THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Jan. 15 – 6 pm AST – SFU West Gymnasium – Burnaby, B.C.
Alaska Anchorage (10-4, 2-3 GNAC) at Simon Fraser (7-10, 2-4 GNAC)
&
Sat., Jan. 17 – 4 pm AST – Carver Gymnasium – Bellingham, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage at Western Washington (12-5, 4-2 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])
 
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: Thursday at athletics.sfu.ca/sidearmstats/wbball
                      Saturday at wwuvikings.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Kimberly Carrada Sanchez, 5-6, So. (9.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.9 spg, .744 FT)
G—Mylee Anderson, 5-8, Fr. (11.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.1 spg)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Sr. (18.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.9 bpg, .375 3FG, .850 FT)
F—Mahaila Harrison, 6-0, So. (18.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.9 spg, .472 FG, .688 FT)
C—Lillee Duffin, 6-1, Jr. (5.7 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, .492 FG)
 
BORDER FOES AWAIT: Coming off a three-game homestand, the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team returns to the road this week for critical games at Simon Fraser on Thursday (6 pm AST) and Western Washington on Saturday (4 pm AST) ... the Seawolves begin the week in sixth place as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference reaches the one-third mark of league play.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Picked seventh in the GNAC preseason poll, Simon Fraser has dropped five in a row since forging a 5-game win streak from Nov. 29-Dec. 19 ... the Red Leafs are led by Rachel Loukes (15.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.0 apg) and Bree Neufeld (10.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .345 3FG) ... GNAC preseason favorite Western Washington had won nine of its last 10 before dropping road games at NNU (69-62) and No. 16 CWU (75-58) last week ... the Vikings are led by Olivia Hodges (16.9 ppg, GNAC-best 12.4 rpg, .522 FG, .780 FT) and Libby Stump (14.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.8 spg, .824 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SFU: UAA leads 27-9 overall, 10-6 in Burnaby
Streak: UAA 2
Last: UAA 80-63 (2/15/25 at SFU)
Notes: UAA has won 12 of the last 13 meetings and nine of the last 10 in Burnaby ... two of the last five games have gone to overtime ... UAA leads 21-6 in regular-season meetings since SFU joined the GNAC in 2010-11 ... first meeting was a 65-61 UAA win in Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 28, 1981.
 
vs WWU: UAA leads 33-30 overall, trails 15-12 in Bellingham
Streak: UAA 3
Last: UAA 67-38 (3/7/25, GNAC semis at SMU)
Notes: UAA has won four of the last five meetings, including 72-40 in Bellingham last season ... teams have played 36 times since Jan. 2011, including seven GNAC Tourney meetings and NCAA 1st Round games in 2012 and 2022 ... UAA leads 25-21 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02) ... WWU won the first seven meetings in series history, which began Feb.13, 1997.
 
'NOOKS COOKED: The Seawolves took care of business last week against a winless Alaska Fairbanks squad, getting 21 points and a career-high 4 steals from Sr. G Elaina Mack in a 76-41 victory at the Alaska Airlines Center ... So. F Mahaila Harrison had 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Fr. G Mylee Anderson nearly missed a double-double with 11 points and 9 assists ... Sr. G Taylor Searcey added 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, Fr. G Jennifer Nash had 4 points and a career-high 7 rebounds, and Fr. F Alba Sanz added a career-high 5 rebounds off the bench ... UAA outrebounded UAF 58-39 in claiming its 34th win in the last 35 meetings.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA ranks in the top half of the GNAC in 17 statistical categories, including first in rebounds per game (45.8), defensive rebounds per game (31.1), offensive rebounds per game (14.6), scoring offense (78.6 ppg) and 3FG% defense (.242), and second in A/T ratio (1.29), assists per game (17.8), 3FGs per game (9.8), FG% defense (.366) and scoring margin (+15.5) ... in the NCAA D-II national stats, UAA ranks top-20 in rebounding (3rd), A/T ratio (4th), defensive rebounding (7th), assists (8th), 3FGs per game (9th), scoring offense (14th), 3FG% defense (17th) and fewest turnovers per game (20th, 13.8).
 
MACK TRUCKIN': In her sixth 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, twice earning GNAC Player of the Week honors ... the team captain was named to the All-GNAC Preseason Team, coming off an honorable mention All-GNAC season as a junior ... starting 2025-26 with a school-record 41 points and 10 treys against Northwest, the King Cove native has scored double figures in 11 of 14 contests, including six with 20-plus ... Mack ranks 2nd nationally with 3.2 3FGs per game and 30th in scoring at 18.6 ppg, along with GNAC ranks of 1st in 3FGs per game, 4th in scoring, 10th in rebounding (6.4 rpg), 7th in 3FG% (.375), 9th in blocks (0.9) and 6th in minutes per game (33.4) ... on UAA's career lists, Mack is 2nd in 3FGs per game (2.08), 4th in 3FGs made (206), 14th in 3FG% (.364) and 21st in scoring (954), needing 14 points to reach the top 20.
 
