According to the scoreboard, the difference between the No. 1 team and the No. 19 team in Division II women's basketball was 13 points Thursday night.
At times though, the difference was night and day.
The top-ranked UAA women used moments of sheer domination to win their 14th straight game, an 83-70 triumph over 19th-ranked Seattle Pacific in front of an Alaska Airlines Center crowd of 1,692.
Junior forward Megan Mullings poured in a career-high 29 points and sophomore guard Kiki Robertson racked up nine points, nine rebounds and nine assists to push UAA's record to 26-1 overall and 16-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The pair received an ovation from an appreciative crowd when they went to the bench with a little more than two minutes left and the game well in hand. The final contribution from Mullings came right before, when she blocked a shot right in front of Seattle Pacific's bench.
"I've said it before -- I'm a much better coach when I have players like Megan Mullings and Kiki Robertson," UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said. "I'm really enjoying this."
There were plenty of moments to savor for the Seawolves.
The team's one-word motto is "mayhem," and that's an apt description of a 3-minute, 27-second span midway through the first half when UAA took control of a close game.
The Seawolves led 15-12 with a little more than nine minutes to go before halftime when their defensive trap forced the Falcons (20-5 overall, 12-5 GNAC) to call a timeout in order to avoid a turnover. When play resumed, UAA sophomore Alisha Devine twice got a hand on the ball and the Falcons couldn't get a shot off until they forced one right before the shot clock ran out.
Mullings got the rebound and a couple of seconds later Devine nailed a 3-pointer to trigger an 11-0 run that built UAA's lead to 26-12. Mullings, Alli Madison and Jerica Nelson each had steals and SPU missed three shots during the pivotal stretch.
"It's the energy and the positivity," Mullings said, explaining the team's interludes of explosiveness. "Alisha gets a hand on the ball, then she gets another hand on the ball. Those deflections get everyone pumped up."
In the final minutes of the first half, the Falcons were demonstrably frustrated. Trailing 37-25, they cut UAA's lead to single digits with a 3-pointer by Suzanna Ohlsen on their first possession, and hit two more treys while reducing the deficit to seven points, 51-44.
At which point it was time for more mayhem.
The Seawolves forced four turnovers -- including a shot clock violation -- in a 3:17 span during which they scored 10 straight points to claim a 61-44 lead. Frustration again showed in the faces and body language of the Falcons, giving UAA an extra jolt of energy.
"We build off that," Robertson said. "It's more energy, more mayhem. We just go at them and make them feel worse."
The Seawolves used speed and defensive pressure to wear out Seattle Pacific. Even though the Falcons had a longer bench -- seven subs to UAA's four -- the Seawolves had the more productive bench, with 20 points and 12 rebounds to SPU's 12 and nine, respectively.
Robertson and Madison each had four steals and the Seawolves had 17 in all as Seattle Pacific turned over the ball 27 times.
"Our pressure really bothered them," McCarthy said. "The way we were able to play defense suffocated them.
"...We didn't really shoot the ball well but we got a bunch of steals. We took the ball out of their hands and just wore them down."
In the first half, UAA's defense twice held Seattle Pacific without a field goal for long stretches between field goals. The Falcons, who only scored seven baskets that half; went 6:50 between their third and fourth field goals and 6:34 before their fourth and fifth.
In the second half, UAA twice forced Seattle Pacific into shot clock violations late in the game.
"That's the best feeling in the world," Mullings said.
Better than blocking a shot right in front of the opponent's bench?
"Yes," she said.
"What???" challenged an unbelieving Robertson.
Mullings shook her head. "That's just funny," she said.
Mullings was no joke during 23 minutes of play. She buried 11 of 14 field goals, hit seven of nine free throws, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals.
Robertson was her usual pesky self and so was Madison, who chipped in 12 points and seven assists. Jessica Madison -- no relation -- hit a couple of timely 3-pointers to finish with 11 points.
Seattle Pacific landed three players in double figures -- Maddey Pflaumer had 16, Ohlsen 15 and Aubree Callen 14 -- and recovered from 28 percent shooting in the first half to shoot 53.8 percent in the second half.
The Seawolves play their final regular-season game Saturday afternoon when they host Montana State-Billlings at the Alaska Airlines Center.