The UAA women's basketball team used a late push against UAF on Saturday to close the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
Behind a game-high 21 points from Kylie Burns, the Seawolves prevailed 76-61 at the Patty Center in Fairbanks, in a game that was tied at 50-50 just prior to the midway point of the second half.
The victory tied the Seawolves (17-9, 11-7) for third place in the conference standings and secured the fourth seed for next week's GNAC tournament. UAA will play fifth-seeded Northwest Nazarene on Wednesday in the first round of the GNAC tournament in Lacey, Wash. The Seawolves are two-time defending GNAC tournament champions.
Alysa Horn scored 17 for the Seawolves, hitting three 3-pointers and pulling in eight rebounds along the way. Jenna Buchanan scored 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting, and Jessica Madison notched 13.
UAA began its 26-11 closing run on a 3-pointer from Burns, who hit 3 of 4 treys and 7 of 9 field-goal attempts. After Burns put UAA up 53-50, a Madison layup extended the lead to 55-50 and then Burns hit again to stretch it to 57-50. UAA led by at least seven the rest of the way, taking a 64-54 lead on a 3-pointer from Horn with 7:34 to play and going up 72-59 on a Burns jumper with just more than two minutes remaining.
UAF (5-21, 3-15) lost its 12 consecutive game to UAA, snapping a three-game winning streak in the process. The Nanooks outrebounded UAA 39-31, but struggled with their long-range shooting, hitting just 4 of 23 shots from beyond the arc. Brianna Kirk (10 rebounds), Benissa Bulaya and Taylor Altenburg all finished with 13 points for the Nanooks, and Samantha Thornton deposited 10.
UAA was sharp from long range, hitting 40 percent of its 3-pointers. Buchanan hit a pair of treys in the first half, scoring 12 of her 15 points before the break and helping UAA take a 37-30 lead into the break.
Horn became the 10th woman in UAA history to reach 1,100 points, her career total now at 1,114, which ranks her 10th all-time at UAA. She is also in the top 10 for career rebounds, blocks, 3-pointers made and games played.
UAA (76) -- Horn 6-12 2-2 17; King 2-11 2-2 7; Martin 1-4 0-0 3; Madison 5-13 3-4 13; Burns 7-9 4-5 21; Hutchins 0-0 0-0 0; Buchanan 6-10 1-3 15. Totals 27-59 12-16 76.
UAF (61) -- Lovato 0-6 0-0 0; Thornton 3-7 4-4 10; Altenburg 5-10 2-2 13; Bulaya 6-9 1-3 13; Logue 1-7 0-0 2; Kirk 6-12 0-0 13; Atoruk 2-5 0-0 6; O'Neal 2-4 0-0 4. Totals -- 25-60 7-9 61.
UAA 37 39 -- 76
UAF 30 31 -- 61
3-point field goals -- UAA 10-25 (Horn 3-7; King 1-4; Martin 1-3; Madison 0-2; Burns 3-4; Hutchins 0-0; Buchanan 2-5); UAF 4-23 (Lovato 0-5; Thornton 0-1; Altenburg 1-3; Bulaya 0-1; Logue 0-3; Kirk 1-5; Atoruk 2-5). Rebounds -- UAA 31 (Horn 8); UAF 39 (Kirk 10). Total Fouls -- UAA 9; UAF 16. Fouled out -- UAA, none; UAF, Logue. Assists -- UAA 15 (Buchanan 5); UAF 19 (Logue 7). Turnovers -- UAA 15 (three with 4); UAF 22 (Bulaya 6). Blocks -- UAA 2 (Horn, 2); UAF 0. Steals -- UAA 8 (Horn 3); UAF 9 (Logue 4). Officials -- Bray, Hamilton, Arrington. A -- 368.
Anchorage Daily News