THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
at Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships
Marcus Pavilion ­- Lacey, Wash. (all times listed as AST)
Thursday, Mar. 6 – Quarterfinals
4:15 pm: #5 NW Nazarene (16-11, 10-8) vs #4 Western Washington (17-10, 12-6)
6:30 pm: #6 Saint Martin's (16-10, 9-9) vs #3 Central Washington (21-6, 14-4)
Friday, Mar. 7 – Semifinals
4:15 pm: NNU/WWU winner vs #1 Alaska Anchorage (25-4, 16-2)
6:30 pm: SMU/CWU winner vs #2 Montana State Billings (21-6, 14-4)
Sat., Mar. 8 – Title Game (winner earns automatic NCAA berth)
6:30 pm: Semifinal winners
 
LIVE VIDEO: youtube.com/@gnacsports
LIVE STATS: smusaints.com/sidearmstats/wbball
TOURNAMENT HOMEPAGE: gnacsports.com/tournaments/?id=2
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2024-25 stats)
G—Emilia Long, 5-9, Sr. (12.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5.2 apg, 4.3 spg, .451 FG, .311 3FG, .764 FT)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Jr. (11.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 spg, .372 3FG, .800 FT)
F—Jaisa Gamble, 6-0, Jr. (5.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.4 spg, .479 FG, .750 FT)
F—Ashlyn Rean, 6-2, Fr. (11.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.3 spg, 1.1 bpg, .529 FG, .574 FT)
C—Tori Hollingshead, 6-3, Sr. (13.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.4 bpg, 2.0 spg, .510 FG, .650 FT)
 
TWO FOR ANOTHER TITLE: After capturing the regular-season title by two games, the 20th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball travels this week to the GNAC Championships in Lacey, Wash., needing two victories to claim another crown ... UAA will be seeking its sixth regular-season/tourney double, having accomplished that feat in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020 ... the winner of the GNAC tourney earns the league's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships ... the NCAA regional fields will be announced Sunday at 6:30 pm AST at ncaa.com.
 
GNAC TOURNEY HISTORY: The Seawolves have never missed a GNAC Tournament, capturing six of the first 10 titles (2011, '12, '15, '16, '17, 20) ... last year UAA defeated Seattle Pacific 79-57 in the quarterfinals, before losing 75-60 to eventual champ Western Washington in the semifinals in Ellensburg, Wash. ... UAA has a 16-7 record in GNAC tourney games, going 3-3 in the quarterfinals, 7-3 in the semifinals and 6-1 in the finals ... UAA's last title came in 2020 when it beat Western Washington 89-68 in Seattle.
 
GNAC Women's Basketball Championships Results
Year Champ RnrUp Score Site MVP
2024 WWU   MSUB  54-52 CWU  B.Walling,WWU
2023 WWU   MSUB  76-71 WWU  B.Walling,WWU
2022 CWU   WWU   57-46 SMU  S.Bowman,CWU
2021 No Tournament (Covid)
2020 UAA   WWU   89-68 SPU  S.Yasin,UAA
2019 NNU   UAA   70-64 WWU  E.Logan,NNU
2018 MSUB  SPU   71-61 UAA  A.Breen,MSUB
2017 UAA   WWU   79-70 SMU  A.Williams,UAA
2016 UAA   MSUB  77-57 SMU  Robertson,UAA
2015 UAA   WWU   71-58 MSUB Robertson,UAA
2014 WWU   SFU   78-74 SMU  J.White,WWU
2013 WWU   SFU   60-40 SMU  T.Williams,WWU
2012 UAA   WWU   67-52 SMU  H.Holmstead,UAA
2011 UAA   WWU   68-67 WWU  K.McBride,UAA
 
THE SERIES...
vs NNU: UAA leads 35-18 overall, 3-2 neutral
Last: UAA 86-47 (2/1/25 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 4
Notes: UAA has won 10 of the last 11, with NNU's win coming 78-75 in OT on Feb. 9, 2023, in Nampa ... teams have met six times in postseason play ... NNU leads 2-1 in GNAC Tourney meetings, including a 70-64 win in the 2019 final ... UAA leads 31-15 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 20-7 under head coach Ryan McCarthy, an NNU alum … series started in 2000-01 when both teams were in the PacWest Conference.
 
vs WWU: UAA leads 32-30 overall, 5-3 neutral
Last: UAA 72-40 (2/13/25 at WWU)
Streak: UAA 2
Notes: UAA has won four of the last five meetings, with WWU's victory coming 75-60 in the 2024 GNAC Tourney semifinals ... teams have played 35 times since Jan. 2011, including six GNAC Tourney meetings and NCAA 1st Round games in 2012 and 2022 ... UAA leads 24-21 in GNAC regular-season meetings and 5-1 in GNAC Tourney meetings ... UAA leads 18-11 under Ryan McCarthy ... WWU won the first seven meetings in series history, which began Feb.13, 1997.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves are No. 20 in both national polls this week ... UAA leads the NCAA Div. II national stats in turnover margin (+12.2), along with top-15 ranks in 12 additional categories – scoring margin (2nd, +30.4), rebound margin (2nd, +12.9), scoring defense (3nd, 50.1),  steals per game (3rd, 17.2), A/T ratio (4th, 1.35), assists per game (5th, 18.5), offensive rebounding (5th, 17.9), TO forced (7th, 25.9), scoring offense (8th, 80.5), rebounds per game (10th, 42.7), blocks per game (11th, 4.7) and FG% (13th, .451) ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in 15 categories and rank top-3 in two 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).
 
