THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...
Thur., Jan. 17 — 4:15 pm AST — New P.E. Building — Monmouth, OR
#12 Alaska Anchorage (13-1, 5-1 GNAC) at Western Oregon (5-7, 2-4 GNAC)
&
Sat., Jan. 19 — 4:15 pm AST — LCEF Court — Portland, OR
#12 Alaska Anchorage at Concordia-Portland (6-8, 1-5 GNAC [1/17 vs UAF])
LIVE VIDEO & STATS: Both games at gnac.tv or portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAWBB Twitter feed for in-game updates & final scores.
PROBABLE UAA STARTERS (2018-19 stats)
G—Sydni Stallworth, 5-3, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.3 spg, .371 3FG, .767 FT)
or—Yazmeen Goo, 5-10, Jr. (11.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 3.0 spg, .684 FG, .739 FT)
G—Tara Thompson, 5-7, Sr. (9.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, .464 FG, .446 3FG)
G—Kian McNair, 5-5, Sr. (9.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 3.2 spg, .469 FG, .654 FT)
F—Hannah Wandersee, 6-1, Sr. (13.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 bpg, .475 FG, .875 FT)
F—Sala Langi, 5-9, So. (7.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, .447 FG, .771 FT)
SCOUTING REPORT: Western Oregon has lost three of four since GNAC play resumed this month, although the Wolves pulled a 69-65 road upset of Simon Fraser on Jan. 10 ... playing just its fifth home game of the season Thursday, WOU is led by 6-2 Jr. C Natalie DeLonge (12.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .833 FT) and 5-6 So. G Keyonna Jones (10.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.8 apg, .757 FT) ... Concordia-Portland snapped a six-game losing streak against Div. II foes with last week's 70-62 road upset of Western Washington, before suffering a 67-60 loss at SFU on Saturday ... the Cavs are led by 5-7 So. G Olivia Vezaldenos (13.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.6 spg, .376 3FG, .806 FT) and 5-6 Sr. G Keesha Sarman (10.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.4 spg, .457 FG).
ALL-TIME vs WOU: UAA leads 33-8 overall, 16-3 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 86-78 (2/10/18 at WOU) / Streak: UAA 29
Notes: The current 29-game win streak is the longest against any opponent in program history ... UAA has won 14 of the last 16 games by double digits … the Seawolves have won 15 straight in Monmouth ... WOU's last win came 64-58 on Dec. 6, 2003 in Anchorage, while its last home win was a 68-64 OT decision, Feb. 15, 2003 … UAA leads 29-5 in GNAC matchups (since 2001-02) and 12-0 under head coach Ryan McCarthy … teams have played each season since 1998-99, although they went 19 years after the first-ever meetings in 1979-80.
ALL-TIME vs CU: UAA leads 6-0 overall, 3-0 in Portland
Last: UAA 73-69, OT (2/8/18 at CU)
Notes: The Seawolves eked out a pair of single-digit victories last year after winning the first four meetings by an average of 24 points ... first meeting was a 76-49 UAA home win, Jan. 9, 2016, in CU's first year of GNAC and D-II membership.
HOME SWEEP COMPLETE: The Seawolves completed a string of four home games in eight days with a perfect 4-0 mark, knocking off in-state rival Alaska Fairbanks 81-70 and blasting Montana State Billings 87-42 last week at the Alaska Airlines Center ... in Tuesday's contest, Sr. C Hannah Wandersee had 19 points (7-13 FG, 3-3 3FG) and tied her career-high 5 assists to help the Seawolves to their 23rd straight win over the Nanooks ... Sr. G Tara Thompson filled the stat sheet with 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-6 3FG), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and just one turnover, while Jr. G Safiyyah Yasin added 13 points (6-10 FG) and So. F Tennae Voliva tied a career-high 7 rebounds ... on Thursday, the Wandersee collected 17 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3FG) and 8 rebounds as the Seawolves avenged their 2018 West Regional title-game loss with their biggest blowout since Nov. 2, 2017 and their largest margin ever over MSUB ... So. Sala Langi scored a career-high 17 points (6-12 FG, 5-7 FT) with 4 assists and no turnovers, Thompson added 13 points (5-7 FG, 3-4 3FG) and 5 rebounds, and Voliva had career highs of 12 points (4-5 FG, 4-6 FT) and 3 steals.
