The fifth-ranked UAA women's basketball team survived a scare Thursday night in Seattle to remain undefeated in conference play.
The Seawolves rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to beat Seattle Pacific 71-62 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game.
Autummn Williams poured in a career-high 29 points and Kiki Robertson sank eight of 10 free throws in the final minute to spark the Seawolves (16-1 overall, 9-0 GNAC).
Both players contributed points in an 11-1 run that put UAA in the lead for good at the start of the fourth quarter.
"It was a battle, and I think it was what we needed," UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said. "SPU came out and they were on fire from (3-point range). We had some missed defensive assignments, and they punished us for that."
Coming into the game, UAA had hit the 100-point mark in two of its previous four games and had cruised to most of its conference wins. But Seattle Pacific provided a true test.
The Falcons (13-4, 5-4) sank seven of 15 long-range shots to put UAA in a 34-25 hole at the half – the biggest halftime deficit UAA has faced against a Division II team since losing last year's national championship game.
"We're not gonna beat everybody by 30 and 40 points," McCarthy said. "We need these kind of games, because you don't want to get in the playoffs and have to face (a close game) for the first time."
UAA opened the third quarter with a 15-4 run – the 5-foot-10 Williams provided six points, a block, a steal and an assist in the stretch — to seize the lead.
The teams were tied twice and traded the lead a couple of times after that, and the quarter ended with Seattle Pacific ahead 47-45.
"Autummn really had a great game for us and put us on her back there for a little while," McCarthy said.
The Seawolves took control for good with an 11-1 run at the start of the fourth quarter.
The surge started with a traditional three-point play by Robertson, followed by a steal and a layup by Williams. After SPU answered with a free throw, Hannah Wandersee and Williams drilled consecutive treys to give UAA a 56-48 lead. The Falcons never got closer than four points after that.
Williams made 11 of 22 shots (4 of 11 from 3-point range) and had four of UAA's 11 steals.
Robertson was 9 of 11 from the foul line and finished with 13 points, and three players – Robertson, Wandersee and Alysha Devine – each grabbed six rebounds.
Seattle Pacific was led by Lindsay Lee's 12 point, five steals and four assists. All of her points came from 3-point range.
UAA, which was playing its first game since losing two players to academic ineligibility, travels to Saint Martin's for a Saturday game.