Sports

UAA rolls over Pepperdine in Shootout

Mayhem isn't just a word on the back of their warmups. It's a way of life on the basketball court for players on the UAA women's team, who press and trap and generally annoy the heck out of opponents with their full-court defensive pressure.

In Tuesday's 94-61 steamrolling of Pepperdine in the first round of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout, mayhem happened early and often at the Alaska Airlines Center.

It made its first appearance two minutes into the game when UAA junior guard Kiki Robertson stole the ball at midcourt and raced for an uncontested layup for a 4-0 lead.

That was the first of seven first-quarter Pepperdine turnovers, all of them forced by UAA's smothering defense.

By game's end, Pepperdine had turned over the ball 22 times while becoming UAA's most recent Shootout victim. And Division II UAA (11-0) had its second-biggest victory over a Division I foe, a 33-point triumph surpassed only by a 42-point win over Coastal Carolina in 2009.

"We just knew that if we came out from the start with energy and intensity that the rest would kind of take care of itself," UAA senior Jenna Buchanan said. "I think it was a lot of fun, and it was a great team win."

In the last 10 Shootouts, the Seawolves are 9-1 in first-round games. The last four of those victories have come with fourth-year coach Ryan McCarthy at the helm.

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"I've won four," McCarthy said, "but I'm 0-for-3 in championships."

The win puts the Seawolves in Wednesday's 5 p.m. championship game against Western Kentucky, a 77-54 winner over George Mason in Tuesday's other game. UAA will be playing for its seventh Shootout title and its first since 2009.

Wednesday will be a busy day at the arena. The final two women's games will be followed by a pair of first-round men's games. First-round men's action continues on Thanksgiving with two more games, including the UAA men's opener against Middle Tennessee.

Leading the Seawolves statistically were Buchanan, who buried six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points, and Megan Mullings, who scored 21 points on 8 of 9 shooting while adding game-highs of seven rebounds and three blocks.

But when the defense sparks UAA like it did against Pepperdine, a team effort is required.

The Seawolves came after the Waves in waves. McCarthy subbed in players in groups of threes, fours and sometimes five, and almost every combination clicked.

"I thought we came out with a lot of energy," he said. "We limited them offensively, I thought.

"When we can execute our defensive game scheme like that, we are very good."

The bench didn't score a lot of points -- 17 -- but it provided 10 of UAA's 28 assists, five of its 12 steals and 13 of its 39 rebounds. And four reserves logged double-figure minutes, allowing the Seawolves to run the court for the full 40 minutes.

Starting guard Keiahnna Engel, the Dimond High grad who transferred from Division I Boise State for her final season of basketball, was at times the best player on the court.

She posted 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals and turned into two highlight-reel plays in two-and-a-half-minute span in the second quarter, first grabbing her own rebound from a missed 3-pointer and driving through traffic for a bucket, and then setting up one of Mullings' baskets with a sweet slash-and-pass.

Robertson and Adriana Dent were productive at the point, with Robertson getting seven points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals and Dent getting three assists and two steals and forcing a few other turnovers, including one early in the game when she tipped an interior pass by the Waves. Her layup gave UAA a 9-3 lead.

Jessica Madison chipped in 13 points on 50 percent shoot to complete UAA's list of double-figure scorers.

Erica Ogwumike led the Waves with 22 points. Pepperdine was limited to 39.3 percent shooting but improved to 50 percent in the second half to finish with a 44.2 percent showing for the game. UAA shot 53 percent.

The Seawolves,, who outrebounded Pepperdine 39-24, never trailed. They led 24-15 after one quarter and limited the Wave to four second-quarter baskets to lead 50-23 at the half.

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