jr. G Mia Ross matched her GNAC scoring high with 9 points (4-10 FG) ... Jr. G Jazzpher Evans added 9 points (4-7 FG) and 5 rebounds, Jr. G Ja'Niah Alexander had 6 points (3-4 FG) and 2 steals, and Jr. G Kya Pearson dished 4 assists without a turnover, helping the visitors to a critical plus-12 turnover differential.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC in steals per game (13.9, 9th nationally), turnovers forced (22.4, 18th nationally), turnover margin (+5.1, 20th nationally), offensive rebounds per game (15.4, 20th nationally) and offensive rebounding percentage (.389), and rank top-3 in scoring defense (61.0), scoring margin (+11.0), FG% defense (.390), 3FG% defense (.302), rebounds per game (39.9) and rebound margin (+5.0) ... 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 playing her fourth collegiate season, Jr. G Jazzpher Evans is averaging a career-best 10.1 points per game this year, along with GNAC top-20 ranks in steals per game (17th, 1.4) and assists per game (18th, 2.4) ... 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 in January, and exploding for a UAA season-high 28 points in the road win over WWU ... the Arizona native already has six 20-plus scoring efforts to her credit, moving up in the GNAC stats to 11th in scoring (13.0 ppg), 2nd in assists (4.1 apg), 3rd in steals (2.4 spg), 11th in FT% (.758), 11th in 3FG% (.365), 8th in 3FGs per game (1.7) and 5th in A/T ratio (2.1) ... Rabouin's 10 assists Dec. 8 against Clarion were the first double-digit performance by a Seawolf since Nov. 2017, while she has recorded at least four steals on six occasions ... Jr. C Tori Hollingshead has made a major impact since transferring from Umpqua (Ore.) CC, ranking among the GNAC leaders in scoring (12th, 12.6 ppg), rebounding (9th, 7.0 rpg), blocks (2nd, 2.1 [18th nationally]), steals (6th, 1.8 spg) and FG% (4th, .547 [26th nationally]) ... the Orem, Utah, native leads UAA with three double-doubles, including an 18-point/12-rebound effort in the road win over CWU, and she earned all-tournament spots at both the GNAC/PacWest Crossover and the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout ... Hollingshead's 2.1 blocks per game are on pace for No. 5 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 (8th, 1.7 spg), Jr. F Jaisa Gamble (5th, 1.8 spg) and So. G Elaina Mack (6th, 2.0 3FG per game; 18th, .328 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 151-27 – including 71-15 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 276-60 (.821) at UAA and 290-73 (.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
ELAINA MACK
GNAC All-Academic Team
VISHE' RABB
GNAC All-Academic Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
SENYA RABOUIN
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 1-7
KATE ROBERTSON
GNAC All-Academic Team