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#13 Seawolves outlast Wolves, 68-54

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#14 Seawolves defend title at West Regional

THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF BASKETBALL...

at NCAA Div. II West Region Tournament
Royal Brougham Pavilion (2,650) — Seattle, Wash.
All Times Alaska Standard/Daylight Time

First Round – Fri., Mar. 12
#3 Western Washington (23-4) vs. #6 Chico State (21-9), 11:30 am
#2 UC San Diego (25-4) vs. #7 Humboldt State (19-10), 1:30 pm
#4 Alaska Anchorage (23-4) vs. #5 Cal Poly Pomona (22-6), 4:30 pm
#1 Seattle Pacific (24-3) vs. #8 Hawaii Pacific (18-6), 6:30 pm
Semifinals – Saturday, Mar. 13
WWU/Chico winner vs. UCSD/HSU winner, 4 pm
UAA/CPP winner vs SPU/HPU winner, 6:30 pm
Championship – Monday, Mar. 15
Semifinal winners, 6 pm (winner advances to NCAA 'Elite Eight' in St. Joseph, Mo., Mar. 23-26)

RADIO: Live on FM-93.7 KAFC

ONLINE VIDEO & AUDIO: All games from the West Regional will be videostreamed live — look for links at GoSeawolves.com or visit the 'tourney central' page at spufalcons.com … online audio for all UAA games is also at GoSeawolves.com in the 'SplashZone' (subscription fee applies).

LIVE STATS: Free via the 'tourney central' page at spufalcons.com

UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2009-10 stats)
G—Nikki Aden, 5-8, Jr. (8.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, .375 FG, .352 3FG, .860 FT)
G—Tamar Gruwell, 5-8, Sr. (11.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.0 spg, .393 3FG, .857 FT)
G—Kaitlin McBride, 5-8, Jr. (3.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg, .479 FG)
F—Kelsie Gourdin, 5-10, Jr. (9.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.3 spg, 0.8 bpg, .771 FT)
C—Hanna Johansson, 6-2, So. (9.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 2.1 spg, .560 FG, .630 FT)

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Cal Poly Pomona sports a storied women's basketball history, winning the inaugural Div. II national title in 1982 and adding four more championships (1985, 1986, 2001, 2002) to go with runner-up finishes in 1983, 1987 and 1989 … this year, the Broncos have broken a 4-year NCAA drought by winning 10 of their last 12 games and finishing second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association … CPP is paced by 5-6 Jr. G Reyana Colson (16.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.9 spg, .428 FG, .745 FT) and 5-11 Sr. G Stephisa Walton (12.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg, .422 FG, .745 FT).

THE SERIES vs Cal Poly Pomona: CPP leads 3-0 (0-0 neutral)
  Last Meeting: CPP 74, UAA 56 (1/2/96 at CPP)
  Notes: Cal Poly has won all three meetings by 12 points or more … the first meeting was also a first-round NCAA game, with host Cal Poly prevailing 103-77 on Mar. 12, 1988.

TEAM COMPARISONS       UAA     CPP
Overall Record        23-4    22-6
Conference Record     13-3    18-4
Neutral Court Record   2-0     1-1
Points per Game       73.5    61.1
Points Allowed/Gm     54.0    54.0
Rebounding Diff.      +9.0    +6.5
Assists per Game      15.8     9.9
Turnovers per Game    17.1    18.5
Steals per Game       14.0     6.9
Blocks per Game        3.1     1.7
FG%                   .427    .393
3-pt FG%              .338    .306
FT%                   .690    .694

SEAWOLF NCAA HISTORY: UAA is seeking its third straight West Region title after making trips to the NCAA semifinals in 2008 and 2009 … the Seawolves are making their 10th overall NCAA Tournament trip ('86, '88, '89, '92, '94, '00, '07, '08, '09, '10), having now put together an unprecedented string of four straight appearances … UAA is 11-10 all-time in NCAA games, boosted by identical 4-1 marks the last two seasons … the Seawolves are 7-1 in West Region play under Tim Moser, avenging their only loss ('07 Reg. Semis) with last year's second-round win over UC San Diego … UAA is 5-4 in NCAA openers, earning victories in '88, '00, '07 and '08, '09.

