FAIRBANKS, Alaska (Feb. 7) – Senior guard Elaina Mack scored 25 points and the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team used 15 offensive rebounds to fend off an upset bid by Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, winning 79-69 at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves (13-8, 5-7 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 12 points apiece from Mahaila Harrison and Taylor Searcey as they swept the season series and won for the 35th time in the last 36 meetings against their in-state rival.

The Nanooks (0-20, 0-12) were led by a career-high 30 points from senior guard Tamai Mancuso, but the hosts were hurt by 27 turnovers and outrebounded 43-34.

"We did a nice job on the boards and withstood an impressive three-point barrage by Fairbanks, and Elaina kept coming up with big shots at the most opportune times," said UAA head coach Matt Thune. "Elaina was coming off a couple tough games, but she showed her character, skill and overall leadership today to lift us to a critical win."

Meeting four weeks after a 76-41 UAA victory in Anchorage, the Seawolves could not shake the Nanooks until the final two minutes in the rematch. Tied 15-15 in the early going, Mack hit a short jumper to give UAA the lead for good, and freshman Alba Sanz came off the bench with six points to claim a 26-23 edge after one quarter.

The Seawolves used an 8-2 mini-run to stretch the lead to 39-30, getting a pair of jumpers from Kimberly Carrada Sanchez and a trey from Mack. UAA led 49-37 at the break when Harrison fed Lillee Duffin on a perfect pick-and-roll to beat the buzzer, and extended to a 52-35 advantage on Duffin's three-point play early in the third quarter.

Trying to snap a 28-game losing skid, the Nanooks refused to fold, finishing 13 of 28 (.464) on three-pointers, led by 6-of-10 accuracy from Mancuso. UAF came into the contest averaging 5.9 threes per game on .249 shooting.

The Nanooks sliced it to a seven-point game four times in the fourth quarter, but Carrada Sanchez, Mack, Duffin and Harrison answered with field goals each time.

Mack finished 10 of 20 from the field and 5 of 13 from long range, moving into 18th place on UAA's career scoring list with 1,034 points. It was the fifth career 25-point effort by the King Cove native, who pulled within 18 three-pointers of Seawolf record-holders Tara Thompson (239 3FGs, 2015-19) and Jenna Buchanan (2012-16). She also tied her career high with four steals, doing it for the second time against UAF.

Harrison added seven rebounds and matched her career high with five assists, while Searcey delivered eight rebounds and two assists. Duffin had seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, eight rebounds and three assists, and Carrada Sanchez added seven points, four rebounds and three assists.

The Seawolves return home to the Alaska Airlines Center for a pair of games next week, starting with a Thursday 7 p.m. tip against Western Washington. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.