The last time the UAA women's basketball team had been in front of fans at the Alaska Airlines Center was a one-point Senior Day loss back on Feb. 27.
That was before the Seawolves blew through the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament and battled their way through the NCAA Division II tournament and into the national championship game. The Seawolves lost the title game 78-73 to undefeated Lubbock Christian, but the 2015-16 season easily goes down as the best in Seawolves history.
Several hundred fans showed Thursday up to cheer the team one last time.
"I think the thing that has had the most impact for us is just the local support that we've received," UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said after speaking to the fans. "That's not only the people that came to the (national championship) game, but when we came back, I just couldn't believe people were waiting for us (at the airport). It means a lot.
"I think it's going to be one of those thing when the ladies look back on their career, that's something that they're always going to remember. They'll never forget these moments."
The celebration included a brief highlight video and the introduction of players before McCarthy came to the podium.
"Honestly, we got to this point quicker than I anticipated," McCarthy told the crowd. "Four years ago when I was hired, I think I was the third choice … I remember going to an intramural game looking for two players so we could practice 5-on-5.
"We've obviously come a long ways from that particular season."
McCarthy shared stories about his team's time in Indianapolis, including being one of only two teams to get a lead story in the Indianapolis Star -- the other was Division I juggernaut UConn -- and hearing the UAA fight song played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, something not normally done even at home games.
Then he told individual stories about all 12 players who recorded minutes this season. Some had the Alaska Airlines Center crowd erupting in laughter. Others were touching.
When mentioning senior guard Jenna Buchanan, who hails from Galena, McCarthy said he now gets regular calls from rural Alaska coaches who tell him their best player needs to join his team.
McCarthy recalled showing senior Adriana Dent the Alaska Airlines Center on her recruiting trip while the arena was still under construction. He said she jokingly asked him if "it's going to be like the Staples Center" in Los Angeles.
McCarthy shared how junior forward Alysha Devine became "deathly sick" before a mid-season game and ended up in the hospital. Midway through the game, Devine was back in the locker room doing pushups, ready to play.
McCarthy spent the most time talking about his seven seniors — Dent, Buchanan, Megan Mullings, Jessica Madison, Keiahnna Engel, Christina Davis and Dominique Brooks.
Following McCarthy's speech, fans formed a long, winding line to have the players and coaches autograph team photos, basketballs and posters.
But as soon as one season's celebration ends, the preparation for the next one begins. McCarthy said he's already back on the recruiting trail.
"It's crazy, I was recruiting right after the (championship) game," he said. "I had messages from recruits, and emails. We've got a busy next couple of weeks because this is primetime official visit time and stuff like that.
"We're just putting our head down and making sure we've got our recruits ready, our camps are going to be ready and everything from here on out goes smoothly, because the summertime gets pretty busy."