FRANKLYWNOW - UAA Lady Seawolves to host NCAA tournament again

The University of Alaska Anchorage women’s basketball team knows the accommodations at Alaska Airlines Center well. Now, as hosts of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) 2017 Division II Women’s Basketball Championship West Region, the Seawolves will also get to test out the home court theory.

After posting a 29-1 record and a number two national ranking, UAA was named the top seed in the west region for this year’s NCAA tournament.

Friday, the Seawolves will face eighth-seeded Hawaii Pacific, with 21-6. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. It’s the second time in three years UAA stays home to begin the NCAA tournament.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) colleagues Western Washington University and Simon Fraser University are also in the bracket, giving the GNAC a strong presence in Anchorage.

Last season, UAA went all the way to the national title game, falling to Lubbock Christian University. Despite having a group predicted for a third-place finish in the conference, UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy’s group has steamrolled past every Division II opponent it’s played. The only loss was Division I Portland in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout back in November.

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