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#10 Seawolves host Post for pair, Nov. 17-18

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

#10 Seawolves host Post for pair, Nov. 17-18

THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...

Thursday, Nov. 17 — 7 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Post (0-2) at #10 Alaska Anchorage (2-0)
&
Friday, Nov. 18 — 8 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Post at #10 Alaska Anchorage

TV: Both games live statewide on GCI cable channels 907 (hd) & 1 (sd)

LIVE VIDEOSTREAM: Both games free at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa

LIVE STATS: Surf to either portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa or GoSeawolves.com

TICKETS: $10 general admission, $8 discounted, UAA students free with valid WolfCard ... visit GoSeawolves.com or call 907-786-1562 for all ticket info.

PROMOTIONS: Fans who stick around after Thursday's contest can receive a free schedule poster and meet the team for a brief autograph session.

UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2016-17 stats)
G—Kiki Robertson, 5-5, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 8.0 apg, 4.5 spg, .700 FG, .500 3FG)
G—Tara Thompson, 5-7, So. (4.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg)
F—Sierra Afoa, 5-10, Jr. (6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 spg, .545 FG)
F—Autummn Williams, 5-10, Sr. (16.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.0 spg, .571 FG, .333 3FG, .714 FT)
F—Alysha Devine, 6-1, Sr. (10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 4.0 spg, .409 FG)

NEW CREW, SAME STORY: Despite returning just five active players from last year's NCAA Runner-Up squad, the 10th-ranked Seawolves started the year with a pair of familiar blowouts, beating regional foes Cal State LA, 84-41, and Academy of Art, 86-49, at the Alaska Airlines Center auxiliary gymnasium, Nov. 11-12 ... in the first game, Sr. F Autummn Williams had 15 points (6-11 FG), 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, while Sr. PG Kiki Rboertson tallied 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-4 3FG), 8 assists and 3 steals on her way to breaking the GNAC's career assists record ... Jr. F Shelby Cloninger and Jr. G Kaitlyn Hurley combined for 28 points (10-19 FG, 6-10 3FG) and 4 assists in just 36 minutes, and Jr. F Alysha Devine made a career-best 7 steals against CSULA ... on Saturday, Robertson led a dominant defensive effort with 7 points (3-4 FG), 8 assists and 6 steals, helping UAA outscore Art U 45-14 after halftime ... Williams scored a game-high 17 points (6-10 FG, 4-5 FT) and dished 4 assists, and Fr. PG Yazmeen Goo tallied 6 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, 1 block and no turnovers.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: From Waterbury, Conn., and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, Post started the season with a 75-40 home loss to Stonehill on Nov. 11 and a 78-45 road setback at Assumption on Nov. 13 ... coming off a 4-24 campaign, the Eagles are led thus far by 6-0 Fr. F Taylor Ceballos (7.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, .462 FG) and 5-8 Fr. G Samantha Levin (7.0 ppg, 2-5 3FG).

ALL-TIME SERIES: This week's games will mark the first competitions between Post and UAA in any team sport.

WINNING WAYS: At 69-5 (.932), the Seawolves have the most victories and the 2nd-best winning percentage (Limestone, 65-4, .942) in NCAA Div. II over the past two seasons ... the Seawolves have won more games (255) over the past decade (starting with 2006-07) than just five other D-II women's programs (West Texas A&M, Clayton St., Holy Family, Delta St., Emporia St.) ... the 2016-17 Seawolves are aiming for the program's 11th consecutive winning season and 10th NCAA Tournament berth in 11 years ... UAA has gone a combined 145-13 (.918) in the last 11 seasons on its home courts ... the Seawolves have led the nation in steals per game for three straight seasons, including a program-record 15.0 spg in 2014-15.

BIG-TIME NUMBERS: With 13.6 steals per game, the 2015-16 Seawolves led NCAA Div. II for the third straight season ... the Seawolves were also top-10 nationally in scoring margin (2nd, +25.6), assists per game (3rd, 19.6), turnovers forced per game (3rd, 23.5), scoring defense (5th, 54.7 ppg), turnover margin (6th, +6.9), rebound margin (6th, +9.5), FG% defense (7th, .341) and scoring offense (9th, 80.2), along with top-30 team ranks in  FG% (15th, .451), offensive rebounding (17th, 16.4), assist/turnover ratio (18th, 1.2), 3FGs per game (22nd, 8.1), 3FG% defense (22nd, .277) and 3FG% (27th, .362) ... in the GNAC stats, UAA led in 14 of 21 team categories and ranked second in four others.

