ANCHORAGE (Nov. 21) – Junior center Lillie Duffin had 19 points and 11 rebounds, but the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team could not complete a second-half comeback Friday, falling 77-60 to St. Thomas in the semifinals of the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The host Seawolves – who counted the game as an exhibition – also got 11 points apiece from forward Mahaila Harrison and guard Elaina Mack as they were outshot .473 to .362 and outrebounded 36-30 by their NCAA Div. I opponent.

The Tommies (1-4) were led by 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from guard Faith Feuerbach, while forward Alyssa Sand had 13 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the visitors from St. Paul, Minn. St. Thomas advances to Saturday's 7:30 pm championship game against UC Irvine, while UAA plays Bowling Green at 5:15 pm for third place.

"I thought it took us a little while to get comfortable against a bigger opponent size-wise, but once we settled in we started to show our true potential," said UAA head coach Matt Thune, whose team is ranked No. 22 in the WBCA NCAA Div. II Top 25 coaches' poll. "I'm proud of the guts we showed with a nice comeback, and we definitely gained some valuable experience, even in a losing effort."

After grabbing an early 4-2 lead, the Seawolves succumbed to a 10-0 run by the Tommies, who would lead by at least two possessions the rest of the way.

St. Thomas took a 37-21 halftime lead and pushed its largest advantage to 39-21 to begin the second half. Duffin started to get the Seawolves rolling offensively, however, nailing a corner three to slice it to 41-32 midway through the third quarter, and Harrison made it 47-41 with a pair of free throws at the 1:43 mark of the third.

UAA stayed within 56-50 when Mack pulled up for a transition three-pointer with 6:34 left in the fourth quarter, but the Tommies responded with an 8-0 run, keyed by two free throws and a trey from guard Laura Hauge.

Coming off a school-record-tying 24 rebounds in Tuesday's win over fellow D-II program Hawaii-Hilo, Duffin shot 7 of 11 from the floor and nabbed a pair of steals, logging all 40 minutes.

Mack also went the distance for 40, making 3 of 8 treys and grabbing four rebounds. Harrison finished with four assists, while freshman guard Mylee Anderson chipped in nine points, five assists and two steals.

Feuerbach finished 7 of 14 from long range for St. Thomas, which came just two three-pointers shy of tying the Shootout record, making 16 of 36 as a team.

Find tickets and live links for Saturday's Shootout contests at GoSeawolves.com.

Shootout Game 1: UC Irvine 75, Bowling Green 50
Lauryn Madsen led five UC Irvine players in double figures with 15 points, and forward Jada Wynn collected 14 points, 13 rebounds and six to propel the Anteaters (3-2) into the title game with a victory over Bowling Green (1-4).

UCI also got 13 points and six rebounds from reserve forward Nohe'alani Stores as the Big West Conference club controlled action from the outset.

The Falcons were led by 18 points and three assists from guard Paige Kohler.