SEAWOLVES SPLIT FINALES: The Seawolves ran their winning streak to nine games with a 62-50 decision over Northwest Nazarene on Mar. 4 before falling to Seattle Pacific, 67-60, in the regular-season finale Mar. 6 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex … in the first game,  Sr. F Nicci Miller had 20 points and 8 rebounds and So. F/C Hanna Johansson sparked a second-half run to deal an eventually fatal blow to NNU's playoff chances … with the victory, the Seawolves also kept hope alive hope for a share of their second straight GNAC title, although that would not come to fruition two days later … UAA also got 12 points and 4 steals from Sr. G Tamar Gruwell, plus 8 points and 6 assists from Jr. G Nikki Aden to sweep the season series from NNU … the Crusaders, ranked No. 6 in the West, were led by 14 points from senior forward Brittany Roggenkamp, but the nation's second-leading three-point percentage club made just 3 of 17 (.176) from beyond the arc, while committing 30 turnovers … those turnovers offset a huge NNU rebounding advantage (41-32) as the Seawolves piled up 21 steals … Miller had five of those steals and shot 8 of 15 from the field, bringing the Seawolves back from an early 18-9 deficit … Johansson (13 pts, 6-11 FG, 4 steals) — who was scoreless with two fouls in the first half – then took over to start the second, scoring eight points and accounting for two more off one of her steals to spark a 10-0 run … two nights later, Jr. F Kelsie Gourdin had career-highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead a huge second-half comeback, but the UAA could not hang on down the stretch as Seattle Pacific claimed the GNAC title outright … the Seawolves could have forged a 3-way tie for the crown, but the Falcons outscored their hosts 21-7 in the final 7 minutes … UAA entered the game ranked No. 13 nationally and No. 4 in the West Region, while SPU came in at No. 18 and No. 2 … the teams had shared last year's title with each other … Gourdin finished with 7-of-21 shooting from the floor but made all 12 of her free throws in securing her first career double-double.

TEAM NOTES: Saturday's SPU game marked UAA's first loss this season when outrebounding its opponent (20-1) … the SPU loss was just UAA's third in its last 68 games in Anchorage and the first by more than one point; the Falcons also handed UAA the first of those losses, 78-77, in Feb. 2008 … the Seawolves are a perfect 16-0 when scoring 70 or more points … with the MSUB game Feb. 24, UAA improved to 5-1 in games decided by three points or less … UAA ranks in the top 50 of the NCAA Div. II national statistics in 11 categories, including top-10 ranks in scoring margin (5th, +19.5), rebound margin (6th, +9.0), turnover margin (6th, 6.89), steals per game (6th, 14.0) and scoring defense (8th, 54.0) … in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves pace the league in seven of 19 major categories, including scoring defense, steals, turnover margin and four of five rebounding categories … UAA's win at NW Nazarene on Jan. 30 set a program record for largest comeback from a halftime deficit on the road; the Seawolves trailed 33-22 at the break before rallying for a 66-65 win … the Seawolves' 14 three-pointers against Saint Martin's on Jan. 21 tied the single-game record of the third time – all under 4th-year head coach Tim Moser … UAA has allowed .500-plus FG shooting only five times in 126 games under Moser, including just three times in 66 GNAC contests … UAA's 8 turnovers in the Jan. 14 win over MSUB marked the 4th-fewest in school history … UAA's first-half defensive effort at CWU (13 points allowed) on Jan. 7 marked the 2nd-fewest points allowed in a road game in school history … the win against Chaminade on Dec. 30 was the 500th in program history (now 513-409) … UAA equaled its most-ever rebounds against a Div. II opponent and matched the 5th-largest differential in program history with a 64-32 edge in its Dec. 3 win over Nyack … UAA also had a +32 rebound margin Nov. 16 against Hilo … the Seawolves' 89-47 win in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout over Coastal Carolina was their largest margin ever over a Div. I club.

