Tuesday’s Games (first round) 6 pm — Coastal Carolina (2-1) vs Alaska Anchorage (2-0) 8 pm — Cincinnati (1-1, 11/21 @Detroit) vs Western Carolina (1-2) Wednesday’s Games 2:30 pm — Consolation game (CCU/UAA loser vs UC/WCU loser) 5 pm — Championship game (CCU/UAA winner vs UC/WCU winner)
LIVE STATS: Free for all Shootout games at GoSeawolves.com.
RADIO: Games involving UAA will air live locally on FM-93.7 KAFC over the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network. The audio broadcast is available online at GoSeawolves.com in the Splash Zone (subscription fee applies).
TV: Games involving UAA will air on KCFT Ch. 35 (GCI cable 19). The games will be live statewide, except for Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, where they will be tape-delayed at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.
LIVE ONLINE VIDEO: In conjunction with JumpTV, all games of the 2009 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout can be viewed via online videostream at GoSeawolves.com. Cost is $9.95 per day or $19.95 for a full-tourney package, which includes all 4 women’s and all 9 men’s contests.
SCOUTING THE SHOOTOUT FIELD: First-round opponent Coastal Carolina has scored wins over Campbell (66-59) and Div. II Southern Virginia (89-20), while losing to 4th-ranked North Carolina (88-49) … the Chanticleers, from Conway, S.C., and the Big South Conference, have been led thus far by 5-9 Sr. G Amanda Stull (16.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, .581 FG, .733 3FG) and 5-10 Jr. G/F Sydnei Moss (13.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 9-10 FT) … Western Carolina, the defending Southern Conference Tournament champions, started with a pair of road losses to Richmond (65-42) and East Carolina (70-59) before beating Wofford 71-65 at home … the Catamounts, from Cullowhee, N.C., are led by 5-8 Jr. G Kendra Carroll (13.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, .571 FG) and 5-8 So. G Kaila’She Menendez (8.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, .545 FG, 4-4 FT) … Cincinnati, coming off a last-place finish in the powerful Big East Conference last year, has split its first two games, beating Furman 85-46 and losing 64-57 at Indiana; the Bearcats play Detroit at home on Saturday before coming to Alaska … UC has been led so far by 5-7 Jr. G Shareese Ulis (18.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, .538 FG, 6-12 3FG) and 5-8 Sr. G Kahla Roudebush (13.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, .429 FG, 35.5 mpg).
THE SERIES: UAA has never met Coastal Carolina, Cincinnati or Western Carolina in women’s basketball.
SHOOTOUT ODDS & ENDS: UAA is 29-47 all-time in the Shootout, with all but one of those victories coming over D-I programs … UAA’s victory over Syracuse was its first over a Big East team and its fourth against a team from a BCS ‘power’ conference (Wake Forest, 1990; Georgia Tech, 1994; Clemson, 2003). The Seawolves beat current Big East member South Florida in 1983, long before the Bulls joined the league … the 28-point margin of victory against Northridge last yeartopped UAA’s previous best against any D-I school (74-51 vs Nicholls State, 12/17/89 at El Paso, Texas) and in the Shootout (74-52 vs Nevada, Mar. 14, 1980) … 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 … the first title came when it was an 8-team tournament, then known as the Northern Lights Invitational:
UAA Year-by-Year Shootout Results Year Record Place Wins 1980 1-1 2nd Nevada 1981 0-3 8th 1982 1-2 7th San Francisco 1983 1-2 7th South Florida 1984 2-1 4th Pepperdine, Georgia State 1985 1-2 6th Loyola Marymount 1986 1-2 7th Utah State 1987 1-2 6th Radford 1988 2-1 4th Fordham, U.S. International 1989 1-2 6th Portland State (PSU was not D-I) 1990 3-0 1st Boise State, Wake Forest, South Alabama 1991 2-1 4th Texas-San Antonio, New Mexico State 1992 1-2 6th SE Louisiana 1993 1-2 3rd* NE Illinois 1994-I 0-3 4th* 1994-II 1-2 6th Georgia Tech 1995 1-2 6th Loyola Marymount 1996 0-3 8th 1997 0-3 8th 1999 0-2 4th 2000 0-2 4th 2001 0-2 4th 2002 1-1 3rd Eastern Kentucky 2003 2-0 1st Mount St. Mary’s, Clemson 2004 0-2 4th 2005 0-2 4th 2006 2-0 1st Air Force, UC Riverside 2007 2-0 1st Cleveland State, Santa Clara 2008 2-0 1st Cal State Northridge, Syracuse Totals 29-47 Note: 4-team tourney in 1980, 1993 & 94 (*round-robin format), and from 1999-present; 8-team tourney from 1981-97.
