Friday, March 4, 2016

LACEY, Wash. – Six days after being stunned by Simon Fraser on their home floor to end the regular season, Alaska Anchorage made certain on Friday that they wouldn’t have the opportunity again.

The No. 1 seeded Seawolves gave No. 4 seeded Simon Fraser little chance to build any momentum, limiting the Clan to 33 percent from the field in a 82-47 victory in the semifinals in the GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion. The Seawolves opened the game with an 8-0 run and then proceeded to put together a 21-10 run to close the first half and a 13-2 run in the second to effectively close the game out early.

Alysha Devine and GNAC Player of the Year Megan Mullings each scored 17 points to lead Alaska Anchorage, with Devine shooting 6 of 8 from the field and 2 of 3 from three-pooint range to go along with seven rebounds. The Seawolves finished the night shooting 50.8 percent from the field and in the process tied the GNAC Championships record with 33 field goals made and set a tournament record with 18 steals.

Elisa Homer led Simon Fraser with 14 points while Alisha Roberts scored 13 points. The Clan finished the evening shooting 33.3 percent from the field and were coaxed into 27 turnovers.

With the win, Alaska Anchorage (32-2) earns the right to face No. 3 Montana State Billings in the tournament championship on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Seawolves will be trying for their third tournament championship in six years and their second in a row. The game will be streamed live on GNAC.tv. and will also be aired by the American Sports Network as part of their Division II Basketball Showcase. Simon Fraser ends their season at 16-11.

Alaska Anchorage set the pace early, bolting out to an 8-0 lead on Adriana Dent’s free throw less than three minutes into the game. Simon Fraser, battled back to within three, 8-5, on Sophie Swant’s jumper at the 5:48 mark, but that is as close as the Clan would get the rest of the night. The Seawolves closed the first quarter on a 13-5 run and led 21-10 at the end of the first quarter. Neither team scored over the first two minutes of the second quarter, but Dent’s lay-in with 7:51 left sparked a 13-2 run over the next three minutes that put the Seawolves up 34-12 on Keiahnna Engel’s jumper with four minutes left. Devine ballooned the lead to 23 with her three-pointer with 2:39 left as Alaska Anchorage took a 40-18 lead into halftime.

The Seawolves opened the second half by building their biggest lead of 30 points, 48-18, on a pair of Devine free throws just a minute, 20 seconds into the third quarter. Simon Fraser eventually cut the lead to 24 points on Roberts’ three-point play with 2:25 left, only to watch UAA build it back to 29 points just before the end of the period. Alaska Anchorage would eventually build to their largest lead of the game, 82-45, on a Hannah Wandersee lay-in with less than a minute left.