THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Sat., Feb. 7 – 1 pm AST – Patty Center – Fairbanks, Alaska
Alaska Anchorage (12-8, 4-7 GNAC) at Alaska Fairbanks (0-19, 0-11 GNAC)
 
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: alaskananooks.com/sidearmstats/wbball
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Taylor Searcey, 5-9, Sr. (13.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.4 A/T, 2.4 spg, .524 FG, .814 FT)
G—Mylee Anderson, 5-8, Fr. (11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.2 spg)
G—Elaina Mack, 5-8, Sr. (15.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.1 spg, .350 3FG, .786 FT)
F—Mahaila Harrison, 6-0, So. (18.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 2.1 spg, .454 FG, .718 FT)
C—Lillee Duffin, 6-1, Jr. (5.2 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, .606 FT)
 
THE JOURNEY NORTH: The Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team concludes a three-game road swing this week with a Saturday 1 pm matinee at traditional rival Alaska Fairbanks ... the contest shapes up as a must-win for the Seawolves, who trail Western Oregon by one game for the sixth and final GNAC Tournament berth with seven games remaining in the regular season.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Alaska Fairbanks takes a 28-game losing streak into Saturday's game, hunting its first win since Jan. 25, 2025 ... the Nanooks are led by Sr. G Tamai Mancuso (13.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .780 FT) and Sr. F Jazlynn Novelli (10.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 spg).
 
THE SERIES...
vs UAF: UAA leads 80-31 overall, 29-24 in Fairbanks
Streak: UAA 6
Last: UAA 76-41 (1/10/26 at UAA)
Notes: UAA has won 34 of the last 35 meetings and 16 of the last 17 in Fairbanks, including a 72-36 win last year ... UAF's lone win since 2007 was a 61-56 decision, Jan. 7, 2023 in Fairbanks … UAA leads 39-8 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) ... teams have played at least twice per season since 1979-80, not counting the basically non-existent 2020-21 campaign ... UAA has faced UAF 30 more times (111) than its second-most frequent opponent, Seattle Pacific (81).
 
BITTERSWEET SPLIT: The Seawolves earned a hard-fought 60-50 upset of league-leading and 9th-ranked Central Washington last week, before settling for a road split with an 80-64 loss at Northwest Nazarene ... in the first game, Sr. G Taylor Searcey had 23 points (9-15 FG, 5-6 FT), 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals as UAA snapped the Wildcats' 11-game win streak ... So. F Mahaila Harrison also helped fuel the 15-0 closing run with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, while Jr. C Lillee Duffin had 15 rebounds, 4 assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes ... in Nampa, Harrison had 15 points and Duffin nabbed 13 rebounds, but the Seawolves never really got started, committing 20 turnovers and shooting 2 of 24 from long range ... Searcey added 13 points and So. G Kimberly Carrada Sanchez had 11 points in the loss.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: UAA ranks in the top half of the GNAC in 16 statistical categories, including first in rebounds per game (44.3), defensive rebounds per game (29.9), scoring offense (77.9 ppg) and A/T ratio (1.24), and second in 3FGs per game (8.2), assists per game (17.5) and TO margin (+3.3) ... UAA ranks top 20 in the NCAA D-II national stats in A/T ratio (5th),  assists (13th), 3FGs per game (16th), rebounds per game (8th), scoring offense (14th) and defensive rebounding (8th).
 
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 15 of 18 contests, including six with 20-plus ... Mack ranks 13th nationally with 2.75 3FGs per game, along with GNAC ranks of 5th in scoring (15.8 ppg), 2nd in 3FGs per game, 13th in rebounding (6.0 rpg), 10th in 3FG% (.350), 14th 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 (2.06), along with ranks of 3rd in 3FGs made (216), 15th in 3FG% (.358) and 19th in scoring (1,009); she needs 23 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 19 of 20 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 .575 from 2-point range ... Harrison ranks 28th nationally and 2nd in the GNAC with 18.7 ppg, along with GNAC ranks of 8th in rebounding (7.1 rpg), 6th in steals (2.1 spg), 10th in FG% (.454) and 12th in 3FGs per game (1.6) ... Jr. C Lillee Duffin owns four double-doubles and has nabbed at least nine rebounds in 13 of her 18 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 16th nationally with 10.5 rpg ... a three-time all-state selection at Wasilla High, Fr. G Mylee Anderson has started her collegiate career with double-figure scoring in 12 of 19 games, including 23 points in her debut against Northwest and 21 points at Chaminade ... Anderson leads the GNAC and is top-5 nationally among freshmen with 4.3 assists per game; she is also the second-leading scorer among all GNAC freshmen with 11.1 points per game, holding league ranks of 17th in scoring, 5th in A/T ratio (1.4) and 17th 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 1.6 A/T ratio, along with ranks of 7th in assists (3.6 apg), 10th in steals (1.6 spg) and 13th 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 13.8 points on .524 shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals over her first nine games as a Seawolf ... Searcey's 22-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against MSUB was the eighth in GNC history and the first by a Seawolf since Rebecca Kielpinski went 17/13/10 at Saint Martin's on Feb. 18, 2006.
 
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 178-38 – including 82-21 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
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)