WINNING WAYS: At 137-13 (.913), the Seawolves have the second-most victories and second-best winning percentage in NCAA Div. II since 2014-15, trailing only Ashland (143-13, .917) ... UAA is a combined 84-7 – including 37-4 on the road – in GNAC regular-season and tournament games over the last five seasons ... the Seawovles have won 24 consecutive GNAC regular-season home contests, posting perfect 10-0 marks the last two seasons ... UAA has gone a combined 176-16 (.917) in the last 12 seasons on its home courts, including 67-6 (.918) at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... the Seawolves have won 49 of their last 50 regular-season games against Div. II non-conference opponents ... the Seawolves are aiming for the program's 13th consecutive winning season and their 12th NCAA Tournament berth in 13 years ... UAA joined Seattle Pacific last year as the only programs to win at least a share of four straight GNAC regular-season titles ... the Seawolves have won five of the eight GNAC Tournament titles since the event started in 2011 ... the Seawolves have won at least 25 games for a program-record four straight seasons.
NIFTY NUMBERS: UAA leads the GNAC stats in scoring defense (57.0 ppg), steals per game (13.6), assists per game (18.6), assist-turnover ratio (1.2) and rebounds allowed per game (31.5), while ranking second in scoring margin (+17.1), turnover margin (+6.7) and 3FG% defense (.284) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves hold top-30 ranks in steals per game (4th), assists per game (9th), turnovers forced per game (15th, 22.3), turnover margin (16th), A/T ratio (17th), scoring margin (19th) and scoring defense (29th).
WONDERFUL WANDERSEE: The 2018-19 GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and a unanimous All-GNAC selection last year, Sr. C Hannah Wandersee recently became one of just 10 Seawolf players with at least 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds, and one of three with 1,000 pts/500 rebs and 100 blocks ... Wandersee began the year by capturing all-tournament honors at the Gator Invitational and Seawolf Hoops Classic, MVP honors at the DII Coast to Coast Classic, and GNAC Player of the Week for Nov. 19-25, and she added another GNAC POW award Jan. 7-13 ... UAA's leading scorer and rebounder, she is 9th in scoring (13.5 ppg), 10th in rebounding (6.2 rpg), 6th in blocks (1.3 bpg), 4th in FT% (.875) and 16th in FG% (.475) in the GNAC stats ... the Kodiak product has seven career 20-plus scoring efforts and owns UAA career top-20 marks in scoring (14th, 1,072 points), rebounds (14th, 522), FT% (4th, .821), (FG%, 8th, .513), blocks (6th, 106), blocks per game (7th, 0.9), field goals made (11th, 430), free throws made (18th, 192), games played (9th, 117) and victories (t-4th, 106).
GOO TO GO: A unanimous Preseason All-GNAC selection, Jr. PG Yazmeen Goo made her return to the lineup on Jan. 10 after missing 10 games with a hand injury ... an Honorable Mention All-GNAC pick last year, Goo has tallied double figures in 13 of her the last 28 games ... the Bay Area native earned all-tournament honors at the Seawolf Hoops Classic, the Great Alaska Shootout and the NCAA West Regional Championships last year, and she opened 2018-19 with MVP honors at the Gator Invitational ... last year, Goo led the GNAC in steals per game (2.9 spg, 19th nationally) and assist-turnover ratio (2.1, 28th nationally), and ranked 5th in assists per game (4.3) ... on UAA's career lists, she already stands 6th in assists per game (4.1), 10th in assists (262), 12th in steals per game (2.4) and 12th in steals (151), needing just seven more swipes to reach the top 10.
BEWARE OF T.N.T.: Whether it's her deadeye three-point stroke or her solid all-around game, Sr. G Tara (N.) Thompson has been one of the most effective contributors to UAA's run of success, ranking 6th in program history with 104 victories ... one of two remaining active players from UAA's 2016 NCAA Runner-Up squad, Thompson ranks 6th in the GNAC and 21st nationally in 3FG% (.446), along with other league ranks of 5th in 3FGs per game (2.4, 82nd nationally) and 2nd in assist-turnover ratio (2.5) ... with a .402 career 3FG%, Thompson ranks 6th in UAA history and top 15 in GNAC history, while her 196 total 3FGs are 3rd on the all-time Seawolf list and just 20 shy of former teammate Jessica Madison (216, 2012-16) for the No. 2 spot.
