ANCHORAGE - Kelsie Gourdin scored 22 points and Nicci Miller had 19 points and eight rebounds Saturday as the 4th-ranked Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team overcame a strong challenge from Grand Canyon with a 84-70 victory in the AT&T Classic at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (8-0) also got 13 points and five rebounds from junior wing Nikki Aden, who sparked her team with clutch shooting in the second half.
Grand Canyon (5-3) was led by 26 points and four steals from star guard Samantha Murphy, who shot 7 of 10 overall (4-7 3FGs) and 8 of 11 from the free-throw stripe.
After UAA took a 56-48 lead on an Aden three-pointer with 10:09 remaining, Murphy brought the Antelopes back by herself, scoring eight straight points to tie the game with 7:40 remaining.
But UAA junior Sarah Herrin answered nine seconds later with a pair of free throws and then knocked down a three-pointer at the 6:28 mark for a 63-58 lead. GCU would not get closer than four points the rest of the way as UAA outrebounded the defending Pacific West Conference champions, 41-26.
Gourdin was named AT&T Player of the Game for the second straight night and captured the event's Most Outstanding Player honor after shooting 6 of 9 from the field and 9 of 10 at the charity stripe. The junior forward scored 15 of her points in the first half to help UAA earn a 35-33 lead the break.
Aden, meanwhile, made the All-Classic Team with 3-of-4 three-point shooting and 4-of-4 free-throw marksmanship, scoring 10 of her points in the second half. Miller shot 5 of 13 from the field and 8 of 12 at the stripe as the Seawolves converted on 35 of 46 free throws.
GCU's 70 points marked the most allowed by the Seawolves this year, but the Antelopes made just 6 of 20 three-pointers, compared to UAA's 9 of 19 from long range.
Antelope point guard Shareka Purnell was also named to the All-Classic squad as she finished with four points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in Saturday's loss.
UAA also got solid games from sophomore post Hanna Johansson (eight points, career-high nine rebounds, three steals) and senior point guard Kiki Taylor (four points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals).
Saturday's win marked the 401st career victory for head coach Tim Moser, who is now 92-15 with UAA. Before coming to the Seawolves, Moser was 309-109 as coach of both the men's and women's teams at Otero (Colo.) Junior College from 1998-2006.
The Seawolves are now off for six days before returning for the WFSC on Dec. 19-20 for back-to-back games against Western State (Colo.). Both of those games begin at 5 p.m. AST.
AT&T Classic Game 3
BYU-Hawaii 61, Alaska Fairbanks 48
Mahina Gago scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds and teammate Lindsey Sundin came off the bench with 11 points and six rebounds to lead Brigham Young-Hawaii to a win over Alaska Fairbanks in Saturday's early game.
UAF reserve forward Lakeshia Levi tallied a game-high 16 points for the Nanooks, but they were outrebounded 39-30 by the Seasiders.
BYUH (4-3) shot 40 percent from the field in the win, while UAF (1-8) managed just 33 percent shooting.
2009 All-AT&T Classic Team
Nikki Aden, Alaska Anchorage
Mahina Gago, BYU-Hawaii
Nicci Miller, Alaska Anchorage
Samantha Murphy, Grand Canyon
Shareka Purnell, Grand Canyon
Most Outstanding Player: Kelsie Gourdin, Alaska Anchorage
