LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. ? Junior newcomer Kiki Taylor had a breakout performance, but the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team fell victim to a late comeback Sunday, losing 70-65 in overtime to Lake Superior State in Disney's Division II East Coast Tip-Off Classic.
The Seawolves (2-1) got 14 points, six rebounds and four assists from Taylor, plus 13 points and six rebounds from senior forward Dasha Basova. Senior center Rebecca Kielpinski had 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the loss ? just the second regular-season, non-conference defeat (25-2) in third-year head coach Tim Moser's tenure.
LSSU (3-0), meanwhile, pulled off its third straight win as six Lakers scored in double figures, led by guard Ronlea Peterson's 14 points. Interior players Jaclyn Armstrong (13 pts, 12 rebs) and Alyssa VanderWal (10 pts, 11 rebs, 4 blks) both posted double-doubles, although Armstrong shot just 5 of 27 from the floor.
In fact, UAA held the Lakers to 28.6 percent shooting (22 of 77), but the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference squad overcame that with a 56-42 rebounding advantage and opportunistic play in the final minute.
The first half was a back-and-forth contest as LSSU took a 34-31 lead at halftime. UAA came out quickly in the second half, roaring to an 11-point advantage when Basova hit a layup with 13:08 left.
LSSU sliced its deficit to 51-50 only five minutes later before UAA again appeared to take control. The Seawolves led 62-56 when Nicci Miller drained a three-pointer with one minute to play, however nothing would go right for the Seawolves from there.
Armstrong scored a basket after two offensive rebounds to make it 62-58, and the Lakers fouled UAA senior Jackie Thiel with 25 seconds remaining. Thiel missed the front end of the one-and-one opportunity and was then whistled for a foul on the other end as Peterson sank a three-pointer. Peterson made her free throw to tie it and the Seawolves could not get off a shot on the final possession of regulation.
Tied 64-64 in the extra session, LSSU's Emily Joseph gave her team the lead for good on a layup with 36 seconds to play. Kielpinski missed the first of two free throws on UAA's next chance to leave the Seawolves down by a point, and the Peterson closed things out with four straight free throws.
LSSU, which went 12-14 in 2007-08, claimed the tournament title, while UAA finished second in the round-robin standings. UAA is coming off a 30-5 record and an NCAA Semifinals berth.
