THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Fri., Nov. 7 – 7 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Northwest (0-0) at Alaska Anchorage (0-0)
&
Sat., Nov. 8 – 3:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Northwest at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: All UAA home contests and GNAC road contests are streamed through the GNAC Network portal at Hudl – gnacnetwork.com/uaaseawolves ... fans can choose between a single event ($12), a 30-day subscription ($25) or a yearly subscription ($120).
 
LIVE STATS: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024-25 stats/notes)
G—Faith Mersburgh, 5-5, Jr. (6.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 5.4 apg at Southern Nevada)
G—Mylee Anderson, 5-8, Fr. (3-time all-state at Wasilla HS)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Jr. (11.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.0 spg, .377 3FG [77-204], .781 FT)
F—Mahaila Harrison, 6-0, So. (redshirted at D-I program VCU)
F—Lillee Duffin, 6-1, Jr. (10.3 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, .530 FG at Lane CC)
 
NEW ERA BEGINS: The Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team begins the Matt Thune coaching era this weekend with a pair of home games against NAIA opponent Northwest (Wash.) University at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the defending GNAC champions will feature a new-look squad, with just one letterwinner back from its 28-5/16-2 team that made the NCAA Tournament second round.
 
NORTHWEST GOES NORTHWEST: Located in Kirkland, Wash., opening foe Northwest University is an NAIA program that plays in the Cascade Collegiate Conference ... the Eagles are coming off a 7-21 record in 2024-25 and fell 99-43 in their exhibition debut at Div. I Eastern Washington on Monday ... these will be the third and fourth meetings between the programs, following 67-41 and 71-55 UAA home wins, Dec. 5-6, 1997.
 
2025-26 SEASON PREVIEW
Alaska Anchorage women's basketball enters a new era in 2025-26 as head coach Matt Thune takes the reins of one the nation's most successful NCAA Div. II programs.
                Thune inherits a program that won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, but returns just one player from that 28-5 squad – senior guard and preseason All-GNAC pick Elaina Mack.
                Entering her sixth and final year in Green & Gold, Mack is coming off an honorable mention all-league season that saw her average 11.5 points. The King Cove native ranked second in the league with 2.3 three-pointers per game and eighth in three-point percentage (.377) as a junior, and she starts her senior campaign on pace to join UAA's 1,000-point club.
                The 12 new Seawolves are comprised of seven transfers, four true freshmen and returning redshirt freshman Kiara Stone.
                Sophomore wing Mahaila Harrison should help to anchor the starting lineup, coming north after two seasons at Div. I program VCU and an impressive finish to her prep career at DME Sports Academy in Florida.
                A trio of junior college transfers – Lillee Duffin, Faith Mersburgh and Cheyann Ashworth – could also contribute heavily. Duffin was an All-NWAC performer at Lane (Ore.) Community College, averaging a double-double as a sophomore and helping the Titans to a 62-3 combined record in her two seasons.
                Originally from Hawaii, Mersburgh set single-season and career school records for assists at Southern Nevada last year, earning WBCA honorable mention All-America recognition with 5.4 apg. Ashworth is coming off an injury-shortened sophomore season, but the Aussie was an All-NWAC Freshman pick at Portland CC in 2023-24.
                Seattle-area product Kimberly Carrada Sanchez should provide another dangerous long-range option beside Mack. The Northwest University transfer led her team in scoring (13.6 ppg) as freshman and posted top-10 Cascade Collegiate Conference stats in steals, three-point and free-throw percentage.
                The true freshman class features two Alaskans coming off legendary prep careers, along with international guards Brooke Leo (England) and Alba Sanz (Spain). Former Wasilla star Mylee Anderson is expected to see major minutes in the backcourt after piloting the Warriors to a state runner-up finish last spring, while fellow guard Jennifer Nash comes south from Tikigaq, where she was a three-time ASAA 2A Player of the Year.
                The final pair of transfers – guards Jaela Reid and Taylor Searcey – will join the Seawolves at the semester break.
 
 MACK ATTACK: Entering her sixth and final year with the program, Sr. G Elaina Mack has developed into an all-around scoring threat and a virtual coach on the court for the Seawolves this year ... the team captain was named last month to the All-GNAC Preseason Team, coming off an honorable mention All-GNAC season as a junior ... in 2024-25, Mack posted double figures in 19 of 33 games, finishing with league ranks of 20th in scoring (11.5 ppg), 2nd in 3FGs per game (2.3) and 8th in 3FG% (.377), knocking down at least one trey in 28 of 33 games ... the King Cove native has grabbed at least four rebounds in 12 games and held a 1.4 A/T ratio; she committed zero turnovers in 15 of the last 29 games and just 29 all year, posting the team's fewest per 40 minutes played (1.3) ...  Mack begins her senior season with UAA career ranks of 5th in 3FGs per game (1.89), 8th in 3FGs made, 15th in 3FG% (.361) and 41st in scoring (694 pts).
 