SENIORS STEPPIN' UP: After learning the system as transfers last year, Sr. G Kian McNair (Portland State) and Sr. G Sydni Stallworth (2-time 1st Team NJCAA All-American at Pima CC) are making major impacts in their final season ... a starter in 39 of 44 career games, McNair leads the GNAC and is 12th nationally with 3.2 steals per game, boosted by a record-tying 9-steal game against Simon Fraser ... she also ranks 9th in assists per game (3.8) and 18th in FG% (.469) in the GNAC ... McNair started the year with Most Outstanding Player honors in the Seawolf Hoops Classic (22 points, 9 assists and 7 steals against CSU East Bay and CSU Dominguez Hills), and she was named all-tourney at the DII Hoops Classic ... meanwhile, Stallworth has provided a big lift both off the bench and as starting point guard in place of Goo, posting career-highs of 23 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals to pace the win over Dominguez Hills ... the Tucson, Ariz., native is in the top 20 in the GNAC stats at 9th in assists per game (3.8), 6th in A/T ratio (2.0), 3rd in steals per game (2.3) and 19th in FT% (.767).
'WOLF BITES: So. F Sala Langi has stepped into a full-time starter's role this season, delivering 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game ... with multiple assists in eight games, 7-plus rebounds in four games and double-digit scoring in five games, Langi has shown equal proficiency as a scorer, passer and rebounder ... one of five Bay Area natives on the roster, she posted a career-high 10 rebounds in the second win over Holy Names, and she delivered a career-high 17-point effort Thursday, while dishing four assists without a turnover against MSUB ... So. F/C Tennae Voliva is also filling a larger role in her second season, accounting for at least five points in seven games and at least three rebounds in 11 contests ... Voliva equaled her career-high 7 rebounds for the fourth time last week against UAF, and the former East High star scored double figures for the first time with 12 points (4-5 FG, 4-6 FT) in the blowout of MSUB ... the Seawolves have added another scoring threat with Jr. G Safiyyah Yasin, who redshirted in 2017-18 after transfering from Diablo Valley (Calif.) College ... prior to her breakout performances against SFU and WWU in early January, Yasin led UAA with 16 points in her debut against Holy Names, and she delivered a clutch 12 points and 4 rebounds to help fend off Hawaii Pacific ... in the GNAC stats, Yasin ranks 7th in steals per game (2.0) and 16th in FT% (.775), scoring double figures in six of the last nine games ... UAA got another boost recently with the addition of So. F Cameron Fernandez to the lineup on Dec. 18, following a preseason injury ... the first Seawolf transfer ever from a Pac-12 Conference program, the former Washington State Cougar debuted in Green & Gold with 9 points against Holy Names and a team-high 13 points against Hawaii Hilo, doing all of her damage in just 32 combined minutes.
McCARTHY IN CHARGE: Now in his seventh season at UAA, Ryan McCarthy has led the Seawolf program to unprecedented heights, capturing four straight GNAC regular-season tournament titles, five straight NCAA Tournament berths, and ascending as high as No. 1 or No. 2 in the national rankings every season since 2014-15 ... last year, McCarthy earned his second consecutive GNAC Coach of the Year honor and third in the last four seasons, while his three-year reign as WBCA NCAA Div. II West Region Coach of the Year came to an end ... in 2016-17, the Anchorage native led UAA to its third straight top-2 regional seed and its second straight 30-win season (30-2), while recording the first 20-0 league record in GNAC history ... the previous season, McCarthy's crew set an NCAA Div. II record with 38 victories, advancing all the way to the 2016 National Title Game in Indianapolis ... his 2014-15 club claimed what was then the best winning percentage in program history with a 29-2 (.935) mark, sweeping both GNAC titles as well ... McCarthy led UAA to an improvement in overall wins (17, 19, 29, 38) his first four seasons and increased the Seawolves' GNAC victory total in each of his first five campaigns (11, 12, 17, 18, 20) … playing its up-tempo 'Mayhem' style, McCarthy's crews led the nation in steals per game for four straight seasons (2013-14 to 2016-17) ... McCarthy sports head-coaching records of 173-32 (.844) in seven-plus seasons at UAA and 187-45 (.806) in eight-plus seasons overall, having served in an interim capacity at Northwest Nazarene in 2011-12 … McCarthy is assisted by 7th-year associate head coach Shaina Afoa, who was voted by her peers as the 2017-18 WBCA NCAA Div. II National Assistant Coach of the Year, 1st-year assistant and former Seawolf standout Sierra Afoa, and 5th-year volunteer assistant Patrick Flanigin.
2018-19 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Yazmeen Goo
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
Gator Invitational MVP
Kian McNair
Seawolf Hoops Classic Most Outstanding Player
D-II Coast to Coast Classic All-Tournament Team
Sydni Stallworth
Seawolf Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team
Tara Thompson
D-II Coast to Coast Classic All-Tournament Team
Hannah Wandersee
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
GNAC Preseason Player of the Year
Gator Invitational All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team
D-II Coast to Coast Classic Most Outstanding Player
GNAC Player of the Week, Nov. 19-25
GNAC Player of the Week, Jan. 7-13
