ANCHORAGE (Jan. 3) – Mylee Anderson scored 16 points and Kimberly Carrada Sanchez led a huge comeback with 15 points, but the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team could not overcome a tough night on the boards Saturday, falling 77-65 to No. 16 Central Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (9-4, 1-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 11 points and seven rebounds from sophomore forward Mahaila Harrison as they outshot the visitors .446 to .397 and erased a 21-point deficit.

The Wildcats (12-1, 3-0) were led by 27 points, nine rebounds and four assists from GNAC Preseason Player of the Year Asher Cai. Capri Sims had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Fiona Snashall tallied 10 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks to help their team to a 45-27 rebounding advantage.

"I loved the heart and grit we showed in coming back from that big deficit, but we simply have to execute better throughout the entire game, especially against a team of Central's caliber," said UAA coach Matt Thune. "Despite the loss, I think we'll learn from our mistakes tonight and continue to get better."

Looking to avenge a season sweep by the Seawolves last year, the Wildcats came out firing on all cylinders, using an early 16-3 run to take control. Central pushed its lead to 22-13 after one quarter and 46-29 at halftime, shooting exactly 8-of-17 from the floor in each quarter and outboarding the hosts 28-13.

Cai scored off a turnover with 6:39 left in the third to give the Wildcats a 50-31 advantage, but UAA responded with a big run sparked by a Carrada Sanchez three-pointer. Senior guard Taylor Searcey made it 54-44 on a nice feed from Carrada Sanchez at the 3:09 mark, and Faith Mersburgh split a pair of free throws to draw within 54-50 a minute later.

The Wildcats reestablished a 62-54 edge when Sims made a layup with 6:45 left in the game, before the Seawolves answered with their final run, getting a three from Mersburgh, a long jumper by Harrison and a trey by Harrison to tie it with five minutes remaining.

UAA's momentum would fade, however, as Rylee Leishman swished a wing trey 27 seconds later and fed Snashall for a layup to make it 69-65. The Seawolves were held scoreless for the final 3:30, while the Wildcats shot 4 of 5 from the field and 2 of 2 at the foul stripe.

Coming off a career-high 11 assists in Thursday's 76-71 win over Northwest Nazarene, Anderson shot 7 of 9 from the field and dished four assists with just one turnover. Carrada Sanchez shot 6 of 8 (3-4 3FG), along with four assists and four rebounds, while Harrison did all her scoring in the second half, adding three assists.

Playing in just her second game as a Seawolf, Searcey collected nine points (3-6 FG), three rebounds and two steals.

The Seawolves conclude a three-game homestand when they face Alaska Fairbanks (0-12, 0-4 GNAC) on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.