SINGING A NEW THUNE: Indiana native Matt Thune (pronounced 'TUNE') begins his head coaching career after assistant stints at five NCAA Div. I programs, helping to spark major turnarounds during stops at Utah Tech, Eastern Kentucky and Weber State ... at Utah Tech, Thune was promoted to associate head coach in 2023-24 after helping the Trailblazers to a nine-win improvement the previous year ... Utah Tech's 19-12 record in 2022-23 marked its most wins in 12 years, achieving the first postseason berth and victory in its Div. I era ... Thune joined Utah Tech's staff following a three-year stint at Eastern Kentucky (2019-22), including two seasons as the program's associate head coach ... at EKU he assisted in rebuilding a program that had not won a Division I contest the year prior to his arrival, helping the Colonels to the fourth-best turnaround in D-I his first year, and a postseason berth in 2022 ... Thune spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Weber State from 2015-18, helping the Wildcats to achieve the most wins in program history (23) and a runner-up finish in the postseason WBI tournament in 2016 ... he got his coaching start on Jeff Walz's staff at Louisville from 2012-15, assisting in the Cardinals taking 89 of a possible 110 contests ... the Cards won at least 25 games each season, appearing in three Sweet 16s, two Elite 8s and finishing national runner-up in 2013 ... the Indianapolis native graduated from Indiana University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in management, and earned a master's degree in sports administration from Louisville in 2014 ... Thune is assisted by Jaelen Tatum (1st season) and former Bartlett High star Mia 'Uhila (1st season.)
 
GNAC DOUBLE SECURED: UAA extended its league record (men's or women's) to seven GNAC Tournament titles and captured the program's sixth regular-season/tourney 'double' with wins over Western Washington and Saint Martin's last March in Lacey, Wash. ... in the first contest, All-Tourney selection Emilia Long had 15 points, 8 assists, 3 steals and 5 rebounds, while Tourney MVP Tori Hollingshead recorded 13 points (6-11 FG), 8 rebounds and 3 steals in a 67-38 win over defending champ and 4-seed WWU ... in the title game, Hollingshead had 18 points and tied her career high with 15 rebounds to fend off 6-seed SMU in front of a raucous home crowd, 75-59 ... Fr. F Ashlyn Rean had 12 points (5-6), while Jr. G Elaina Mack  had nine points (2-5 3FG).
 
GNAC TOURNEY HISTORY: The Seawolves have never missed a GNAC Tournament, capturing seven of the first 14 titles (2011, '12, '15, '16, '17, '20, '25) ... UAA has an 18-7 record in GNAC tourney games, going 3-3 in the quarterfinals, 8-3 in the semifinals and 7-1 in the finals.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves finished No. 17 in the 2025-26 WBCA Top 25 poll, marking the seventh top-20 finish under Ryan McCarthy, who departed for Div. I Fresno State in April ... UAA placed No. 18 in the final D2CSC top 25 poll ... the Seawolves led the 2025-26 NCAA Div. II national stats in turnover margin (+11.1), along with top-5 ranks in scoring margin (2nd, +28.1), rebound margin (2nd, +12.3), scoring defense (3rd, 50.9), steals per game (3rd, 16.5), A/T ratio (4th, 1.30) and assists per game (5th, 18.1) ... UAA led the GNAC stats in 15 categories.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 174-31 – including 80-17 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 236-25 (.904) in the last 18 seasons on their home courts, including 127-15 (.894) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... UAA's run of six straight GNAC regular-season titles (2015-20) 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 18 20-win seasons in 47 full years of program history ... the Seawolves have won 77 of their last 84 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents, including a 36-2 mark at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA has earned 18 consecutive winning records and made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in its last 18 full seasons ... the Seawolves have never failed to qualify for the GNAC Tournament, winning seven of the 14 titles since the event started in 2011.
 
SEAWOLF NCAA HISTORY: The Seawolves earned their 21st overall NCAA Tournament qualification ('86, '88, '89, '92, '94, '00, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '22, '25) last year ... UAA stands 27-18 all-time in NCAA games after beating MSU Billings and falling to CSU Dominguez Hills in 2025 ... UAA was the No. 2 seed and ranked 4th nationally when the 2020 tournament was canceled due to Covid ... UAA is 21-10 in West Region play since 2007, suffering five of those losses to No. 1 seeds (and eventual regional champions) on their home courts (Cal Poly Pomona '11 & '14; Seattle Pacific '10; UCSD '07; CSUDH '25) … the Seawolves have won four regional titles (2008, 2009, 2012, 2016) ... UAA made its first appearance in the NCAA Div. II national title game in 2016 (L, 73-78 vs Lubbock Christian) after bowing out in the national semifinals in 2008 and 2009 ... UAA is 13-7 in NCAA Tournament opening-round games, 7-9 in the Round of 32 and 4-3 in the Sweet 16 (regional finals, last appearance 2019).
 
2025-26 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
ELAINA MACK
Preseason All-GNAC Team