The Seawolves return to action today with guard Lonnie Ridgeway back on the team. A 6-foot-3 guard whose athleticism and long arms make him a monster on the boards as well as a scoring threat, Ridgeway missed all of last season and half of this season in order to adjust to fatherhood.
"We're excited," said assistant coach Ryan Orton. "One of the things Lonnie brings besides good skills is he has a personality unlike anyone on the team. He keeps people loose. He makes people laugh."
Ridgeway, a high school star for Heritage Christian, averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds as a sophomore in 2008-09 and got better as the season got older.
He's making his return on a weekend when he'll get three chances in three days to shake off the rust. The Seawolves today kick off a busy stretch that includes the two-day, four-team AT&T Jamboree on Saturday and Sunday.
Throw in a pair of nonconference games for the women, and there's basketball morning, noon and night for the next three days at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
OK, that may be a stretch. But not much of one:
• Today is a day-night doubleheader, with the men playing Walla Walla University at 1 p.m. and the women playing Chaminade University at 7 p.m.
• Saturday brings a tripleheader: UAA-Chaminade women at 3 p.m., UAF-Walla Walla men at 5 p.m. and UAA-Florida Tech men at 7 p.m.
• Sunday offers a men's doubleheader, beginning with UAF-Florida Tech at 3 p.m. and UAA-Walla Walla at 5 p.m.
Why the 1 p.m. tipoff for today's game?
Walla Walla is affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which observes sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, meaning the Wolves can't play games on Friday nights.
The 1 p.m. start should get Walla Walla back to its hotel by sundown, even in the dark days leading up to Tuesday's winter solstice.
"We were at (weight training) this morning and our kids were asking us, 'What if the game goes to overtime and it gets dark at 3:30?" Orton said. "I don't know the answer to that."
If the Wolves take the Seawolves to overtime, it could make their season. Walla Walla, which plays in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association, is 0-13, with most of its games coming against NAIA teams, although the Wolves recently were waxed 106-69 by Northwest Nazarene, one of UAA's conference foes.
UAA is 5-3 with a pair of Shootout victories over NCAA Division I teams and a four-game winning streak.
That streak has been on a two-week hold since the Dec. 3-4 Glacier Classic in Fairbanks. This is the second time this season the Seawolves have waited out a two-week break between games; the last one came right before the Shootout.
From a coaching perspective, Orton said the long breaks are nice, because it allows the coaching staff to make changes to address weaknesses and it allows players to watch plenty of video.
From a player's perspective, it can be boring and frustrating.
"They're champing at the bit," Orton said.
That's one reason why the Seawolves added an extra game with Walla Walla for today. The Wolves wanted an extra game and, because of the long break, UAA was willing to schedule the game.
"It's almost like a reward for the kids, as much as we've been practicing," Orton said.
The UAA women, meanwhile, don't get their first significant break until after this weekend, when the holidays come. The 11th-ranked Seawolves have already played 10 games -- they're 8-2 -- and are coming off one of their most impressive victories, a 68-53 win over previously undefeated Dixie State. UAA shot 44.3 percent and flustered Dixie State with pressure defense.
The game showcased the team's versatility -- 6-foot-2 center Hanna Johansson handed out six assists, 6-foot forward Alysa Horn buried three of her five shots from 3-point range and point guard Kaitlin McBride had a career-high seven rebounds. As for senior guard Nikki Aden, she continued to get the job done on both sides of the court with 13 points, four assists and three steals.
"It was a big one," coach Tim Moser said of the victory. "I don't think they'd seen a team that can get at them (defensively) like we did."
The nonconference series with Chaminade -- a Division II team from Hawaii -- will give UAA nine games so far this season against West Region opponents. And West Region games are critical, because in-region games are an important consideration when the NCAA tournament field is decided in March.
"If we play finish up 9-0 against West Region opponents, that gives us a head start," Moser said. "We play more West Region games (early) than anybody else."
After this weekend, the nonconference games end and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference seasons begins for both UAA teams.
The men open GNAC play on the road Dec. 30 at Central Washington and Jan. 1 at Northwest Nazarene. The women, who already own a GNAC victory over UAF, resume play on the road Jan. 1 at Montana State-Billings and Jan. 3 at Seattle Pacific.
Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.
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