HAWAIIAN PUNCH: With 17 points, 16 assists and 9 steals in the first two games, Sr. Kiki Robertson is showing early why she is a Preseason All-GNAC choice and an All-America candidate ... the two-time GNAC Tournament MVP led the league and ranked 15th nationally with a 2.5-to-1 assist/turnover ratio in 2015-16; she was also 3rd in the GNAC in assists (5.1 apg, 25th nationally) and 6th in steals (2.0 spg), helping her earn 2nd Team All-GNAC honors for the third straight season ... with 8 assists in the opener against CSULA, she claimed the GNAC's career assists crown, now with 544 dimes in just over three years ... Robertson earned the Seawolves' career assists record in just her 86th contest and she is on pace to break the records for assists per game (5.4) and total steals (3rd, 282), while threatening the mark for steals per game (3rd, 2.8); she is also 7th in games started (98), 10th in FT% (.761), 19th in FTs made (175) and 7th in victories (88) ... Robertson is NCAA Div. II's active career leader in total assists and assists per game, plus No. 2 in total steals and steals per game ... the only Hawaiian ever to suit up for the Seawolves, Robertson was the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2014-15.

DEVINE TALENT: Sr. F and team co-captain Alysha Devine got started with 20 total points, 8 rebounds and 8 steals – including a career-high 7 against CSULA – last week, after being named Preseason All-GNAC last month ... the Wasilla High product was the NCAA West Regional Tournament MVP last spring after totaling 29 points, (12-23 FG) 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in the 2nd- and 3rd-round wins over Cal Baptist and UCSD ...  Devine earned an honorable mention All-GNAC nod as UAA's 5th-leading scorer (8.6 ppg) and 2nd-leading rebounder (5.0), raising her scoring average to 10.0 ppg in league contests ... she recorded 10 14-plus scoring efforts in the last 21 games, including a career-high-tying 19 points against Saint Martin's, 17 points (7-7 FG) at NCAA qualifier MSU Billings, and 15 points (7-13 FG) in the NCAA West Regional semifinal win over No. 5 Cal Baptist ... among the GNAC leaders, she ranked 16th in rebounding and 11th in FG% (.479), while her .447 3FG% would have ranked 2nd in the league with the minimum attempts ... on UAA's career lists, Devine currently sits 39th in scoring (578 pts), 27th in rebounds (380), 11th in 3FG% (.356), 18th in games started (63) and 11th in victories (88).

VITAL VETS: Jr. F Sierra Afoa continued her upward trajectory last year, averaging 4.6 ppg and 4.5 rpg, and coming through with an invaluable performance (8.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 spg) at the NCAA West Regional Championships ... the former Dimond High standout scored double figures five times, with some of her biggest efforts coming in both wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills (11 pts, 6-6 FT, 3 asst in Oct.; career-high 15 pts, 3-5 3FG in NCAAs), Pepperdine (6 pts, 3-6 FG, 5 reb, 2 stl), Western Oregon (10 pts, 4-4 FG, 6 reb, 2 stl) and Seattle Pacific (10 pts, 4-8 FG,  7 reb) ... despite coming off the bench in all but one contest, Afoa ranked 21st in the GNAC in rebounding and 13th in offensive rebounding (1.9) ... now 3rd-year sophomores, a pair of Alaska-bred players – SG Tara Thompson and F/C Hannah Wandersee –  made significant contributions in their debut campaigns last year ... Wandersee, who led Kodiak to the 2014 4A state title, played a huge role in UAA's NCAA West Regional semifinal OT win over No. 5 Cal Baptist, scoring 6 points (3-3 FG) and grabbing 3 rebounds in 6 minutes late in the 2nd half ... Wandersee emerged as the team's 7th-leading scorer (4.8 ppg), while shooting .532 from the floor – 4th-best for a rookie and 15th on UAA's overall single-season list ... meanwhile, Thompson poured in 12 points (4-5 3FG) in her first collegiate game against William Jewell and continued to be a threat off the bench the entire season ... another former Dimond High star,  Thompson came just one trey shy of Jessica Madison's UAA freshman record of 36 from 2012-13.

EXPERIENCED NEWCOMERS: Six of the seven newcomers on this year's roster bring at least one year of college playing or redshirt experience, including two players – Sr. F Autummn Williams (Arkansas Little Rock) and Jr. F Shelby Cloninger (Utah State) – with Div. I experience ... Williams also played two years of junior-college ball at Trinity Valley (Texas) CC, where she teamed with former Seawolf Dominique Brooks on an NJCAA national title squad ... after playing at USU as true freshman in 2013-14 and redshirting at North Idaho College the next season, Cloninger led NIC in scoring with 13.5 ppg in 2015-16 ... the three other JC transfers are Jr. G Kaitlyn Hurley (2-time all-conference at Snow [Utah] College), Jr. G Zhara Laster (NWAC Northern Div. Defensive Player of the Year at Peninsula [Wash.] College) and Jr. F Dominique Thomas (1st Team All-Region XIV at Kilgore [Texas] College) ... redshirt Fr. G Yazmeen Goo was the Peninsula Athletic League North MVP at Westmoor (Calif.) HS in 2014-15, while true Fr. G Kimijah King was a 3A Metro Conference 1st Team performer at Seattle's Lakeside HS.