SHOOTOUT THREE-PEAT! The Seawolves sprung perhaps the most improbable of their three straight Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout title runs last year, ending with a victory over Big East Conference foe Syracuse in the championship game … UAA’s 1st-round contest was nothing like its previous four Shootout wins — all of which came by single-digits — as the Seawolves scored a 72-44 blowout of Cal State Northridge … Nicci Miller scored 15 of her game-high 19 points (3-7 3FG) in the first half, while Jackie Thiel (9 pts, 5 reb, 3-3 3FG) also helped UAA take a 39-13 halftime lead ... the next night, Sr. C Rebecca Kielpinski had 16 points and 9 rebounds and UAA withstood a late Syracuse rally to earn a 58-57 title win at Sullivan Arena … Kielpinski also had 3 assists and 4 blocks as she earned her third straight Shootout Most Outstanding Player Award, while Kiki Taylor and Tamar Gruwell tallied 8 points apiece.
’WOLVES BREEZE VS. VULCANS: The Seawolves had little trouble with fellow Div. II West Region foe Hawaii Hilo, dispatching the Vulcans 100-48 and 102-44 in season-opening games at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex, Nov. 15 & 16 … in the season debut, Sr. F Nicci Miller had 19 points (9-13 FG), 3 assists and 4 steals, So. F Hanna Johansson added 16 points (6-7 FG, 4-4 FT) and 4 steals, and Sr. PG Kiki Taylor notched 12 points, 4 assists and 4 steals as UAA shot over 60 percent (.603) for the first time under 4th-year head coach Tim Moser … UAA held UHH to .295 shooting and grabbed a 42-16 edge on the boards, allowing the Vulcans the 3rd-lowest rebounding total ever against a Seawolf team … Sr. G Leah Stepovich added 11 points (4-5 FG, 3-3 3FG), off the bench, while Jr. G/F Nikki Aden and Jr. PG Kaitlin McBride dished 5 assists apiece … the next night offered more of the same as Miller tossed in a career-high 23 points (8-14 FG) and grabbed 9 rebounds, and Sr. G Tamar Gruwell had 15 points (6-8 FG, 3-5 3FG) and 5 assists … UAA again doubled UHH in field-goal percentage (.574 to .263) and rebounds (54-22), getting big games off the bench from Jr. Gs Torle Nenbee (11 pts, 5-6 FG, 4 assts, 0 turnovers) and Sarah Herrin (10 pts, 6 reb, 3 assts).
