The rematch turned into a rout.
The UAA women’s basketball team clobbered Montana State-Billings 87-42 Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center, a stunning outcome between two teams that played for the West Region championship last season.
Billings won the region championship by a single point, 71-70. There was no drama in the rematch, unless it was whether UAA could push its lead to 50 points (it couldn’t).
Five players hit double figures and another scored nine points for the Seawolves (13-1 overall, 5-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), who are ranked 14th in Division II.
Eleven players grabbed rebounds, 10 handed out assists, eight scored and six had steals for UAA in the 45-point victory.
Hannah Wandersee and Sala Langi led the Seawalves with 17 points apiece, with Wandersee adding a game-high eight rebounds and Langi dishing four assists to go with a steal and a block.
Plenty of others also put up impressive numbers. Kian McNair supplied 10 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds. Tara Thompson tallied 13 points and five rebounds -- and like Wandersee, she hit 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range. Tennae Voliva scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from the foul line. Sydni Stallworth was good for nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
It all added up to misery for the Yellowjackets (6-5, 2-3).
Taryn Shelley and Hannah Collings both scored 10 points and Shelley collected eight rebounds for Billings, which led briefly early in the game but trailed 22-12 after one quarter and 43-18 at the half.
UAA, which shot 49.2 percent, held the Yellowjackets to 23.9 percent shooting and limited them to eight field goals through the first three quarters. Billings had 23 turnovers – 14 of which came on steals by UAA – and was outrebounded 40-29.
The Seawolves, who defeated UAF on Tuesday, will take a six-game winning streak on the road next week for games at Western Oregon and Concordia-Portland.