SEAWOLVES PICKED 3RD: UAA finished third in a narrow GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Oct. 19:

2016-17 GNAC Women's Basketball Coaches Poll
Rk  Team (1st-pl. votes)   Records             Pts
 1. Western Washington (6) 20-9 (16-4, 2nd)    112
 2. Simon Fraser (1)       16-11 (13-7, 4th)   105
 3. Alaska Anchorage (4)   38-3 (18-2, 1st)    103
 4. Montana State Billings 21-11 (15-5, 3rd)    84
 5. Seattle Pacific        12-15 (9-11, 7th)    79
 6. Northwest Nazarene     12-15 (10-10, t5th)  61
 7. Central Washington     17-12 (10-10, t5th)  58
 8. Concordia, Ore.        6-22 (4-16, 10th)    45
 9. Alaska Fairbanks       12-18 (7-13, 8th)    39
10. Saint Martin's         7-20 (5-15, 9th)     22
11. Western Oregon         4-24 (3-17, 11th)    18

McCARTHY IN CHARGE: Now in his fifth season at UAA and sixth overall as a head coach, Ryan McCarthy has led the Seawolf program to new heights, capturing back-to-back GNAC regular-season titles for the first time and ascending to No. 1 in the national rankings in two consecutive campaigns ... McCarthy repeated as the WBCA's NCAA Div. II West Region Coach of the Year in 2015-16, adding to his 2014-15 GNAC Coach of the Year honor ... his 2014-15 club claimed the best winning percentage in program history with a 29-2 (.935) mark, sweeping both GNAC titles as well ... in 2015-16, the Anchorage native took his hometown club to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and has now led UAA to an improvement in overall wins (17, 19, 29, 38) and conference wins (11, 12, 17, 18) in each season at the helm … playing its up-tempo 'Mayhem' style, McCarthy's 2015-16 crew also led the nation in steals per game for the third season in a row ... McCarthy sports a head-coaching record of 105-24 (.814) at UAA and 119-37 (.763) overall, having served in an interim capacity at Northwest Nazarene in 2011-12 … McCarthy is assisted again in 2016-17 by 5th-year associate head coach Shaina Afoa, 2nd-year assistant Alysa Horn (who starred at UAA from 2009-13), and 3rd-year volunteer assistant Patrick Flanigin.

2016-17 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Alysha Devine
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Kiki Robertson
Preseason All-GNAC Team
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Players Mentioned

Jessica Madison

#RS Jessica Madison

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Sierra Afoa

#RS Sierra Afoa

F
5' 9"
Freshman
Alysha Devine

#15 Alysha Devine

F
6' 0"
Freshman
Kiki Robertson

#23 Kiki Robertson

G
5' 7"
Freshman
Tara Thompson

#RS Tara Thompson

G
5' 7"
Freshman
Hannah Wandersee

#43 Hannah Wandersee

F/C
6' 1"
Freshman
Dominique Brooks

#41 Dominique Brooks

C
6' 3"
Senior
Yazmeen Goo

#RS Yazmeen Goo

G
5' 10"
Freshman
Shelby Cloninger

#11 Shelby Cloninger

F
6' 0"
Junior
Kaitlyn Hurley

#21 Kaitlyn Hurley

G
5' 8"
Junior
Kimijah King

#2 Kimijah King

G
5' 7"
Freshman
Zhara Laster

#4 Zhara Laster

G
5' 9"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jessica Madison

#RS Jessica Madison

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Sierra Afoa

#RS Sierra Afoa

5' 9"
Freshman
F
Alysha Devine

#15 Alysha Devine

6' 0"
Freshman
F
Kiki Robertson

#23 Kiki Robertson

5' 7"
Freshman
G
Tara Thompson

#RS Tara Thompson

5' 7"
Freshman
G
Hannah Wandersee

#43 Hannah Wandersee

6' 1"
Freshman
F/C
Dominique Brooks

#41 Dominique Brooks

6' 3"
Senior
C
Yazmeen Goo

#RS Yazmeen Goo

5' 10"
Freshman
G
Shelby Cloninger

#11 Shelby Cloninger

6' 0"
Junior
F
Kaitlyn Hurley

#21 Kaitlyn Hurley

5' 8"
Junior
G
Kimijah King

#2 Kimijah King

5' 7"
Freshman
G
Zhara Laster

#4 Zhara Laster

5' 9"
Junior
G