Falcons edge Seawolves with record-setting 3-point display

Anchorage (Jan. 23) - Sophomore Mahaila Harrison had 28 points and 11 rebounds and senior Taylor Searcey nearly recorded a triple-double, but the UAA women's basketball team fell victim to a record-setting three-point display by Seattle Pacific in a 101-98 loss Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Playing without two regular starters, the Seawolves (11-6, 3-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) got 25 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and three steals from Searcey, while senior Elaina Mack had 11 points, five rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

The Falcons (5-12, 2-6) were led by 33 points on 9-of-17 shooting from guard Grace Turley and 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists from guard Layne Kearns. SPU connected on 19 of 30 three-pointers (.633), breaking its school record as well as the GNAC record for treys against a fellow NCAA Div. II opponent.

"It just seemed to be one of those nights with their three-point shooting," said UAA head coach Matt Thune, who was missing GNAC second-leading rebounder Lillee Duffin and GNAC assist leader Mylee Anderson to injury. "Taylor stepped up and did an amazing job, and we got a huge boost off the bench from Alba Sanz, but we simply couldn't get the defensive stops we needed in critical situations."

Meeting for the 81st time in a series that had never featured a 100-point game, the final box featured multiple lopsided stats. UAA committed eight turnovers to SPU's 22 and outscored the Falcons 58-20 in the paint, but the Seawolves connected on just 6 of 27 (.222) threes and were outrebounded 42-35.

The game featured 23 lead changes and nine ties, with no lead larger than seven points.

Mack gave UAA its final advantage with a three-pointer to make it 86-85 with 4:32 left, before the Falcons answered with a three from Layla Senderson and a putback layup by Turley.

SPU took a 94-88 edge into the final minute of play and made it 96-90 on two free throws from Turley with 35 seconds left. Searcey drove for a traditional three-point play, though, and Harrison sliced it to 96-94 on a free throw, only to see Kearns answer with a pair of charities at the 18-second mark.

UAA made it 98-96 on two Searcey free throws and 99-98 when she fed Harrison for an under-the-hoop inbounds basket, but Turley nailed two free throws with 1.2 seconds left and the Seawolves - without a timeout to advance the ball - could not get off a final shot.

Harrison and Searcey each shot 10 of 19 from the field, while Kimberly Carrada Sanchez tallied 13 points (4-8 FG, 2-4 3FG), three assists and two steals.

A freshman from Spain, Sanz had a career-high nine points (4-6 FG) and grabbed four rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes off the bench.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. to face Montana State Billings (11-10, 3-5 GNAC). Find tickets, live links and more at GoSeawolves.com.