Another stellar performance by Autummn Williams lifted the second-ranked UAA women's basketball team to another victory Saturday night.
Williams poured in 31 points — her second straight 30-plus game — to spark a 69-48 conference win over Central Washington in Ellensburg, Washington.
The big game for the senior guard came two nights after she netted a career-high 34 points in an eight-point win over Northwest Nazarene.
"She's really carried us this week," UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said.
The road win stretches UAA's winning streak to 19 games and keeps the team undefeated in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with four games remaining.
A shaky start gave way to a strong finish for the Seawolves (23-1 overall, 16-0 GNAC).
They shot 27 percent — 10 of 36 — in the first half and needed a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 30-21 halftime lead.
They regrouped to shoot 50 percent — 14 of 28 — in the second half.
"It was an ugly first half, but offensively Autummn was very good for us again," McCarthy said. "We moved the ball better in the second half … so we were able to attack someone running toward us instead of someone who was set."
After some disorderly defense in the first half, the Seawolves settled down on that end of the court too.
"In the first half everyone was running around," McCarthy said. "We knew the changes we needed to make in terms of defense, and a lot of them weren't Xs and Os, just the decisions — everyone knows how to close out, and everyone knows to be in a defensive stance even though we're tired. Our attention on little things became more focused."
Williams, a Division I transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock, was the game's only double-figure scorer. She made 11 of 19 field goals and 7 of 9 free throws, and she distributed a team-high five assists.
Three players reached double figures for rebounds — UAA's Shelby Cloninger (11, a career-high) and Sierra Afoa (10) and Central Washington's Taylor Baird (13).
Baird, a 6-foot-2 center, is a Division I transfer from Southern Utah. She blocked two shots but was held to 3 of 13 shooting and seven points.
"We knew she was gonna cause some problems for us," McCarthy said, "but we did a good job playing help-defense."
Cloninger's rebound total included five offensive boards — a number that could have been higher, McCarthy said, had she not been fouled so much while boxing out.
"Shelby was a monster on the offensive glass for us, and she caused them to foul a lot," he said. "Sierra was very, very solid. She's been very consistent for us — you can play great defense but it doesn't mean a thing if the other team gets the rebound."
UAA earned a big 52-39 rebounding advantage over the Wildcats (10-14, 5-11). All 10 players had at least one rebounds for the Seawolves.
Kiki Robertson supplied nine points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists, although the senior point guard gave away the ball five times. Hannah Wandersee chipped in eight points and three blocks, Cloninger added seven points and Afoa added three steals.
The Seawolves play their final home games of the regular season this week when they host Saint Martin's on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.