MORE RECENT HISTORY: UAA's 58-25 halftime advantage over UAF on Feb. 27 was its largest ever in a conference game and marked the 8th-most points scored by a Seawolf team in the opening stanza … UAA is now 30-0 against UAF, MSU Billings, Saint Martin's, Western Oregon and Central Washington over the past three seasons … UAA's win Feb. 18 in Monmouth was its 13th straight over WOU, tying the program record for consecutive victories against an opponent (Metro State, Jan. 25, 1985-present); UAA has not lost to the Wolves since Dec. 6, 2003 … the Feb. 20 win was UAA's largest margin in 27 all-time meetings with SMU … the Seawolves missed only their final free-throw attempt against CWU on Feb. 13, forging a tie for the best single-game percentage in school history (.947, 18-19) … UAA's 9 blocks against CWU were a season-high and equaled its most ever in a GNAC game.

PLAYER NOTES: Sr. SG and Second Team All-GNAC pick Tamar Gruwell is UAA's 2nd-leading scorer and ranks 17th in the league with 11.2 ppg, while also nabbing 2.0 steals per contest — 5th-best in the GNAC ... Gruwell has committed only 25 turnovers in 26 games while playing a team-high 842 minutes (one TO per 33.7 minutes) … at the FT line, Gruwell has missed just five times in 35 attempts (.857) … the Californian is already No. 5 on UAA's career (119) and season (68) lists for 3FGs made, and she could threaten the school record of 83 in a season (Maria Nilsson, 2007-08) with a significant playoff run … in the national stats, Gruwell is 36th in 3FGs per game (2.6) and 42nd in 3FG%, while holding GNAC ranks of 2nd in 3FGs per game, 11th in 3FG% and 4th in minutes per game (32.4) … in November, Gruwell earned a spot on the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team after helping UAA to its fourth straight title … Sr. F Nicci Miller on Tuesday became the first Seawolf aside from Rebecca Kielpinski to earn First Team All-GNAC honors since Kamie Jo Massey in 2004 … Miller is the GNAC's 7th-leading scorer (14.0 ppg) and 10th-leading rebounder (6.3 rpg) … in other GNAC ranks, the Denver native is 3rd in steals per game (2.1) and 10th in FG% (.454) … in November, Miller became the fourth Seawolf to earn Shootout Most Outstanding Player honors and also captured GNAC Player of the Week after leading UAA with 39 points and 15 rebounds in its wins over Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati … she is also a two-time GNAC Player of the Week, earning the honor after the Shootout and after leading UAA with 21 points in a 71-69 win over Western Washington in February … with her 25 assists in the last four games, Jr. G/F Nikki Aden has zoomed from 14th to 4th in the GNAC assists-per-game rankings, improving her season average from 2.4 to 3.0 apg … her 11 assists against UAF were the most for a Seawolf since Tiffany Massey's 13 against Saint Martin's, Jan. 6, 2001 … Aden also ranks 4th in the GNAC with her 1.6-to-1 assist-turnover ratio … in her three seasons, the Seawolves have gone 82-12 with Aden in the lineup, making her the 2nd-winningest Seawolf women's player; with another good season, Aden should surpass record-holder and former teammate Rebecca Kielpinski (97 wins, 2005-09) sometime during her season campaign … So. F/C and All-GNAC honorable mention selection Hanna Johansson is shooting .615 (56-91) during UAA's season-ending 9-1 run and leads the GNAC in FG% at .560 … the Swede's percentage is currently No. 3 on UAA's single-season list and she tops the UAA career list at .558 … in the other GNAC stats, Johansson is 4th in steals per game (2.1), 2nd in offensive rebounding (3.1) and 16th in overall rebounding (5.2) … at MSUB, Johansson's 25 points surpassed her previous career high by eight points and was then the highest total for a Seawolf this year; it was also the first 25-point performance for a UAA player since Dasha Basova had 25 against Colorado Christian, Nov. 20, 2008 … Jr. F Kelsie Gourdin became the fourth straight Seawolf (Jackie Thiel, 2009; Kalhie Quinones, 2008; Jayci Stone, 2007) to earn the GNAC Newcomer of the Year award when she shared the honor Tuesday with MSU Billings' Sarah McNamee … the Mesa State transfer scored in double figures for the 9th time with her career-high 26-point, 10-rebound showing against SPU last week … the Colorado native paces UAA and ranks 9th in the GNAC with 0.8 blocks per game and is the team's 4th-leading scorer (9.2 ppg) and rebounder (4.3 rpg).

