HONOLULU (Nov. 14) – Freshman guard
Kinzley Larsen scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half and
Bridgette Tello had 14 points and five rebounds Saturday to boost Alaska Anchorage to a 68-57 women's basketball victory over Hawaii Pacific at the Shark Tank.
The Seawolves (5-2) also got 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from wing
Sheridan Liggett, while sophomore guard
Mylee Anderson stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, doing virtually all her damage after halftime.
The Sharks (2-3) were led by 10 points from reserve guard Jalen Samuel and nine rebounds from guard Lucia Ricci, but were outrebounded 41-26 overall and 27-10 in the second half.
"We didn't get off to the start we wanted, and give credit to HPU for coming out and putting pressure on us," said UAA head coach
Matt Thune. "I thought our group showed a lot of toughness in the second half. We settled in, made some adjustments and had several players step up with big contributions when we needed them. It wasn't always pretty, but we stayed together and found a way to get a tough road win. That's something we can build on."
Seeking a fourth straight win, Tello kept the Seawolves within 31-26 at the break, sinking 3 of 5 three-pointers for 11 points.
HPU would start the scoring in the second half, but Tello answered with a traditional three-point play and Liggett capped a 7-0 run with a jumper to tie it. The surge continued when Larsen sank a corner trey to give UAA a 44-37 advantage, and the Seawolves led 48-44 after three quarters.
Clinging to a 50-47 edge early in the fourth, UAA got consecutive 'and-one' buckets from guard
Jayden Smallwood, who converted her free throw both times. HPU made it a two-possession game on two brief occasions before the Seawolves clinched it from the foul stripe.
Smallwood finished with six points, four rebounds, three assists, no turnovers, one block and one steal, while center
Bella Hays had four points and five rebounds in a season-high 19 minutes.
UAA finishes its three-game trip with a Tuesday 4 pm AST tip against Hawaii Hilo on the Big Island. Find live video and stats links at GoSeawolves.com.