GNAC FAVORITES: UAA was picked to win the league in the 9th annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll, released Oct. 27, receiving three of nine first-place votes. It is the second consecutive time UAA has been the coaches’ pick to win the league. Here is a look at the predictions:
Pl Team (1st-pl. votes) 08-09 Recs. Pts ’09 Finish 1. ALASKA ANCHORAGE (3) 31-4, 14-2 72 t-1st 2. Seattle Pacific (2) 23-5, 14-2 69 t-1st 3. Northwest Nazarene (2) 18-10, 11-5 65 t-3rd 4. Western Washington (2) 19-9, 11-5 64 t-3rd 5. Saint Martin’s 16-12, 7-9 42 6th 6. Western Oregon 8-19, 3-13 32 8th 7. Montana State Billings 16-11, 8-8 28 5th 8. Central Washington 7-20, 4-12 24 7th 9. Alaska Fairbanks 5-20, 0-16 9 9th
BRIEF SEASON PREVIEW: The Seawolves — coming off the best season in school history (31-4; second straight NCAA Div. II Semifinals berth; GNAC co-champions) — return seven letterwinners from last year, including senior starters Kiki Taylor (6.2 ppg, 2.9 apg), Tamar Gruwell (7.0 ppg, .383 3FG) and Nicci Miller (10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg) … despite losing three-time All-American and Great Northwest Athletic Conference player-of-the-year Rebecca Kielpinski, UAA was still a narrow pick to win in the 2009-10 GNAC coaches’ poll, and is ranked No. 14 in the preseason by Women’s Div. II Bulletin … Jr. G/F Nikki Aden (4.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg) is the only player back from both ‘Final 4’ squads, while So. F Hanna Johansson (4.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .554 FG) also played a major role as a true freshman last year … the other returnees are Sr. F Brittany Collins (0.9 ppg) and So. C Viki Wohlers (1.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg), while returning redshirts Kelsie Gourdin, Sarah Herrin and Leah Stepovich are all expected to make a big impact … in addition, two-time GNAC coach-of-the-year Tim Moser has brought in another top recruiting class that includes three JC transfers and three true freshmen.
BRIEF 2008-09 SEASON RECAP: The Seawolves made more history, posting the best record (31-4) in school history and advanced to the NCAA Div. II Semifinals for the second year in a row. After tying with Seattle Pacific for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, UAA beat the Falcons on their home court to win the West Regional, then knocked off Clayton State in the Elite Eight round in San Antonio. The Seawolves finished No. 3 in the final WBCA top 25 poll after achieving the first-ever No. 1 ranking in program history earlier in the season. Among their many accomplishments, the Seawolves put together a 22-game winning streak and won the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout for the third year in a row. Sr. C Rebecca Kielpinski was an All-American and the GNAC Player of the Year for the third time, while senior guard Jackie Thiel was the GNAC co-Newcomer of the Year, and head coach Tim Moser won his second GNAC Coach of the Year accolade in three seasons.
TEAM NOTES: After beating Hawaii Hilo twice, the Seawolves’ home-court streaks stand at 23 overall and 21 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex ... UAA has gone 53-1 at home (47-1 WFSC, 6-0 Sullivan Arena) over the last three-plus seasons, including a school-record 19-0 mark last year … UAA’s 2008-09 GNAC co-championship was the program’s first league title of any sort since 1988-89 (Continental Divide Conference) … at 31-4, UAA finished with the second-most wins in Division II (Minn. St., 32) last year and broke the school record for victories in a season, set one year earlier with 30 … UAA’s 27-3 regular season also topped the ’07-08 mark of 26-4 as the best ever for a Seawolf team… UAA’s 22-game win streak from Nov. 15-Feb. 14 was the second-longest for any Seawolf team (hockey won 29 straight in 1983-84) … including Hilo and last season, UAA has held 31 of its last 37 opponents under 40 percent shooting … in the NCAA Div. II stats last year, UAA led the nation in FG% defense (.313) and was 2nd in scoring defense (49.1); other ranks included 3rd in rebound margin (+9.7) and 8th in scoring margin (+17.1) and 32nd in steals.