TAYLOR MADE? The Seawolves got good news on the injury front this week when they learned they may have Sr. PG Kiki Taylor back for the playoffs …  before breaking her foot in the Jan. 28 home win over Western Oregon, Taylor had gotten the starting call in all 51 games of her Seawolf career … at the time her injury, the Colorado Springs native led the GNAC in both assists (3.9 apg) and steals (3.2 spg) and ranked in top 20 of the Division II national rankings in steals, boosted by a career-high 8 swipes against MSUB on Jan 14 … Taylor has grabbed multiple steals in her last 13 games, moving into 20th place on UAA's career list (120) and 8th place in career average (2.4 spg) … from her point guard position, Taylor also ranks third on the team in rebounding (4.8 rpg).

MOSER MAKES HIS MARK: After just three-plus seasons, UAA head coach Tim Moser captured his 100th victory at the Seawolf helm with the Feb. 3 win in Fairbanks ... in 2008-09 Moser was honored for the second time in three seasons as the GNAC Coach of the Year, while also garnering his first WBCA West Region Coach-of-the-Year award … since arriving at UAA in 2006, the Colorado native has led the Seawolves to the third-most victories in women's Div. II basketball with a 107-19 record … under Moser, UAA is 65-3 at home (57-3 WFSC, 8-0 Sullivan); 55-5 in non-conference games (including NCAAs); 36-3 vs Div. II non-conference opponents in the regular season; and 8-0 against Div. I teams … in NCAA play, Moser's Seawolf teams have gone 9-3, including consecutive Final 4 runs in 2008 and 2009 … Moser is assisted by Rebecca Alvidrez (4th season) and former Seawolf guard Mari Riser (1st season) … along with his 309 victories at Otero (Colo.) Junior College, Moser recorded his 400th collegiate victory with UAA's win over BYU-Hawaii on Dec. 11.

BY THE NUMBERS: With its Dec. 19 loss to Western State, the Seawolves wound up tying the school records for both overall consecutive home victories (29) and consecutive Wells Fargo Sports Complex victories (25) … the only loss in between both record streaks (2/25/06-1/19/08 & 2/9/08-12/12/09) was a 78-77 defeat to 2nd-ranked Seattle Pacific on Feb. 7, 2008 ... Western State also halted UAA's 26-game winning streak against Div. II non-conference opponents at the WFSC, including 17 straight under Moser; UAA's last such loss had come against Western New Mexico in Dec. 2003 … UAA's 8-game winning streak to start the season was the 5th-longest in program history until surpassing that with nine straight wins from Jan. 30-Mar. 4.

