THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thursday, Jan. 23 – 6:30 pm AST – Brougham Pavilion – Seattle, Wash.
#24/RV Alaska Anchorage (16-2, 7-0 GNAC) at Seattle Pacific (6-14, 0-7 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Jan. 25 – 2:15 pm AST – Alterowitz Gymnasium – Billings, Mont.
#24/RV Alaska Anchorage
at RV/#20 Montana State Billings (16-4, 5-2 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO: Thursday at youtube.com/watch?v=eTv8tLfybF0
                       Saturday at youtube.com/@msubsports/streams
LIVE STATS: Thursday at spufalcons.com/sidearmstats/wbball
                      Saturday at msubsports.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024-25 stats)
G—Emilia Long, 5-9, Sr. (13.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 4.6 spg, .474 FG, .745 FT)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Jr. (13.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg, .398 3FG, .824 FT)
F—Jaisa Gamble, 6-0, Sr. (6.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 2.8 spg, .474 FG, .762 FT)
F—Ashlyn Rean, 6-2, Fr. (8.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.0 spg, .504 FG, .541 FT)
C—Tori Hollingshead, 6-3, Sr. (12.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 1.8 spg, .511 FG, .618 FT)
 
FIRST-HALF FINALES: The UAA women's basketball team completes the first session of round-robin play in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season this week, facing Seattle Pacific and defending regular-season champion Montana State Billings in road contests Thursday (6:30 pm AST) and Saturday (2:15 pm AST) ... the Seawolves are trying to maintain or extend a two-game lead in the GNAC standings over MSUB, Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene ... Saturday's game will feature two ranked teams, albeit in different polls – UAA at No. 24 in the D2CSC media poll and MSUB at No. 20 in the WBCA coaches' poll.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: In the midst of a four-game homestand, Seattle Pacific is looking to snap a 5-game losing skid and earn its first GNAC victory this week ... the Falcons are led by Hunter Beirne (13.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, .354 3FG, .763 FT) and Layne Kearns (10.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.3 spg, .848 FT) ... ranked as high as No. 3 nationally this season, Montana State Billings is looking to rebound from its first back-to-back regular-season losses since Dec. 2022, falling 75-69 at Northwest Nazarene and 48-45 at Central Washington last week ... picked second in the GNAC preseason poll, the Yellowjackets are led by Dyauni Boyce (15.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, .381 3FG, .835 FT) and Aspen Giese (13.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.0 spg, .404 3FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SPU: UAA leads 40-38 overall, trails 23-14 in Seattle
Last: SFU 79-57 (3/7/24 at GNAC Tour. quarterfinal at CWU)
Streak: UAA 2
Notes: Teams have played in the last two GNAC Tournament quarterfinal rounds, splitting those games ... UAA had won six straight in Seattle prior to last season's 62-59 setback ... UAA leads 22-20 in GNAC regular-season meetings, after SPU took the first 11 encounters … UAA leads 21-4 under head coach Ryan McCarthy ... SPU is UAA's 2nd-most common opponent, squaring off at least once per season (excluding 2020-21) since 1990-91 … series started in 1979-80.
 
vs MSUB: UAA leads 40-31 overall; tied 17-17 in Billings
Last: UAA 84-72, OT (3/2/24 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 1
Notes: MSUB has won four of six since the pandemic ... UAA ... the road team has won four of the last seven meetings ... UAA leads 26-6 in GNAC regular-season meetings
and 17-7 under Ryan McCarthy ... MSUB is UAA's third-most common opponent (behind UAF and SPU), despite splitting into different leagues from 2002-07 … teams played twice yearly from 1984-85 to 2000-01 as members of the PacWest and Continental Divide conferences.
 
EIGHT IS ENOUGH: Despite being down to eight healthy players, the Seawolves held home court and stretched their winning streak to six with victories over Simon Fraser (78-63) and Western Washington (67-59) last week at the Alaska Airlines Center ... on Thursday, Sr. C Tori Hollingshead collected 21 points (9-15 FG), 10 rebounds and 4 steals, while Sr. G Jazzpher Evans helped repel a late surge by the Red Leafs with 17 points (7-13 FG, 2-4 3FG), 5 assists and 3 steals ... Fr. F Ashlyn Rean had 16 points (7-11 FG), 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and Sr. PG Emilia Long had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals as UAA outshot the Canadians .492 to .365 ... on Saturday, Hollingshead had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, scoring three baskets in the final 3:31 to cement a victory over the Vikings and earn GNAC Player of the Week honors ... Rean notched her second double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, along with 5 steals, while Sr. G Ja'Niah Alexander matched her career high with 11 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 3FG) ... UAA outrebounded the visitors 43-21 and held a 16-0 edge in bench points.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA finally cracked one of the two NCAA Div. II top-25 polls this week, premiering at No. 24 in the D2CSC media poll ... for the third week in a row, the Seawolves are on the brink of the WBCA poll, sitting just one vote outside No. 25 ... UAA leads the NCAA Div. II national stats in scoring margin (+35.1) and turnover margin (+13.5), along with top-10 ranks in scoring defense (2nd, 46.4), steals per game (2nd, 18.7), rebound margin (2nd, +15.1), offensive rebounding (5th, 18.5), TO forced (5th, 27.9), A/T ratio (10th, 1.25), scoring offense (9th, 81.4), FG% defense (10th, .343) and rebounds per game (6th, 44.4), and top-30 ranks in five additional categories ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in 14 categories and rank second in FG% (.447), 3FG% defense (.271) and blocks (4.3 bpg) ... the 108-41 win over Western Oregon 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 ... UAA set or tied nine team records in its two games against Simpson to open the season, including fewest points allowed in a half (4) and a quarter (0) ... the one point allowed in the second quarter at UAF was the fewest against any D-II opponent on the road ... 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 with double figures in 14 of 18 games, ranking 10th in the GNAC with 13.7 ppg and 6th nationally with 2.9 3FGs per game (on pace for program single-season record) ... the King Cove native has grabbed at least four rebounds in 11 games and holds a 1.5 A/T ratio; she has committed zero turnovers in nine of the last 14 games and just 18 all year, despite playing 61 more minutes than her next-closest teammate ... boosted by seven treys in the Nov. 2 win over Simpson, Mack is 4th on UAA's career list for 3FGs per game at 1.96, along with career ranks of 9th in 3FGs made (137) and 3FG% (14th, .365).
 
