Seawolves swamp Beavers

The Seawolves trailed much of the way and was never in command during the opening 20 minutes against Minot State.

And the fans had to familiarize themselves with a bunch of new faces, including three newcomers in the starting line.

It turned out OK for all involved -- all except Minot State, that is, which succumbed to the 12th-ranked Seawolves early in the second half at Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

UAA wore down the Beavers with a pressing defense and superior size and speed, outscoring the visitors 51-30 in the final 20 minutes. The Seawolves held Minot State to 30.4 percent shooting in the half while getting their own offense going, hitting 20 of 36 shots.

As for the newcomers, a number of them got off to a fine start to help the Seawolves win at home for the 83rd time in 88 games.

Haley Holmstead, a 5-foot-7 guard who was a two-time junior college All-American at Salt Lake Community College, poured in a game-high 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting.

Bruna Deichmann, a 5-9 junior-college transfer from College of Eastern Utah, contributed 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting and added four rebounds, four steals, three assists and just one turnover.

And Gritt Ryder, a 5-9 freshman point guard from Denmark, handed out a game-high seven assists in in her Seawolf debut. Fellow newcomer Gritt Ryder, a freshman from Denmark, started at point guard and dished a game-high seven assists.

The regulars came through too on a night when preseason All-American Hannah Johansson played just 12 minutes thanks to foul trouble.

Alysa Horn, a 6-foot junior from Kodiak, came off the bench to pump in 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting (2 of 4 from 3-point range) and grab six rebounds. One of her biggest shots was a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left in the first half that gave UAA the lead for good, 34-33.

Kaylie Robison, another returning forward, hit a follow shot at the buzzer to give UAA a 36-33 halftime lead and played tough around the basket all night, finishing with seven rebounds, six points, four assists and zero turnovers in 24 minutes.

Veterans Tierja Matthews and Kyle Burns dropped in 12 points and nine points, respectively, and combined for five 3-pointers.

In all, 13 players logged time for coach Tim Moser, who ran his remarkable record to 135-27 as he begins his sixth season with the Seawolves.

Minot State of North Dakota raced to early leads of 5-0 and 13-5 and made UAA work to claw out a halftime lead. The Beavers, who are in their second year of NCAA Division II play after years at the NAIA level, where led by Katie Hardy's 16 points and Morgan Klose's five assists and four steals.

UAA returns to nonconference action tonight against Dixie State. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

MINOT STATE (0-1)

Hardy 3-7 8-8 16; Christina Boag 4-5 1-2 9; Nakatani 0-0 9-11 9; Safranski 3-5 0-0 9; Carly Boag 2-8 2-3 6; Klose,Morgan 2-6 0-0 5; Lindsey 2-5 0-0 4; Molina 2-6 0-0 4; Larson 0-1 1-2 1; Wong 0-2 0-0 0; Garza 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 21-26 63.

UAA (1-0)

Holmstead 9-14 2-2 20; Horn 6-10 0-0 14; Deichmann 4-8 4-6 12; Mathews 4-7 2-2 12; Burns 3-5 0-0 9; Robison 1-5 4-6 6; Johansson 2-7 1-2 5; Martin 1-1 0-0 3; Richens 1-2 0-0 2; Madison 1-3 0-0 2; Ryder 1-3 0-0 2; Lee 0-0 0-0 0; Seale 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-65 13-18 87.

Minot State 33 30 -- 63

UAA 36 51 -- 87

3-point goals -- Minot State 6-15 (Safranski 3-4; Hardy 2-3; Klose 1-3; Molina 0-2; Wong 0-2; Garza 0-1). UAA 8-18 (Burns 3-5; Mathews 2-5; Horn 2-4; Martin 1-1; Madison 0-1; Ryder 0-2). Fouled out -- Johansson. Rebounds -- Minot State 25 (Carly Boag 4), UAA 36 (Robison 7). Assists -- Minot State 17 (Klose 5; Molina 5), UAA 24 (Ryder 7). Total fouls -- Minot State 19, UAA 24. Turnovers -- Minot State 28 (Safranski 5, four with 4), UAA 22 (Holmstead 5). Steals -- Minot State 9 (Klose 4), UAA 12 (Deichmann 4). A -- 477. Officials -- Gabby Lujan, Jim Leitch, Yvonne Floyd.