The 11th-ranked Seawolves clinched the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title Saturday by pounding Western Oregon 72-42 in Monmouth, Ore.
The Seawolves won the GNAC title outright, meaning there is no co-champion sharing the honor like there was in 2009 when UAA and Seattle Pacific tied for title.
With one league game remaining, the Seawolves are 15-2 in the league (24-4 overall) and no one has a chance of catching them.
The last time a UAA women's team won a conference title outright, it was 1989, the conference was the old Continental Divide Conference and Robin Graul was in the final year of her brilliant career.
Saturday at Western Oregon, it was Tijera Mathews' turn to be brilliant. The senior came off the bench to pour in a career-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, grab four rebounds and come up with four of UAA's 10 steals. She accomplished all of that in just 19 minutes.
It was Mathews' layup that erased Western Oregon's only lead of the game and triggered an 8-0 run that put the Seawolves squarely in command.
The Wolves went up 10-9 on Jade Haas' jumper at the 13-minute, 29-second mark. They scored only four more times -- three field goals, one free throw -- the rest of the half.
At 13:06, Mathews hit a layup to put UAA back on top. That was the start of eight unanswered points in a three-minute span for the Seawolves; Alysa Horn twice five points during the run to help the Seawolves build a 17-10 lead.
It was 33-17 at the half and UAA's lead never dipped below double digits in the second half.
Haley Holmstead chipped in 12 points and Gritt Ryder, who was 3 of 6 behind the 3-point arc, added 11 points, collected five rebounds and dished five assists.
Seven other players scored and nine players hauled down rebounds, with 6-foot-2 senior center Hanna Johansson leading the way with nine boards to go along with six point and four assists. Matthews and Horn helped UAA's bench outscore Western Oregon's 33-8.
Haas led Western Oregon (7-20 overall, 6-10 GNAC) with 12 points and eight rebounds.
UAA plays its final home game Saturday when it takes on UAF at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
UAA (72) -- Holmstead 4-10 4-5 12, Ryder 4-12 0-0 11, King 1-3 1-2 4, Robison 3-7 0-2 6, Johansson 3-9 0-2 6, Deichmann 2-2 0-0 4, Mathews 5-9 4-4 15, Madison 1-1 0-0 3, Richens 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Horn 3-7 0-0 7, Burns 1-3 1-2 4. Totals 27-63 10-17 72.
WESTERN OREGON (42) -- Clifford 1-3 0-0 3, Peterson 3-11 2-5 8, Fowler 5-7 0-011, Topalovic 0-3 0-0 0, Haas 6-13 0-0 12, Miller 0-4 1-2 1, Jasinski 0-1 0-0 0, Goularte 3-7 1-1 7, Reade 0-3 0-0 0, Titus 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 18-53 4-9 42.
UAA 33 39 -- 72
Western Oregon 17 25 -- 42
3-point goals -- UAA 8-16 (Ryder 3-6, King 1-1, Mathews 1-3, Madison 1-1, Horn 1-2, Burns 1-3), Western Oregon 2-10 (Clifford 1-3, Peterson 0-2, Fowler 1-1, Topalovic 0-3, Jasinski 0-1). Rebounds -- UAA 42 (Johansson 9), Western Oregon 36 (Peterson 9). Total fouls -- UAA 15, WOU 14. Fouled out -- none. Assists -- UAA 15 (Ryder 5), WOU 10 (Haas 3). Turnovers -- UAA 11 (3 with 2), WOU 23 (Clifford 6, Peterson 6). Blocked shots -- UAA 1, WOU 2. Steals -- UAA 10 (Mathews 4), WOU 4 (Clifford 2). A -- 304.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.