PLAYER NOTES: Along with Rebecca Kielpinski, Sr. G Kiki Taylor was the only Seawolf to get a starting call in all 35 games last year … the Colorado Springs native posted a career-high 19 points and grabbed a team season-best 5 steals in UAA’s regular-season finale against MSU Billings … Taylor twice came one rebound short of a double-double, including an 11-point, 9-rebound, 9-assist effort against Saint Martin’s (Jan. 31); that was the closest a Seawolf has come to a triple-double since Kielpinski posted 17-13-10 at St. Martin’s in 2006 … Taylor led UAA and ranked 5th in the GNAC with 2.0 steals per game, holding other league ranks of 10th in assists (2.6 apg) and 20th in defensive rebounding (3.4) … Sr. G Tamar Gruwell finished 3rd on the team in scoring (7.0 ppg) after her impressive playoff performance … the Californian also ranked 2nd on the team in 3FGs made (51) and 3FG% (.383), plus 3rd in steals (1.3 spg), FT% (.796), and minutes per game (25.1) ... Gruwell was UAA’s 2nd-leading scorer (8.6 ppg) in five NCAA Tournament games, along with stats of 3.0 rpg, 2.2 spg, .560 FG, and team-bests of .529 3FG and 32.8 mpg … she was named to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team after notching career-highs of 17 points (5-6 FG, 3-3 3FG, 4-6 FT) and 4 steals in the title-game win at 5th-ranked Seattle Pacific … Gruwell held GNAC ranks of 12th in 3FGs per game (1.5), 14th in assist-turnover ratio (1.2) and 12th in 3FG% (.380) … Sr. F Nicci Miller led UAA with 10.5 points per game and ranked second on the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) … Miller did not play after being injured Feb. 21 in a collision at NNU … the Colorado native finished with GNAC ranks of 15th in scoring, 16th rebounding, 17th in 3FG% (.364) and 19th in steals (1.3) … So. F Hanna Johansson ranked No. 3 on UAA’s single-season FG% list with .554 (67-121) marksmanship as a true freshman … the Swede shot .605 (26-43) from the field in GNAC play, while she was the Seawolves’ 2nd-leading rebounder (5.0) and 3rd-leading scorer (6.7) in five postseason contests … Jr. G/F Nikki Aden is the only player returning from both UAA ‘Final 4’ squads, having logged 12 starts a year ago … in her two seasons, Seawolves have gone 59-8 with the Portland, Ore., native in the lineup … Aden cracked the double-digit mark twice last year, including 16 points in 16 minutes in victory over Cal State-Stanislaus … So. C Viki Wohlers was granted a retroactive redshirt for her freshman season at Oregon State in which she played just six games; the German will now have a full 4-year career with UAA … one of three redshirt transfers now eligible to play, Jr. F Kelsie Gourdin was a First Team All-RMAC selection as a sophomore at Mesa (Colo.) State, averaging 13.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg in 2007-08.
MOSER MAKES HIS MARK: Seawolf head coach Tim Moser was honored for the second time in three seasons as the GNAC Coach of the Year in 2008-09 … now beginning his 4th season at UAA, he also earned the 2008-09 West Region Coach-of-the-Year award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association … 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 an 86-15 record … under Moser, UAA is 53-1 at home (including Sullivan Arena), 47-4 in non-conference games (including NCAAs), and 6-0 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).
INJURY REPORT: The Seawolves enter the 2009-10 campaign with no significant injury problems.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: UAA is No. 8 in the initial 2009-10 ESPN/USA Today Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll of 2009-10 … the Seawolves were ranked No. 1 for four weeks in January and February last year, finishing at No. 3 … with this week’s ranking, UAA has now been in the top 10 of the WBCA poll for 21 straight weeks, and 29 of the last 31 weeks, spending the other two at No. 11 … No. 14 UC San Diego and No. 16 Seattle Pacific are the only other West Region teams in the current poll … here is an abbreviated look at the rankings (full poll always available at wbca.org):
ESPN/USA Today Division II Top 25 — Nov. 5, 2009 (UAA & opponents in bold; West Region teams in italics) Rk Team (1st pl. votes) Rec. Pts Pvs Rk 1. Michigan Tech 27-7 467 8 2. Franklin Pierce [N.H.] 29-6 657 2 3. California [Pa.] 29-5 561 4 4. Delta State [Miss.] 30-7 517 6 5. Fort Lewis [Colo.] (2) 28-3 462 9 6. Minnesota State (8) 32-2 697 1 7. Emporia State [Kan.] 26-6 409 17 8. ALASKA ANCHORAGE 31-4 638 3 9. Stonehill [Mass.] 22-8 370 22 10. West Texas A&M 28-6 341 5 14. UC San Diego 27-5 287 16 16. Seattle Pacific 23-5 216 7
SPORTS presented by
Courtesy:: Michael Dinneen / UAA Athletics