'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 14 of 18 games and a team-high four double-doubles, capturing GNAC Player of the Week honors for her efforts against SFU and WWU ... the Orem, Utah, native and former Umpqua (Ore.) CC transfer holds GNAC ranks of 16th in scoring (12.8 ppg), 8th in rebounding (6.4 rpg), 3rd in FG% (.511), 4th in blocks (1.2) and 12th in steals (1.8), while her 3.8 offensive rebounds per game lead the league ... Hollingshead's 73 career blocks already rank 8th all-time at UAA, while her career numbers of 1.6 bpg and .527 FG% are both on pace for top-6 program marks.
 
LONG GAME: The Seawolves have a new floor general this year in Sr. G Emilia Long, who ranks No. 2 in NCAA Div. II lead 4.6 steals per game, on pace to crush UAA's single-season record ... a two-time GNAC Player of the Week, Long holds league ranks of 1st in steals, 3rd in assists (4.3 apg) and A/T ratio (1.7), 13th in scoring (13.1 ppg) and 9th in FG% (.474), accounting for at least seven points in 17 of 18 games and multiple steals in all but one contest ... in addition to her 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 10.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 3.4 apg ... the Chicago native has scored double figures in 10 games this year, surpassing 1,000 career points at the D-II level (now 1,088) on Nov. 30, and tallying a season-high 20 points (4-6 3FG) against Western Oregon ... she ranks 23rd on UAA's all-time scoring list at 890, needing 31 more to reach the top 20 ... in the GNAC stats, Evans is 20th in scoring, 12th assists, 6th in A/T ratio (1.4), 12th in 3FG% (.382) and 13th in steals (1.8).
 
UNSUNG HEROES: The Seawolves have gotten low-key contributions from a trio of veterans, with Sr. F Jaisa Gamble, Jr. G Kenzie Sirowich and Sr. G Ja'Niah Alexander combining for 15.1 ppg, 12.7 rpg and 5.3 spg ... Gamble ranks 3rd in the GNAC and 27th nationally with 2.8 steals per game, recording six games with five or six swipes ... the Bay Area native had her best back-to-back offensive performances in GNAC games to begin January, tallying 17 points (8-10 FG) in the wins over NNU and CWU ... meanwhile, Sirowich has accounted for 5.3 ppg on .486 FG% shooting and 5.1 rpg, along with untold contributions on defense ... the Franklin Pierce transfer is also shooting a solid .350 (7-20) from long range and a team-best .857 (18-21) at the FT line, snagging 12 rebounds in the win at UAF and scoring 7 points in the win at CWU ... Alexander provides another huge lift for UAA's highly ranked defense, sitting just outside the GNAC top 20 with 1.6 steals per game ... the Georgia native scored career-high 11 points in wins over against Biola and Western Washington, had 7 rebounds and 5 steals against Daemen, and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds at UAF ... Alexander has also committed just 14 turnovers in 296 minutes – the second-lowest rate on the team.
 
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 seven double-figure scoring efforts and three double-figure rebounding games, 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 5th in FG% (.504), 7th in rebounding (6.4 rpg), 7th in steals (2.0 spg) and 14th in blocks (0.8 bpg) ... meanwhile, Koehne is posting 6.3 ppg and 4.0 rpg, along with a GNAC-best 1.6 blocks per game ... 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.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 163-29 – including 75-15 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 231-25 (.903) in the last 17-plus seasons on their home courts, including 122-15 (.892) 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 77 of their last 84 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... UAA has already clinched its program's 18th consecutive winning record 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 (311-77) ... the winningest coach in UAA women's basketball history (297-64) 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
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 13-19
Hoops In Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team
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
Hoops In Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team
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
Highest FG% (min. 8 att.): 1.000 [8-8], Tori Hollingshead at Northwest Nazarene, 1/2/25 (ties record by Hanna Johansson at Northwest Nazarene, 12/31/11)
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)