Tuesday, March 24, 2020
ATLANTA – The top GNAC women’s basketball coach in 2019-20 was also recognized as the best in the West as Alaska Anchorage’s Ryan McCarthy was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II West Region Coach of the Year.
McCarthy earned the regional award for the fourth time and was a finalist for the 2020 United States Marine Corps/WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year award in his eighth season as head coach of the Seawolves. He was also named the GNAC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season and the fifth time overall.
“I’m always thankful for any recognition that our program receives,” McCarthy said. “I dedicated this season and its accolades to Patrick Flanigin, our volunteer assistant who passed away.”
Picked to finish third in the 2019-20 GNAC Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll, Alaska Anchorage claimed its sixth straight GNAC regular-season title with a 19-1 conference mark. The No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships, the Seawolves captured their sixth tournament title and first since 2017 with a 79-77 win over Central Washington in the semifinals and an 89-68 rout of Western Washington in the final at Seattle Pacific’s Royal Brougham Pavilion.
The Seawolves led the conference in scoring defense (55.2 points allowed per game), field goal percentage defense (.367), assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and scoring margin (+21.0), which also ranked sixth in Division II. The Seawolves also ranked third in Division II with 422 steals, sixth with 12.8 steals per game, eighth with a +8.06 turnover margin, ninth with 481 free throws made and 12th with 522 assists.
“This award is more of a reflection of our ladies’ hard work and embracing the culture of our program,” McCarthy said. “I’ve also been blessed with a great coaching staff in Shaina and Sierra Afoa, who both have been critical to our success.”
The Seawolves ended their 2019-20 campaign riding a 13-game win streak, finishing the season with a 31-2 overall record, marking the fourth time in five years that the program won 30 or more games. The Seawolves were ranked No. 4 in the final WBCA National Rankings.