Fairbanks, Alaska (Jan. 11) – Senior guard Emilia Long stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals Saturday, and the UAA women’s basketball team dominated defensively in a 72-36 road victory over Alaska Fairbanks at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves (14-2, 5-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 15 points from senior center Tori Hollingshead and 14 points from junior guard Elaina Mack as they won for the 32nd time in the last 33 meetings against their oldest rival.

The Nanooks (5-8, 0-5) were led by 13 points and nine rebounds from guard Destiny Reimers, but were outrebounded 52-40, outshot .377 to .260, and forced into 32 turnovers.

“Our offensive execution was not what we strive for, but our effort was solid on both ends of the court,” said UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy, whose team entered the week top-10 nationally in 10 statistical categories, including second in scoring defense (45.2 ppg). “Even though it wasn’t pretty today, there were positive contributions from everyone, and we will continue to grow from our mistakes.”

Looking to keep pace with nationally 5th-ranked Montana State Billings atop the GNAC standings, the Seawolves forged an 18-14 lead behind seven points from Long in the opening quarter.

Despite poor shooting throughout the first half, UAA’s defense locked in during the subsequent 10 minutes, forcing 11 turnovers and 0-of-11 shooting by the hosts in the second quarter. The Seawolves led 31-15 at halftime, establishing a program record for fewest points allowed on the road to a fellow NCAA Div. II team in any quarter.

The Nanooks would snap their long field-goal drought seven seconds into the second half, but UAA answered with two three-pointers from Mack during a 12-0 run.

Mack finished 5 of 9 from the field and 4 of 7 on three-pointers as the King Cove native moved into ninth place on UAA’s career treys list (135.).

A transfer from Cal Poly Humboldt, Long shot 8 of 13 from the field and tied her season rebounding high, while keeping pace on her nation-best 4.9 steals per contest.

Junior forward Kenzie Sirowich added eight points and a season-high 12 rebounds, and senior guard Ja’Niah Alexander grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, along with three steals, three assists and no turnovers.

UAA returns home next week for the first time since Dec. 7, hosting Simon Fraser on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Western Washington on Saturday, Jan. 18 (5:30 p.m.) at the Alaska Airlines Center. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.

January Archive