ANCHORAGE, Alaska – No. 17 Alaska Anchorage posted a 62-48 victory over visiting Montana State Billings Saturday evening at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 10-9 overall and 6-5 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  UAA improved to 17-5 overall and 8-3 in conference play. 

“It was a hard-fought game tonight and very physical,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “I think the key was on the boards as they beat us up in that area.  We did some good things, but I think we needed to shoot the ball just a little bit better, especially from beyond the arc."

The Jackets were led by 17 points from senior Jenny Heringer as she was a team-high 6 of 13 from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.  Senior Beata Bak had 11 points off the bench to go along with a team-high four assists.

UAA was led by a game-high 21 points from Alysa Horn who was 8 of 15 from the field and tallied a game-high seven rebounds.  Francesca De Angelis chipped in 14 points, while Hanna Johansson added 11 points.

The Jackets shot 35.6 percent from the field for the game on 16 of 45.  MSUB was 5 of 20 from beyond the arc and 11 of 16 from the line.  The Seawolves didn't shoot much better, but were 22 of 59 from the field, 5 of 18 from beyond the arc and 13 of 18 from the line. 

Rebounding was a big difference as UAA dominated the glass, 44-24 and 16-3 on the offensive end.  It led 13-0 in second chance points.  The Seawovles also led 28-16 in points in the paint. ]

UAA got off to a 17-6 lead through the first nine minutes of the game, but the resilient Yellowjackets continued to fight and used an 18-7 run over the next six minutes.  The run was capped by a triple from Heringer for a 24-24 score with 3:11 remaining in the half.

De Angelis hit a big triple, moments later to quell the Yellowjacket momentum as UAA held a 31-27 lead at intermission.

The Jackets shot an even 50 percent from the field in the first half on 9 of 18 from the field.  They were 3 of 8 from range and 6 of 10 from the line.  UAA was 13 of 37 from the field for 35 percent and was 4 of 10 from beyond the arc.  The Seawolves made just one of four free throw attempts.

“Both halves we didn't get off to a good start,” Woodin added.  “We kind of dug a whole early in the first half and felt fortunate to be only down four at half.”

The Seawolves raced out of the gates in the second half scoring 10 of the first 15 points for a 41-32 lead with 15:08 left.  The Jackets again cut into the deficit, and pulled within five on a jumper from freshman Bobbi Knudsen with 9:44 left and a 44-39 score.

Senior Shantell Marquis hit a triple to pull the Jackets within 48-44 with 5:20 left, but free throw shooting down the stretch by UAA proved to be the difference as it swelled the lead to 14 points.  The Seawolves went 9 of 10 from the charity stripe to preserve the victory.

“In the second half, UAA had that first push, but we hung in there and kept it in a manageable deficit between 5-8 points,” Woodin added.  “We missed some shots, but got some good looks and we couldn't quite get that one basket to make it a one possession game.”

The Yellowjackets return home to begin a three-game homes stand, Saturday, Feb. 5, at 5:15 p.m. versus Seattle Pacific for Hall of Fame Weekend.

“I was pleased with a lot of the things we did, I think we will respond appropriately next week,” Woodin concluded.  “We are coming home for a three game home stand and we will need to play well against a good Seattle Pacific team.”