THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thursday, Feb. 20 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
#16/23 Montana State Billings (23-4, 12-2 GNAC) at #19/16 Alaska Anchorage (22-3, 13-1 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Feb. 22 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Seattle Pacific (7-20, 1-13 GNAC [Thu. @UAF]) at #20/16 Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: Both games free at youtube.com/uaaseawolves
LIVE STATS: goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
PROMOTIONS: Saturday's doubleheader is Alumni Night, presented by Premera ... UAA alumni get in free, plus up to three half-price ($5) tickets with code ALUMNI.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024-25 stats)
G—Emilia Long, 5-9, Sr. (12.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.0 apg, 4.4 spg, .457 FG, .368 3FG, .742 FT)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Jr. (12.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 spg, .399 3FG, .810 FT)
F—Jaisa Gamble, 6-0, Jr. (6.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.5 spg, .496 FG, .759 FT)
F—Ashlyn Rean, 6-2, Fr. (10.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.2 spg, .500 FG, .567 FT)
C—Tori Hollingshead, 6-3, Sr. (13.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 2.0 spg, .515 FG, .648 FT)
 
TITLE ON THE LINE: The UAA women's basketball team concludes its home season this week with a pair of critical games in the quest for its first GNAC title since 2019-20 ... Thursday's contest sets up as the 'game of the year' in GNAC play, featuring two nationally ranked teams in UAA and MSU Billings ... UAA leads MSUB by one game in the league standings despite suffering its only league setback to the Yellowjackets ... a UAA win gives the Seawolves a two-game lead with three games remaining, while an MSUB win forges a tie and gives the Yellowjackets the tiebreaker for top seed at the GNAC Tournament ... the Seawolves enter the week needing just one more win or one Central Washington loss to clinch one of the two GNAC Tourney quarterfinal byes ... the Seawolves will honor their four outgoing seniors Saturday in pregame ceremonies before facing traditional rival Seattle Pacific.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Ranked No. 16 in the latest WBCA top-25 poll and No. 23 in the D2CSC poll, Montana State Billings enters with a seven-game win streak, following its lone league losses Jan. 16 at NNU (75-69) and Jan. 18 at CWU (48-45) ... seeking their second straight GNAC regular-season title, the Yellowjackets are led by Dyauni Boyce (15.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.4 spg, .371 3FG, .839 FT) and Aspen Giese (13.1 ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 spg, .405 3FG) ... Seattle Pacific snapped a 10-game losing skid with last week's 93-70 home win over Northwest Nazarene ... looking to snap a 9th-place tie and avenge an earlier loss to Seattle Pacific on Thursday, the Falcons are led by Hunter Beirne (14.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.8 apg, .778 FT) and Layne Kearns (10.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, .846 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs MSUB: UAA leads 40-31 overall, 22-13 in Anchorage
Last: MSUB 70-55 (1/25/25 at MSUB)
Streak: UAA 1
Notes: Teams have split the last four meetings ... UAA won 84-72 in overtime last year in Anchorage, improving to 7-2 against MSUB at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA leads 26-7 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 17-8 under Ryan McCarthy ... MSUB is UAA's third-most common opponent (behind UAF and SPU), despite splitting into diff erent leagues from 2002-07 … teams played twice yearly from 1984-85 to 2000-01 as members of the PacWest and Continental Divide conferences.
 
vs SPU: UAA leads 41-38 overall, 24-14 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 90-54 (1/23/25 at SPU)
Streak: UAA 3
Notes: UAA won 51-39 last season in Anchorage ... UAA leads 8-1 at the Alaska Airlines Center, with SPU's lone win coming in the 2018 GNAC Tournament semifinals ... UAA leads 23-20 in GNAC regular-season meetings, after SPU took the first 11 encounters … UAA leads 22-4 under head coach Ryan McCarthy ... SPU is UAA's second-most common opponent, squaring off at least once per season (excluding 2020-21) since 1990-91 … series started in 1979-80.
 
BORDER BLASTINGS: The Seawolves ran their win streak to five and remained atop the GNAC standings with a pair of impressive victories last week on the U.S./Canada border trip, beating Western Washington 72-40 and Simon Fraser 80-63 ... on Thursday, Sr. C Tori Hollingshead delivered 20 points (6-11 FG, 8-9 FT), 10 rebounds and 3 blocks as UAA earned its largest margin and fewest points ever allowed in 62 meetings against WWU ... Sr. PG Emilia Long had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, while Sr. G Jazzpher Evans notched 14 points and 3 assists to aid a 22-1 second-quarter run ... on Saturday, Fr. F Ashlyn Rean had 19 points and 9 rebounds to help UAA dominate 53-25 on the boards and 58-28 in paint points against the Red Leafs ... Hollingshead earned her third straight double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks, while Jr. F Jaisa Gamble scored a GNAC career-best 13 points (6-9 FG), along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA  moved up to No. 19 in this week's WBCA top-25 poll, while remaining No. 16 in the D2CSC top-25 poll for the second week in a row ... UAA leads the NCAA Div. II national stats in steals per game (17.9) and turnover margin (+12.4), along with top-15 ranks in scoring defense (2nd, 48.6), scoring margin (2nd, +31.7), rebound margin (2nd, +13.6), assists per game (4th, 18.3), A/T ratio (5th, 1.30), offensive rebounding (5th, 17.9), TO forced (7th, 26.6), scoring offense (9th, 80.3), blocks per game (9th, 4.7) and rebounds per game (9th, 42.9) and FG% defense (14th, .349) ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in 15 categories and rank top-3 in three others ... 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: Now in her fifth year with the program, Sr. G Elaina Mack has emerged as UAA's second-leading scorer, posting  double figures in 17 of 25 games and ranking 15th in the GNAC with 12.5 ppg ... she is also 24th nationally and No. 2 in the GNAC with 2.6 3FGs per game, on pace to threaten the program single-season record ... the King Cove native has grabbed at least four rebounds in 12 games and holds a 1.4 A/T ratio; she has committed zero turnovers in 12 of the last 21 games and just 23 all year (second-fewest on the team), despite playing 20 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 1.94, along with career ranks of t-8th in 3FGs made (149) and 13th in 3FG% (.368).
 
