UAA’s mayhem defense created havoc in the form of 18 steals and carried the Seawolves to a lopsided win Saturday night at the Alaska Airlines Center.
All 12 players had at least one steal in the 69-49 win over Seattle Pacific. The Seawolves harassed the Falcons into 26 turnovers with their fast-paced, pressure defense.
Lauren Johnson, a junior guard, tossed in a game-high 15 points and three players — Tennae Voliva, Nicole Pinckney and Stephanie Jackson — added nine points for the Seawolves.
UAA, the ninth-ranked team in Division II, improved to 21-2 overall and 11-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. It was the 25th straight homecourt win for the Seawolves, whose last loss at the Alaska Airlines Center came against Seattle Pacific in March 2018. The Falcons (7-13 season, 5-7 GNAC) entered Saturday’s game with seven wins in their previous 11 games.
“That was far from pretty, but we managed to get it done against a team that’s much better than its overall record indicates,” UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said in a release from the school. “We missed a lot of open looks that we usually knock down on offense. Fortunately, we brought our typical defensive effort, and we got the job done.”
Sala Langi and Amelia Motz each had six rebounds to help the Seawolves outrebound Seattle Pacific 41-36, which helped them survive a 33.3% shooting night.
UAA led 16-11 after one quarter and was ahead by four points about three minutes into the second quarter before finishing the half with a 19-3 run. Yazmeen Goo’s 3-pointer sparked the surge, which put UAA ahead 41-21 at the half.
The win keeps UAA in first place in the GNAC heading into a Thursday showdown against second-place Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The Nighthawks are 10-2 in the GNAC, one game behind UAA.