ANCHORAGE (Jan. 30) – Freshman forward Ashlyn Rean had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead a balanced effort for the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team Thursday in a 65-56 victory over Central Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (18-3, 9-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) – ranked No. 5 in the latest D2CSC West Region poll – also got 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks from junior forward Hedda Koehne as they swept the regular-season series from the visitors from Ellensburg.

The Wildcats (14-5, 7-3) – No. 6 in the regional poll – got a game-high 21 points from guard Asher Cai, but were outrebounded 33-28, outshot .433 to .409, and were minus-8 in turnover differential.

"I loved our discipline on both ends of the court tonight, which led to crisp execution on the offensive end and some key stops defensively," said Ryan McCarthy, who captured his 299th victory as UAA's head coach. "Our toughness on the offensive boards and taking care of the basketball with only six turnovers were critical to our success as well."

Looking for their first regular-season sweep of the Wildcats since 2021-22, the Seawolves never trailed. UAA got a late first-quarter three from Elaina Mack to take a 21-15 lead, before senior guard Ja'Niah Alexander propelled a big second-quarter surge. The Georgia native had eight of her 10 points in the opening half to help forge a 43-26 advantage, and finished with eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and no turnovers in 24 minutes off the bench.

Despite maintaining a 49-32 lead with 6:46 left in the third quarter, the Seawolves could not shake the Wildcats, who sliced it to 53-41 on two baskets by Cai.

UAA saw its lead cut to eight points on three occasions in the fourth quarter, but Central could get no closer. Senior guard Jazzpher Evans hit a timely trey to push the advantage back to 58-47 at the 5:08 mark, and added two free throws with 2:57 left to essentially seal the win.

Evans finished with seven points and three steals, moving into UAA's career top 10 with 172 swipes.

All eight active Seawolves collected at least five points, with senior point guard Emilia Long tallying eight points and a season-high nine assists.

UAA also got a big effort on the boards from junior forward Kenzie Sirowich, who grabbed three of her eight rebounds on the offensive end.

The six team turnovers tied for sixth-fewest on the program's single-game list, while the Seawolves held advantages of 21-12 in second-chance points and 22-0 in bench points.

UAA continues a three-game homestand Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. tip against Northwest Nazarene at the Alaska Airlines Center. Find tickets and more at GoSeawolves.com.

SEAWOLF RECORD BOOK
Fewest Turnovers, Game
4 vs Central Washington, 3/2/19
5 vs William Jewell, 12/11/22
5 vs Central Washington, 1/12/23
5 at Alaska Fairbanks, 1/26/16
6 vs Central Washington, 1/30/25
6 vs Central Washington, 1/9/20
6 at Western Washington, 3/5/11
6 vs Lincoln Christian, 11/26/01
6 vs Regis, 11/17/12
6 at La Sierra, 11/6/22