A No. 2 UAA women's basketball team accustomed to high-scoring games relied on defense instead of high point totals in a 59-32 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win over Concordia on Thursday in Portland.
The Seawolves' 59 points were their second lowest all season, but the 32 points allowed were also their second lowest allowed.
"We shot the ball poorly that game," UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said by phone after the game. "Fortunately, both teams shot poorly. We just missed shots that we normally make."
UAA finished the game shooting 34.8 percent from the field. Concordia shot 18.8 percent.
The only player who shot well for UAA was Megan Mullings. The senior forward paced UAA (25-1, 12-1 GNAC) with a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. Mullings was the only player on either side in double figures.
What the Seawolves lacked on offense, they made up on defense. Nine Seawolves recorded steals for a team total of 16. Kiki Roberston led the way with three steals.
UAA also forced 28 Concordia turnovers and held every player under double figures.
Lexi Campbell led Concordia (4-17, 2-11) with nine points.
"I thought our press was really efficient for us tonight," McCarthy said. "We switched up our press a little bit and I thought it put them on their heels."
UAA and Concordia were tied 9-9 late in the first quarter, but a steal by Alysha Devine led to a layup by Mullings, and the Seawolves took an 11-9 lead to end the quarter.
The pair completed the same move to start the second quarter — a Devine steal to a Mullings layup — and the Seawolves went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game for good.
"This was one of her better games," McCarthy said of Mullings. "She played at another level tonight. To put up those numbers in 20 minutes is pretty remarkable."
The Seawolves held Concordia to four points the in third quarter and nine in the fourth to continue their stifling defense.
Next on the docket, UAA plays Western Oregon on Saturday at Monmouth.
That's always a tough place to play," McCarthy said. "I would just like to see us take a step forward and finish off the easy shots that we missed (on Thursday)."