THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Saturday, Feb. 8 – 7 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Alaska Fairbanks (6-13, 1-10 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (19-3, 10-1 GNAC)
 
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UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024-25 stats)
G—Emilia Long, 5-9, Sr. (12.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.6 apg, 4.6 spg, .452 FG, .343 3FG, .746 FT)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Jr. (13.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, .393 3FG, .810 FT)
F—Jaisa Gamble, 6-0, Sr. (6.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 2.6 spg, .482 FG, .760 FT)
F—Ashlyn Rean, 6-2, Fr. (9.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.0 spg, .503 FG, .543 FT)
C—Tori Hollingshead, 6-3, Sr. (12.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 1.9 spg, .505 FG, .622 FT)
 
ALASKA RIVALRY RESUMES: The UAA women's basketball team continues its quest for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title this week, facing longtime rival Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (7 pm) at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA has seven games remaining in the regular season, currently with a 1.5-game lead over Montana State Billings atop the GNAC standings.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Following a 5-1 start, Alaska Fairbanks has dropped 12 of its last 13 contests ... the Nanooks sit ninth in the 10-team GNAC standings, with their lone victory coming 88-82 at Seattle Pacific on Jan. 25 ... UAF is led by Destiny Reimers (14.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.8 spg, .720 FT) and Miranda Lomax (9.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, .351 3FG, .778 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs UAF: UAA leads 78-31 overall, 48-6 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 72-36 (1/11/25 at UAF)
Streak: UAA 4
Notes: UAA has won 32 of the last 33 meetings ... UAA has won 18 straight at home (the last 16 by double figures) ... UAF's lone win since 2007 was a 61-56 decision on Jan. 7, 2023 in Fairbanks … UAA leads 37-8 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 22-1 under Ryan McCarthy … teams have played at least twice per season since 1979-80, not counting the basically non-existent 2020-21 campaign ... UAA has faced UAF 30 more times (109) than its second-most frequent opponent, Seattle Pacific (79).
 
PLAYOFF RIVALS PLUNDERED: The Seawolves earned big home victories over fellow GNAC and NCAA playoff contenders Central Washington (65-56) and Northwest Nazarene (86-47) at the Alaska Airlines Center last week ... on Thursday, Fr. F Ashlyn Rean had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists as UAA earned a 43-26 halftime lead and thwarted a CWU second-half comeback thanks to a 22-0 edge in bench scoring ... Jr. F Hedda Koehne had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, Sr. G Ja'Niah Alexander had 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and no turnovers, and Sr. PG Emilia Long had 8 points and a season-high 9 assists as UAA committed a season-low six turnovers ... two days later, Rean led six double-figure scorers with 15 points (7-9 FG), along with 4 steals, in a blowout of the Nighthawks ... Jr. G Elaina Mack had 13 points and Sr. F Jaisa Gamble added 12 points (4-6 FG), 7 rebounds and 3 assists to help Ryan McCarthy earn his 300th victory at UAA against his alma mater and former employer.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA is ranked in each NCAA Div. II national top-25 poll for the first time this season, coming in No. 25 in both the WBCA coaches' and D2CSC media voting ... this marks UAA's first week back in the WBCA poll since being No. 25 on Dec. 20, 2022 ... UAA leads the NCAA Div. II national stats in scoring margin (+31.8), steals per game (18.2) and turnover margin (+12.95), along with top-15 ranks in scoring defense (2nd, 48.3), rebound margin (4th, +13.1), assists per game (6th, 18.0), TO forced (7th, 27.1), offensive rebounding (7th, 17.6) and scoring offense (9th, 80.1), and top-30 ranks in five additional categories ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in 13 categories and rank top-3 in four 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 leading scorer, posting  double figures in 16 of 22 games and ranking 14th in the GNAC with 13.1 ppg ... she is also 24th nationally and No. 2 in the GNAC with 2.7 3FGs per game, on pace to threaten the program single-season record ... the King Cove native has grabbed at least four rebounds in 11 games and holds a 1.4 A/T ratio; she has committed zero turnovers in 10 of the last 18 games and just 22 all year (second-fewest on the team), despite playing 70 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 1.93, along with career ranks of 9th in 3FGs made (143) and 3FG% (14th, .365).
 
'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 15 of her 20 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 (12.4 ppg), 6th in rebounding (6.4 rpg), 3rd in FG% (.505), 4th in blocks (1.2) and 11th in steals (1.9), while her 3.9 offensive rebounds per game lead the league by nearly a full board per game ... Hollingshead's 76 career blocks already rank 8th all-time at UAA, while her career numbers of 1.6 bpg and .524 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 4.6 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, 2nd in assists (4.6 apg), 3rd in A/T ratio (1.8), 15th in scoring (12.5 ppg) and 16th in FG% (.452), accounting for at least seven points in 21 of 22 games and multiple steals in all but two contests ... the two-time GNAC Player of the Week has skyrocketed from No. 3 on UAA's single-season list with 101, now just eight swipes shy of Kiki Robertson's record 109 in 2016-17 ... 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 2.0 spg ... the Chicago native has scored double figures in 13 games this year, including 15-plus on eight occasions, surpassing 1,000 career points at the D-II level (now 1,147) on Nov. 30 ... she ranks 20th on UAA's all-time scoring list with 949 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 173 ... in the GNAC stats, Evans is 19th in scoring, 9th in steals, 12th in assists, 6th in A/T ratio (1.3), 14th in 3FG% (.377) and 17th in 3FGs per game (1.4).
 
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, 12.9 rpg and 5.2 spg ... Gamble ranks 3rd in the GNAC and 37th nationally with 2.6 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 5.2 ppg on .494 FG% and 5.2 rpg (18th GNAC), along with untold contributions on defense ... the Franklin Pierce transfer is also shooting 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 ... Alexander provides another huge lift for UAA's highly ranked defense, sitting 20th in the league with 1.6 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 15 turnovers in 393 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 with 10 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 4th in FG% (.503), 8th in rebounding (6.3 rpg), 8th in steals (2.0 spg) and 14th in blocks (0.8 bpg) ... meanwhile, Koehne is posting 6.4 ppg and 3.8 rpg, along with a GNAC-best 1.6 blocks per game and the 6th-best FG% (.487 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.
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 166-30 – including 76-16 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 233-25 (.903) in the last 17-plus seasons on their home courts, including 124-15 (.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 (314-78) ... the winningest coach in UAA women's basketball history (300-65) 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
 
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)