'HEAD OF THE CLASS: UAA's lone representative on the 2024-25 Preseason All-GNAC Team, Sr. C Tori Hollingshead has accounted for double-figure scoring in 18 of her 23 games and a team-high seven double-doubles, capturing GNAC Player of the Week honors for her efforts at home against SFU and WWU ... the Orem, Utah, native and former Umpqua (Ore.) CC transfer holds GNAC ranks of 13th in scoring (13.2 ppg), 6th in rebounding (6.9 rpg), 4th in FG% (.515), t-1st in blocks (1.5) and 10th in steals (2.0), while her 4.0 offensive rebounds per game lead the league by a margin of 1.2 ... Hollingshead's 82 career blocks are No. 7 all-time at UAA, while her career numbers of 1.7 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 leads NCAA Div. II with 4.4 steals per game, on pace to crush the UAA and GNAC single-season records; last week, Long became the UAA and GNAC record holder in total steals for a season, surpassing Kiki Robertson's 109 in 2016-17 ... a two-time GNAC Player of the Week, Long holds league ranks of 1st in steals and assists (5.0 apg), 2nd in A/T ratio (2.0), 15th in scoring (12.5 ppg) and 14th in FG% (.457), accounting for at least seven points in 24 of 25 games and multiple steals in all but two contests ... 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 11.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.1 apg and 1.8 spg ... the Chicago native has scored double figures in 15 games this year, including 15-plus on eight occasions, surpassing 1,000 career points at the D-II level (now 1,180) on Nov. 30 ... she ranks 18th on UAA's all-time scoring list with 982 points, giving her a solid shot at becoming to 18th Seawolf to reach 1,000; she is also No. 10 on UAA's career steals list with 174 and No. 12 in assists with 247 ... in the GNAC stats, Evans is 19th in scoring, 15th in steals, 13th in assists, 6th in A/T ratio (1.5), 14th in 3FG% (.364) and 19th in 3FGs per game (1.3).
 
QUITE A GAMBLE: The Seawolves got great news this week, learning that starting forward F Jaisa Gamble has reverted to junior eligibility thanks to an NCAA waiver ... Gamble ranks 3rd in the GNAC and 41st nationally with 2.5 steals per game, recording six games with five or six swipes ... the Bay Area native scored double figures in two of the last four games, and shot 16 of 24 over the last five games to raise her FG% to .496 ... Gamble's 13 points at SFU on Saturday were her most in a GNAC game, while her five assists against UAF were a career best.
 
ALEXANDER THE GREAT: Sr. G Ja'Niah Alexander provides another huge lift for UAA's highly ranked defense, rising to 16th in the GNAC with 1.7 steals per game ... the Georgia native scored a 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 17 turnovers in 410 minutes, with her 0.68 TO/gm the 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 with 12 double-figure scoring efforts and four double-figure rebounding games, including 16 points (7-12 FG) in the win over Cal Poly Humboldt; 14 points/10 rebounds in the win over Western Oregon; and 22 points/12 rebounds against UAF ... a 6-2 forward, Rean holds GNAC ranks of 5th in FG% (.500), 5th in steals (2.2 spg), 8th in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and 8th in blocks (0.8 bpg) ... meanwhile, Koehne is posting 6.3 ppg and 3.8 rpg, along with a GNAC-best 1.5 blocks per game (tied with Hollingshead) and the 8th-best FG% (.481) in the league ... 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, while her 34 total blocks are tied for No. 19 on UAA's single-season list.
 
SIROWICH SIDELINED: The Seawolves have got bad news last week when it was confirmed that Jr. F Kenzie Sirowich is out for the season with an ACL injury suffered Feb. 8 against UAF ... Sirowich accounted for 5.0 ppg on .494 FG% and 5.0 rpg (20th GNAC), along with untold contributions on defense ... the Franklin Pierce transfer also shot a solid .333 (7-21) from long range and .806 (25-31) at the FT line, snagging 12 rebounds in the win at UAF and scoring 7 points in the win at CWU.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 169-30 – including 78-16 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 234-25 (.903) in the last 17-plus seasons on their home courts, including 125-15 (.893) 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 now 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 ... 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 still 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 .803 (317-78) ... the winningest coach in UAA women's basketball history (303-65) 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
JAISA GAMBLE
GNAC All-Academic Team
TORI HOLLINGSHEAD
GNAC All-Academic Team
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
ELAINA MACK
GNAC All-Academic Team
ASHLYN REAN
Hoops In Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team