FAB FOUR: The Seawolves put on another incredible show at the Sullivan Arena, Nov. 24-25, winning their fourth consecutive Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout title with victories over Division I programs Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati … in the first game, UAA demolished the Chanticleers, jumping to a 46-18 halftime lead and winning 89-47 … Sr. F Nicci Miller led the way with a career-high 24 points (10-14 FG, 4-6 3FG), 6 rebounds and 2 assists in just 21 minutes, while Sr. G Tamar Gruwell tallied 14 points (4-7 FG, 3-5 3FG, 3-3 FT), 5 rebounds and 4 steals … Jr. G/F Nikki Aden had 10 points (4-4 FT), 4 assists and 0 turnovers, and Sr. PG Kiki Taylor recorded 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-4 3FG), 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals as UAA out-shot CCU .541 to .288 and forced 24 turnovers … UAA's halftime lead and its margin of victory were both records against a Division I opponent … in the title game, UAA recovered from a 31-24 halftime deficit to spring another last-second upset, beating the Bearcats 49-48 … Miller posted game-highs of 15 points (5-13 FG, 4-5 FT) and 9 rebounds, and Gruwell tossed in 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals … Taylor added 9 points, including the game-winning free throw with 1:16 left, and Jr. F Kelsie Gourdin chipped in 8 points and 3 rebounds off the bench … Miller was voted the tourney's Most Outstanding Player, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Gruwell and Taylor.

SHOOTOUT ODDS & ENDS: After this year's wins over Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina, UAA is 31-47 all-time in the Shootout, with all but one of those victories coming over D-I programs … UAA's win over Cincinnati was its fifth against a team from a BCS 'power' conference (Wake Forest, 1990; Georgia Tech, 1994; Clemson, 2003; Syracuse, 2008); the Seawolves beat current Big East member South Florida in 1983, long before the Bulls joined the league … the 42-point margin of victory over Coastal topped UAA's previous best against a D-I school (72-44 vs Cal State Northridge, Nov. 25, 2008) … UAA is the only Div. II women's team to win a tournament against all-Div. I competition, taking the Shootout in 1990, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 … the first title came when it was an 8-team tournament, then known as the Northern Lights Invitational.
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Players Mentioned

Rebecca Kielpinski

#54 Rebecca Kielpinski

C
6' 2"
Sophomore
Maria Nilsson

#21 Maria Nilsson

G/F
6' 0"
Junior
Jayci Stone

#43 Jayci Stone

F
5' 10"
Senior
Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

G/F
5' 8"
Freshman
Dasha Basova

#13 Dasha Basova

F/C
6' 3"
Junior
Kalhie Quinones

#4 Kalhie Quinones

G
5' 7"
Senior
Kelsie Gourdin

#RS Kelsie Gourdin

F
5' 10"
Junior
Tamar Gruwell

#14 Tamar Gruwell

G
5' 8"
Junior
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

F
6' 2"
Freshman
Nicci Miller

#0 Nicci Miller

F
5' 10"
Junior
Kiki Taylor

#10 Kiki Taylor

G
5' 5"
Junior
Jackie Thiel

#11 Jackie Thiel

G
5' 4"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Rebecca Kielpinski

#54 Rebecca Kielpinski

6' 2"
Sophomore
C
Maria Nilsson

#21 Maria Nilsson

6' 0"
Junior
G/F
Jayci Stone

#43 Jayci Stone

5' 10"
Senior
F
Nikki Aden

#25 Nikki Aden

5' 8"
Freshman
G/F
Dasha Basova

#13 Dasha Basova

6' 3"
Junior
F/C
Kalhie Quinones

#4 Kalhie Quinones

5' 7"
Senior
G
Kelsie Gourdin

#RS Kelsie Gourdin

5' 10"
Junior
F
Tamar Gruwell

#14 Tamar Gruwell

5' 8"
Junior
G
Hanna Johansson

#50 Hanna Johansson

6' 2"
Freshman
F
Nicci Miller

#0 Nicci Miller

5' 10"
Junior
F
Kiki Taylor

#10 Kiki Taylor

5' 5"
Junior
G
Jackie Thiel

#11 Jackie Thiel

5' 4"
Senior
G