Friday, March 11, 2016

by Nathan Sagan, UAA Media Relations

AZUSA, Calif.  -- Megan Mullings had 17 points and nine rebounds and fellow senior Keiahnna Engel sparked a dominant effort from the Alaska Anchorage bench as the nationally 4th-ranked Seawolves rolled to an 82-53 blowout of Cal State Dominguez Hills in the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships opening round Friday at the Felix Event Center.

UAA (34-2) – the No. 2 seed – got 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Engel, while sophomore forward Sierra Afoa tied her career-high with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3 of 5 from long range. Senior point guard Christina Davis added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists as the Seawolf bench outscored its counterparts 48-13.

With the win, the Seawolves move on to the regional semifinals, where they will face defending West Region champ and 2015 national runner-up Cal Baptist (29-2). Tip is set for 5 p.m. PT Saturday, with the game available for free at portal.stretchinternet.com/apu.

The Toros (22-10) – tri-champions of the California Collegiate Athletic Association – were led by 12 points from senior guard Breanne Garcia, but the L.A.-area squad was held to 31 percent shooting, outrebounded 52-37, and forced into 22 turnovers.

“We’re a confident bunch,” said Davis, who played extended minutes with starter Kiki Robertson in early foul trouble. “We (the reserves) go against some of the best players in the region every day at practice, so we feel like we’re prepared for anything in a situation like that.”

Playing without two of its three leading scorers due to injuries and suspensions, the 7th-seeded Toros kept things close early, forging a 15-15 tie when Femi Hamilton drained a three-pointer to open the second quarter. The Seawolves took over from there, however, getting three straight baskets from Kiki Robertson, Mullings and Jenna Buchanan to force a Toro timeout.

UAA kept the pressure on for the rest of the quarter and took a 39-20 lead into the locker room when Mullings converted a fast-break layup with 4 seconds left.

The Toros made a brief run early in the third quarter before Afoa drained three-pointers on consecutive possessions and Engel scored inside for a 50-29 lead. 

Afoa, from Anchorage’s Dimond High School, added five rebounds as she matched her career-high set last season against Western Oregon, while Davis collected her most points since Dec. 20.

“We’re excited. It’s interesting the way that the seedings worked out, with two (top-10 nationally ranked) teams playing each other early like that,” said UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy of his team’s upcoming game against nationally 5th-ranked CBU. “There’s no way to prove you’re the best in the country unless you get a chance to compete against the best.”

NOTES: Buchanan’s NCAA Div. II single-season record streak of 35 straight games with at least one three-pointer came to an end Friday, with the senior from Galena shooting 0 of 3 from long range … UAA improved to 17-14 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, capturing its first win since the 2012 West Region title game; the Seawolves also improved to 9-6 in opening-round games … Saturday’s regional semifinal will mark the first-ever meeting between UAA and Cal Baptist, which transitioned from the NAIA ranks two years ago … Mullings needs just one more point to reach 1,000 for her career and give UAA three 1,000-point scorers on the same team, along with Buchanan (1,237) and Madison (1,248) … Madison captured her 99th victory in a Seawolf uniform – No. 3 on the program’s all-time  list.