'HEAD OF THE CLASS: A unanimous First Team All-GNAC selection, Sr. C Tori Hollingshead has accounted for double-figure scoring in 22 of her 27 games and a GNAC-high 10 double-doubles, twice capturing GNAC Player of the Week honors ... with six double-doubles in the final seven games, the Orem, Utah, native and former Umpqua (Ore.) CC transfer holds GNAC ranks of 10th in scoring (13.9 ppg), 3rd in rebounding (7.4 rpg), 5th in FG% (.510), t-1st in blocks (1.4) and 8th in steals (2.0), while her 4.3 offensive rebounds per game lead the league by a margin of 1.5 ... on UAA's career lists, Hollingshead is 14th in scoring average (13.2 ppg), 7th in blocks (91), 3rd in blocks per game (1.65), 11th in rebounds per game (7.0), 6th in FG% (.524), t-13th in double-doubles (13) and 37th in scoring (725 points).
 
LONG GAME: Sr. G Emilia Long has certainly made the most of her lone year in Green & Gold, capturing GNAC Newcomer of the Year, GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-GNAC awards ... the Port Angeles, Wash., product leads NCAA Div. II with 4.3 steals per game – on pace to crush the UAA and GNAC single-season records ... with 124 swipes entering Friday, Long is already 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 (5.2 apg, 18th nationally), 2nd in A/T ratio (2.2), 15th in scoring (12.4 ppg), 12th in FG% (.451) and 11th in FT% (.764), accounting for at least seven points in 28 of 29 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 ... 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.
 
MACK ATTACK: Now in her fifth year with the program, Sr. G Elaina Mack has emerged as UAA's third-leading scorer, posting  double figures in 18 of 29 games and ranking 17th in the GNAC with 11.9 ppg ... the honorable mention All-GNAC performer is also 39th nationally and No. 2 in the GNAC with 2.4 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 13 of the last 25 games and just 26 all year (second-fewest on the team) ... boosted by seven treys in the Nov. 2 win over Simpson, Mack is 5th on UAA's career list for 3FGs per game at 1.90, along with career ranks of 8th in 3FGs made (154) and 16th in 3FG% (.358).
 
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, earning honorable mention All-GNAC recognition with 12.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.1 apg and 1.6 spg ... the Chicago native has scored double figures in 18 games this year, including 15-plus on 11 occasions, surpassing 1,000 career points at the D-II level (now 1,220) on Nov. 30 and 1,000 points at UAA on Feb. 20 ... she ranks 17th on UAA's all-time scoring list with 1,042 points, along with 10th in steals (177) and 11th in assists (258) ... in the current GNAC stats, Evans is 16th in scoring, 17th in steals, 13th in assists, 6th in A/T ratio (1.6), 8th in 3FG% (.382) and 18th in 3FGs per game (1.5).
 
QUITE A GAMBLE: The Seawolves got great news recently, learning that starting forward F Jaisa Gamble has reverted to junior eligibility thanks to an NCAA waiver ... Gamble ranks 3rd in the GNAC and top-50 nationally with 2.4 steals per game, recording six games with five or six swipes ... the Bay Area owns five double-figure scoring efforts this year, including recently outputs of 13 points (6-9 FG), 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the road win over Simon Fraser, and 12 points (4-6 FG), 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the home win over Northwest Nazarene.
 
ALEXANDER THE GREAT: Sr. G Ja'Niah Alexander provides another huge lift for UAA's highly ranked defense, rising to 14th 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 21 turnovers in 545 minutes, with her 0.71 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 ... an honorable mention All-GNAC pick, Rean has debuted with 16 double-figure scoring efforts and four double-doubles, averaging 15.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.9 spg and 1.4 bpg since Jan. 16 ... at No. 5 nationally among D-II freshmen in steals (No. 1 among non-guards), Rean holds GNAC ranks of 4th in FG% (.529), 4th in steals (2.3 spg), 6th in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and 5th in blocks (1.1 bpg) ... meanwhile, Koehne is posting 6.0 ppg and 3.7 rpg, along with a GNAC-best 1.4 blocks per game and the 7th-best FG% (.479) 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 39 total blocks already rank 16th on UAA's single-season list.
 
SIROWICH SIDELINED: The Seawolves got bad news recently 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 (then-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 172-31 – including 79-17 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 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 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 .802 (320-79) ... the winningest coach in UAA women's basketball history (306-66) 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
JAZZPHER EVANS
Honorable Mention All-GNAC
JAISA GAMBLE
GNAC All-Academic Team
TORI HOLLINGSHEAD
First Team All-GNAC (unanimous)
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Feb. 17-23
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 13-19
Hoops In Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team
Preseason All-GNAC Team
EMILIA LONG
GNAC Defensive Player of the Year
GNAC Newcomer of the Year
First Team All-GNAC (unanimous)
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
Honorable Mention All-GNAC
GNAC All-Academic Team
RYAN McCARTHY
GNAC Coach of the Year
ASHLYN REAN
Honorable Mention All-GNAC
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 rec.: 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)
Season
Most Steals — 124, Emilia Long (old record: 109, Kiki Robertson, 2016-17)
 
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)
Season
Most Steals — 124, Emilia Long (old record: 109, Kiki Robertson, UAA, 2016-17)