Fouls foil Seawolves in 66-64 setback at Point Loma

San Diego, Calif. (Nov. 15) - Alaska Anchorage senior guard Jazzpher Evans scored 18 points to aid a fourth-quarter comeback, but Point Loma guard Kaylee Byon converted a layup with 7.1 seconds left to lift her team to a 66-64 women's basketball victory Friday at Golden Gymnasium.

The Seawolves (4-1) also got 13 points from junior guard Elaina Mack, but were hurt by a 29-12 foul differential and 18 turnovers.

The Sea Lions (2-2) were led by 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks from forward Alli McDonald, who shot 10 of 11 at the free-throw line, while guard Grace Moyers had 11 points on 3-of-4 three-point accuracy.

"It's almost impossible to win - doubly so against a good team on the road - when you have such significant foul trouble throughout a game," said UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy. "We need to learn to execute offensively and be more disciplined defensively, so that we don't allow so many easy opportunities for our opponents, and can keep our best players on the court."

Featuring two teams coming off third-place finishes in their respective conferences last year, the game was appropriately played within a 15-point window, with neither team gaining a double-digit advantage.

Evans delivered a three-point play right before the first-quarter buzzer for a 24-18 lead, then nailed a three-pointer in the waning seconds to put UAA ahead 36-33 at the half.

The entire second half was a one- or two-possession affair, seeing Point Loma grab its largest advantage at 59-53 with eight minutes remaining.

Junior forward Hedda Koehne nailed two free throws to end a long scoreless drought for UAA, however, and the Seawolves capped a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead on a three-pointer by Mack. That marked the first of five lead changes in a 90-second span as neither team could earn a defensive stop.

The Seawolves went up 64-63 on a layup by Emilia Long with 1:17 left, but Long fouled out on an offensive foul with 11 seconds left, and the Sea Lions called timeout. Facing heavy pressure on the inbounds, Byon took the pass and drove through two UAA defenders for a left-handed, bank-in layup for the deciding basket.

UAA called timeout to advance the ball past midcourt, but Evans missed a driving hook shot, and Byon scored the final point on a free throw with 1.7 ticks showing.

Long finished with eight points, four assists and three steals in just over 18 minutes, while senior center Tori Hollingshead had seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Koehne had six points and four blocks, and senior forward Jaisa Gamble added six points (3-6 FG) and a career-high-tying five steals.

The Seawolves play two more games in Southern California before heading home for next week's ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout, starting with a Saturday 5 p.m. AST tip against Stanton University in Orange County.

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