Less than a week after the UAA women's basketball team gained a player back from injury, the Seawolves are losing two for the rest of the season.
Junior guard Kaitlyn Hurley and junior forward Dominique Thomas — both first-year players at UAA — failed to maintain 2.0 GPAs during the fall semester, making them academically ineligible to play in the spring, UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said by cellphone.
"For those particular ladies they were close, but they didn't get it," McCarthy said. "They're still on our team. We're still supporting them."
The Seawolves are in Seattle for a Thursday game against Seattle Pacific, and neither player made the trip.
Hurley averaged 6.4 points per game and was fourth on the team with 1.4 assists per game for UAA through the first 16 games. Thomas averaged 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds. Both were reserve players.
McCarthy said many schools allow players a second semester to improve their grades, but at UAA, players must maintain at least nine credits and a 2.0 cumulative GPA starting from their first semester in order to maintain eligibility.
He said Hurley and Thomas are not allowed to travel with the team, but they can still practice and attend certain team functions.
"We met with them and their parents and we talked about how we can learn from this and get better form this," McCarthy said. "I think we're all on the same page and everyone's goal is to make sure the classroom is the highest priority."
If Hurley and Thomas meet UAA's academic standards during the spring semester, they will have one year of eligibility remaining next season.
The Seawolves have 10 eligible players remaining on the team, including guard Zhara Laster, who returned to the court last week after missing the first two months of the season with a concussion.
The fifth-ranked Seawolves (15-1, 8-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) tip off against Seattle Pacific (13-3, 5-3) at 6 p.m. AST on Thursday in Seattle.
After starting 11-0, the Falcons have dropped three of their last five games.
UAA owns an 11-game winning streak.