The No. 3 UAA women's basketball team survived a scare Thursday at Simon Fraser.
The Seawolves led for most of the game, but outlasted a late comeback attempt by the Clan to win their Great Northwest Athletic Conference Opener 76-74 in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Senior guard Jenna Buchanan led UAA (11-0, 1-0 GNAC) with 16 points, going 4 of 11 from the 3-point line. Fellow seniors Keiahnna Engel and Megan Mullings each finished with 13.
Guard Alisha Roberts led Simon Fraser (2-4, 0-1) with 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting and guard Elisa Homer added 17.
UAA's signature full-court press defense and "platoon sub" technique, where five fresh players come in together, usually tires opposing defenses as the game winds down. On Thursday, it seemed to have the opposite effect on the Clan.
UAA led 68-56 with seven minutes left in the game until a 3 by Roberts sparked a 12-3 run by Simon Fraser.
The Seawolves used the clock to their advantage in the final two minutes, but the Clan battled within one. Simon Fraser had the ball with 20 seconds remaining following a Jessica Madison free throw and a chance to pull off the upset.
Ellen Kett's potential game-winning shot was an air ball, possibly partially blocked by UAA's Adriana Dent, and the Seawolves held on for the victory.
Only seven Simon Fraser players saw the court with five playing more than 30 minutes. One player, Kett, played the entire game.
Meanwhile, UAA played 11 players and no one played more than 27 minutes.
UAA outrebounded Simon Fraser 41-29 in the win, including a 20-3 advantage in offensive rebounds, but Simon Fraser countered by shooting 51.1 percent from the field to UAA's 43.1.
Going into the game, Simon Fraser had bounced back from a 0-3 start to the season with back-to-back wins.
UAA went into the game off a narrow loss to Western Kentucky in the Great Alaska Shootout Championship. That game didn't count against UAA's record since it was designated an exhibition game for the Seawolves.
UAA continues on the road this week with a Saturday matchup against Western Washington in Bellingham.