'WOLF BITES: Playing her first big minutes since high school, So. F Mahaila Harrison has made an impressive debut, scoring at least nine points 13 of 14 games ... the Vancouver, Wash., native has posted big games of 31 points/10 rebounds against Colorado Mines, 28 pts/7 rebs/4 stls against UC Merced and 29 pts/12 rebs against NNU, shooting .584 from 2-point range ... Harrison ranks 29th nationally and 3rd in the GNAC with 18.7 ppg, along with GNAC ranks of 7th in rebounding (7.4 rpg), 8th in steals (1.9 spg), 8th in FG% (.472) and 13th in 3FGs per game (1.6) ... Jr. C Lillee Duffin owns four double-doubles and has nabbed at least nine rebounds in 10 of 14 games, including a school-record-tying 24 boards in UAA's victory over Hilo ... the Lane (Ore.) CC transfer and Idaho Falls prep product is 2nd in the GNAC and 18th nationally with 10.4 rpg ... a three-time all-state selection at Wasilla High, Fr. G Mylee Anderson has started her collegiate career with double-figure scoring in 10 of 14 games, including 23 points in her debut against Northwest and 21 points at Chaminade ... Anderson leads the GNAC with 4.7 assists per game and is the top scorer among all freshmen with 11.9 points per game; she is also 4th in A/T ratio (1.5) and 13th in minutes (30.9) ... Anderson's 11 assists in the win over NNU were the most for a Seawolf since Nov. 2016 ... So. G Kimberly Carrada Sanchez has provided a major spark off the bench all season, before entering the starting lineup three games ago ... the Northwest (Wash.) University transfer has tallied double-figure points in seven contests, including a 23-point, 10-assist showing in the second win over UC Merced ... Carrada Sanchez is 2nd in the GNAC and ranks 33rd nationally with a 1.9 A/T ratio, along with league ranks of 4th in assists (4.1 apg), 9th in steals (1.9 spg) and 11th in FT% (.744) ... UAA has gotten a midseason boost with the addition of Sr. G Taylor Searcey to the lineup ... a two-time Second Team All-Gulf South Conference performer at Valdosta State, the one-semester transfer has averaged 7.7 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists (2/1 A/T ratio) and 1.7 steals over her first three games as a Seawolf.
 
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.)
 
WINNING WAYS: UAA is a combined 176-34 – including 80-19 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 243-26 (.903) over the last 19 seasons on their home courts, including 134-16 (.893) 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 Seawolves have produced 18 20-win seasons in 47 full years of program history ... the Seawolves have won 81 of their last 89 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents, including a 39-2 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.
 
2025-26 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
ELAINA MACK
GNAC Player of the Week, Nov. 24-30
ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Nov. 3-9
Preseason All-GNAC Team
 
2025-26 SCHOOL RECORDS BROKEN/TIED
TEAM
Most 3FGS Made, Game – 16 vs Northwest University, 11/7 (ties record for fourth time)
Most Points, 1st Qtr, Home Game – 36 vs Northwest University, 11/7 (old record: 31 vs Dixie State, 11/13/15)
Most Points, 2nd Qtr, Home Game – 33 vs Northwest University, 11/8 (old record: 31, three times)
Most Points, Any Qtr, Home Game – 36 vs Northwest University, 11/7 (old record: 33, three times)
INDIVIDUAL
Most Points, Game – 41, Elaina Mack vs Northwest University, 11/8 (ties record by Allegra Stoetzel vs Spring Arbor, 11/24/95 at Detroit, Mich.)
Most Points, Home Game – 41, Elaina Mack vs Northwest University, 11/8 (old record: Robin Graul vs Radford, 2/28/87)
Most Rebounds, Game – 24, Lillee Duffin vs Hawaii Hilo, 11/18 (ties record by Tammy Middaugh vs Puget Sound, 12/11/81)
Most 3FGs Made, Game – 10, Elaina Mack vs Northwest University, 11/8 (old record: 9, Sasha King vs Northwest Nazarene, 2/16/13)
Most 3FGs Made, Half – 7, Elaina Mack vs Northwest University, 11/8 (ties record by Maria Nilsson vs Saint Martin's, 2/3/07 & by Rachel Ingram vs MSU Billings, 1/27/22)