Robison shines in Seawolves' win WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Forward records her best game since early in season.

The 15th-ranked UAA women's basketball team got back on track Thursday night with a 65-52 win over Simon Fraser, largely because reserve forward Kaylie Robison got back on track.

Robison led the Seawolves with nine points and 10 rebounds, her best performance since the second game of the season, when she posted a double-double against Grand Canyon. Since then, her numbers have tapered.

"I've been struggling," said Robison, who was averaging 5.3 points and 4.4 rebounds coming into the game. "This gives me a little bit of confidence back. It's motivating."

Not that the Seawolves need a whole lot of motivation. They were coming off a loss and eager not to drop two in a row for the first time all season, plus they face 10th-ranked Western Washington on Saturday.

Robison's breakout game was really a breakout half. A 6-foot junior, she had all of her points and nine of her rebounds in the first half, when the Seawolves needed them most.

Though UAA (15-4 overall, 6-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) led twice by as many as 12 points in the first half, the Clan (3-9, 0-7) kept coming back.

That might have surprised some at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex who looked at Simon Fraser's record and counted on an easy outing.

But the Clan is bad on paper only. None of their losses have come in blowouts. And they are big. Four players stand 6-2 or taller.

But Simon Fraser, of Burnaby, British Columbia, is also thin and young. Half its players are true freshmen, and it's thin on the bench, where it has three players.

Simon Fraser is physically thin too. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, a 6-2 sophomore, is averaging double figures in points and rebounds and has what UAA coach Tim Moser called unlimited potential. But she's also scrawny, as are most of the Clan, which brings us back to Robison. Though she gave up a couple inches to Raincock-Ekunwe, Robison is several pounds heavier, and she used her extra strength and size to bang against Raincock-Ekunwe.

"No. 8's so athletic, we wanted to use Kaylie to hit her in the legs as much as we could,'' Moser said of the plan to contain Raincock-Ekunwe, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"Kaylie did a really good job defensively. She did the best job defensively for us in the post."

UAA led by eight at the half and didn't subdue Simon Fraser until it orchestrated a 13-0 run that consumed about 61/2 minutes of the second half. When it ended, the Seawolves were up 53-34.

The win etched a spot in the record book for senior guard Nikki Aden, a four-year player who has been part of 98 victories with the Seawolves, one more than former teammate Rebecca Kielpinski, who was a year ahead of Aden.

Aden scored nine points and added three steals, helping the Seawolves rattle Simon Fraser into 27 turnovers.

Find Beth Bragg at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call her at 257-4335.

SIMON FRASER (52) -- Wyman 4-8 4-4 12; Van Laare 4-8 0-0 11; Raincock-Ekunwe 3-5 4-6 10; Carolsfeld 4-7 0-0 8; Reist 2-4 1-1 5; Petit 0-8 4-4 4; Collins 1-5 0-0 2; Langmead 0-2 0-1 0; Totals 18-47 13-16 52.

UAA (65) -- Horn 4-11 3-4 12; Johansson 4-13 3-4 11; Robison 4-7 1-2 9; Aden 4-16 0-0 9; Denson-Griffin 3-8 0-0 8; Herrin 2-5 0-0 6; Mathews 2-4 2-4 6; McBride 2-8 0-0 4; Burns 0-1 0-0 0; Lee 0-2 0-0 0; Nelson 0-0 0-1 0; De Angelis 0-0 0-1 0; Lundahl 0-1 0-0 0; Martin 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 25-76 9-16 65.

3-point goals -- Simon Fraser 3-11 (Van Laare 3-6; Petit 0-4; Wyman 0-1), UAA 6-20 (Denson-Griffin 2-4; Herrin 2-5; Aden 1-5; Horn 1-3; Burns 0-1; Lundahl 0-1; Mathews 0-1). Rebounds -- Simon Fraser 33 (Raincock-Ekunwe 9), UAA 48 (Robison 10). Assists -- Simon Fraser 14 (Collins 5), UAA 14 (Horn 3, Robison 3, Mathews 3). Steals -- Simon Fraser 4, UAA 13, (Horn 3, Aden 3). Blocks -- Simon Fraser 6 (Raincock-Ekunwe 3), UAA 4. Total Fouls -- Simon Fraser 17, UAA 21. Fouled out -- None. Technical Fouls -- Simon Fraser, none; UAA, none. A -- 441.

Simon Fraser 28 24-- 52

UAA 36 29-- 65

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