THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 26 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Western Oregon (13-11, 8-8 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (15-10, 7-9 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 28 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Saint Martin's (16-9, 12-4 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
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Taylor Searcey, 5-9, Sr. (13.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.4 spg, .520 FG, .776 FT)
G—Mylee Anderson, 5-8, Fr. (10.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.3 spg)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Sr. (16.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.4 spg, .345 3FG)
F—Mahaila Harrison, 6-0, So. (18.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.0 spg, .748 FT)
C—Lillee Duffin, 6-1, Jr. (5.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, .455 FG, .658 FT)
 
MUST-WIN SEASON FINALES: The Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team concludes the regular season this week at the Alaska Airlines Center, needing a pair of victories for a chance to qualify for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament ... UAA must earn wins over Western Oregon (Thur., 7:30 pm) and Saint Martin's (Sat., 5:15 pm), and hope that other results around the league fall their way in order to claim the sixth and final berth ... the GNAC quarterfinals are set for Mar. 5 in Bellingham, Wash.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Bringing a 13-11 overall record north, Western Oregon is aiming for its first winning campaign since going 16-11 in the GNAC's inaugural season in 2001-02 ...  the Wolves are coming off big home wins over Central Washington (66-57) and Northwest Nazarene (68-58), led by 5-9 Jr. F Kylani Rookstool (17.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, .423 3FG, .833 FT) and  5-6 Sr. G Enid Vaifanua (11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.1 apg) ... Saint Martin's had its six-game win streak stopped with a 55-49 home loss to CWU last week, but still has a chance to finish as high as second in the GNAC race with wins in Alaska and some help from Western Washington's opponents ... last year's GNAC Tourney runners-up are led by 5-5 So. G Jada Travis (12.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, .343 3FG, .833 FT) and  6-1 Sr. F Avery Oaster (12.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg).
 
THE SERIES...
vs WOU: UAA leads 43-10 overall, 22-6 in Anchorage
Streak: WOU 1
Last: WOU 77-69 (12/6/25 at WOU)
Notes: Teams have split the last four meetings after UAA won 37 straight from 2004-23 ... UAA's 108-41 home win last season was the largest margin in a conference game in GNAC history ... UAA leads 9-1 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA leads 39-7 in GNAC matchups (since 2001-02, not including forfeits) ... teams have played each season since 1998-99 ... first meetings were in 1979-80.
 
vs SMU: UAA leads 43-10 overall, 22-6 in Anchorage
Streak: WOU 1
Last: WOU 77-69 (12/6/25 at WOU)
Notes: SMU has won two of the last three meetings after UAA won 19 of 20 between 2015-24 ... UAA won 78-58 in last season's meeting at the Alaska Airlines Center and 75-59 in the 2025 GNAC Tournament title game in Lacey ... UAA leads 9-0 at the Alaska Airlines Center since its opening in 2014-15 ... UAA leads 31-15 in GNAC regular-season meetings … teams have played at least once per season since 1997-98
 
RIVALRIES RECAP: The Seawolves went 1-1 on the road last week against their third- and second-most common rivals, falling 65-53 at Montana State Billings and winning 91-52 at Seattle Pacific ... on Thursday, Jr. F Mahaila Harrison had 13 points and 4 steals, but the Yellowjackets outshot the Seawolves .490 to .275 to control things from the outset ... two days later, Harrison scored a career-high 32 points (10-25 FG, 10-11 FT) and grabbed 11 rebounds, teaming with Sr. G Elaina Mack (29 pts, 12-21 FG, 7 rebs, 2 assts, 0 TO, 4 stls) to propel a blowout of the Falcons ... Fr. G Mylee Anderson added 12 points and 4 stelas, and Jr. C Lillee Duffin grabbed 9 rebounds as UAA recorded its largest road victory margin over SPU in 38 meetings.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: UAA ranks in the top half of the GNAC in 15 statistical categories, including first in rebounds per game (43.4), defensive rpg (29.3), offensive rpg (14.1), scoring offense (76.6 ppg) and A/T ratio (1.17), and second in 3FGs per game (8.0), assists per game (16.8), steals per game (10.3) and TO margin (+3.8) ... UAA ranks top 20 in the NCAA D-II national stats in six categories – rebounds per game (10th), defensive rebounding (12th), A/T ratio (14th), scoring offense (17th), assists (18th) and 3FGs per game (20th).
 
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 19 of 25 contests, including eight with 20-plus ... Mack in 2nd in the GNAC and ranks 14th nationally with 2.7 3FGs per game, along with league ranks of 4th in scoring (16.0 ppg), 16th in rebounding (5.5 rpg), 10th in 3FG% (.345), 17th in blocks (0.6) and 1st in minutes per game (35.0) ... after surpassing the 1,000-point mark on Jan. 24, 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 (229), 14th in scoring (1,095) and 17th in 3FG% (.356).
 
'WOLF BITES: Playing her first big minutes since high school, So. F Mahaila Harrison has made an impressive debut, scoring double figures in 21 of 25 games ... the Vancouver, Wash., native has posted big efforts of 31 points/10 rebounds against Colorado Mines, 28 pts/7 rebs/4 stls against UC Merced, 29 pts/12 rebs against NNU and 32 pts/11 rebs at SPU, shooting .526 from 2-point range ... Harrison ranks 35th nationally and 2nd in the GNAC with 18.4 ppg, along with GNAC ranks of 8th in rebounding (7.2 rpg), 6th in steals (2.0 spg), 15th in FG% (.429), 14th in 3FGs per game (1.5) and 16th in minutes per game (30.4) ... Jr. C Lillee Duffin owns four double-doubles and has nabbed at least nine rebounds in 14 of her 23 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 3rd in the GNAC and 24th nationally with 9.7 rpg ... a four-time all-state selection at Wasilla High, Fr. G Mylee Anderson has started her collegiate career with double-figure scoring in 14 of 24 games, including 23 points in her debut against Northwest and 21 points at Chaminade ... Anderson ranks No. 3 in the GNAC and is top-10 nationally among freshmen with 4.1 assists per game; she is also the second-leading scorer among all GNAC freshmen with 10.5 points per game, holding league ranks of 6th in A/T ratio (1.4) and 17th in minutes (30.1) ... 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 5th in the GNAC with a 1.4 A/T ratio, along with ranks of 8th in assists (3.3 apg) and 9th in steals (1.8 spg) ... UAA has gotten a huge 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 13.1 points on .520 shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals over her first 14 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 ... in the GNAC-only stats, Searcey is top-10 in FG% (2nd),  FT% (10th, .776), assists (7th), A/T ratio (7th, 1.4) and steals (4th), and top-20 in scoring (12th) and rebounding (17th).
 
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 181-40 – including 84-22 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games since Dec. 2014 ... the Seawolves have gone a combined 244-29 (.894) over the last 19 seasons on their home courts, including 135-19 (.877) 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 now earned 19 consecutive winning records ... the Seawolves have made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in their 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)