THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 12 – 7 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Western Washington (18-6, 10-3 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (13-8, 5-7 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 14 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Simon Fraser (8-16, 3-10 GNAC [Thu. @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
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: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
PROMOTIONS: Saturday's game is part of UAA's annual 'Bounce Back for Charity' doubleheader, presented by GCI and JustServe Alaska ... fans receive free admission with the donation of 'soft items' such as hats, socks, mittens, coats and toilet paper.
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
HOPEFUL HOMECOMING: The Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team returns this week to the Alaska Airlines Center for the first time since Jan. 24, hosting critical games against Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday ... entering the week half a game behind Western Oregon for the sixth and final GNAC Tournament qualifying spot, the Seawolves are looking to move up the standings with just six games remaining.
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Taylor Searcey, 5-9, Sr. (13.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.2 spg, .516 FG)
G—Mylee Anderson, 5-8, Fr. (11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.3 spg)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Sr. (16.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 spg, .353 3FG)
F—Mahaila Harrison, 6-0, So. (18.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 2.1 spg, .720 FT)
C—Lillee Duffin, 6-1, Jr. (5.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, .618 FT)
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Western Washington comes north as the GNAC's hottest club, winning three straight and six of its last seven after Saturday's 66-44 rout of Central Washington in Bellingham ... just one game back of CWU for the league lead, the Vikings are led by 6-1 Sr. F Olivia Hodges (16.3 ppg, GNAC-best 12.3 rpg, .542 FG) and 5-8 Jr. G Libby Stump (14.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, .836 FT) ... Simon Fraser has dropped five straight and 11 of its last 12 heading into Thursday's game at UAF ... trying to remain alive for a shot at the GNAC tournament, the Red Leafs are led by 5-10 Jr. G Rachel Loukes (15.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, .725 FT) and 5-8 So. G/F Bree Neufeld (11.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .343 3FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs WWU: UAA leads 33-31 overall, 15-12 in Anchorage
Streak: WWU 1
Last: WWU 81-65 (1/17/26 at WWU)
Notes: Teams have split the last 10 contests ... UAA has won 67-59 at home last season and defeated the Vikings 67-38 in the GNAC Tournament semifinals in Lacey, Wash. ... teams have played 38 times since Jan. 2011, including seven GNAC Tourney meetings and NCAA 1st Round games in 2012 and 2022 ... UAA leads 26-22 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02) ... WWU won the first seven meetings in series history, which began Feb.13, 1997.
 
vs SFU: UAA leads 28-9 overall, 13-3 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 3
Last: UAA 79-72 (1/15/26 at SFU)
Notes: UAA has won 13 of the last 14 meetings, including a 78-63 decision last season in Anchorage ... the Seawolves lead 23-6 in regular-season meetings since SFU joined the GNAC in 2010-11 ... first meeting was Nov. 28, 1981.
 
NORTHERN SURVIVAL: The visiting Seawolves had to fight hard to fend off a winless Alaska Fairbanks squad in their lone game last week, prevailing 79-69 Saturday ... Sr. G Elaina Mack played hero in her final trip to the Patty Center, notching 25 points (10-20 FG, 5-13 3FG) and matching her career high with 4 steals ... UAA also got 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists (t-career high) from So. F Mahaila Harrison, plus 12 points and 8 rebounds from Sr. G Taylor Searcey, outrebounding he Nanooks 43-34 and forcing 27 turnovers ... Fr. G Mylee Anderson added 10 points, while So. G Kimberly Carrada Sanchez came off the bench with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: UAA ranks in the top half of the GNAC in 16 statistical categories, including first in rebounds per game (44.2), defensive rpg (29.8), offensive rpg (14.4), scoring offense (77.9 ppg) and A/T ratio (1.21), and second in 3FGs per game (8.3), assists per game (16.9), steals per game (9.9) and TO margin (+3.5) ... UAA ranks top 20 in the NCAA D-II national stats in rebounds per game (8th), defensive rebounding (8th), A/T ratio (10th), scoring offense (14th), assists (16th) and 3FGs per game (16th).
 
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 16 of 21 contests, including seven with 20-plus ... Mack leads the GNAC and ranks 11th nationally with 2.86 3FGs per game, along with league ranks of 5th in scoring (16.2 ppg), 14th in rebounding (5.8 rpg), 8th in 3FG% (.353), 16th in blocks (0.6) and 1st in minutes per game (35.0) ... surpassing the 1,000-point mark with her last basket against Billings, Mack is on pace to threaten the UAA career record of 2.09 3FGs per game (2.08), along with ranks of 3rd in 3FGs made (221), 16th in 3FG% (.359) and 18th in scoring (1,034); she needs 18 more treys to catch fellow Alaskans Jenna Buchanan (239 3FGs, 2012-16) and Tara Thompson (2015-19) atop the 3FGs list.
 
'WOLF BITES: Playing her first big minutes since high school, So. F Mahaila Harrison has made an impressive debut, scoring at least nine points in 20 of 21 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 .553 from 2-point range ... Harrison ranks 31st nationally and 2nd in the GNAC with 18.4 ppg, along with GNAC ranks of 8th in rebounding (7.1 rpg), 5th in steals (2.0 spg), 11th in FG% (.451), 12th in 3FGs per game (1.6) and 15th in minutes per game (30.2) ... Jr. C Lillee Duffin owns four double-doubles and has nabbed at least nine rebounds in 13 of her 19 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 17th 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 13 of 20 games, including 23 points in her debut against Northwest and 21 points at Chaminade ... Anderson ranks No. 2 in the GNAC and is top-5 nationally among freshmen with 4.2 assists per game; she is also the second-leading scorer among all GNAC freshmen with 11.1 points per game, holding league ranks of 20th in scoring, 6th in A/T ratio (1.4) and 14th in minutes (30.3) ... 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 spark all season, either coming off the bench or starting ... the Northwest (Wash.) University transfer has tallied double-figure points in 11 contests, including a 23-point, 10-assist showing in the second win over UC Merced and 20 points (7-9 FG) at Simon Fraser ... Carrada Sanchez is 4th in the GNAC with a 1.5 A/T ratio, along with ranks of 6th in assists (3.4 apg), 10th in steals (1.7 spg) and 12th in FT% (.729) ... 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 13.6 points on .516 shooting, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals over her first 10 games as a Seawolf ... Searcey's 22-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against MSUB was the eighth in GNAC history and the first by a Seawolf since Rebecca Kielpinski went 17/13/10 at Saint Martin's on Feb. 18, 2006 ... the Lincoln, Neb., native has averaged 19.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 5.1 apg and 2.6 spg, shooting .842 (32-38) from the FT line since entering the starting lineup five games ago.
 
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 179-38 – including 83-21 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 243-28 (.897) over the last 19 seasons on their home courts, including 134-18 (.882) 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
Academic All-GNAC Team
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
TAYLOR SEARCEY
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 20-26
 
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)