Jan. 20, 2007
Box Score
By Adam Raeder
Staff Writer
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Published January 21, 2007
Shooting woes reared their ugly head again Saturday for the Alaska women's basketball team as the Nanooks fell to the Central Washington Wildcats 79-56 in Ellensburg, Wash.
The Nanooks shot just 22 percent from the field in the first half, struggling with the Wildcats' pressure defense en route to their fifth straight loss and ninth defeat in their last 10 games.
"I think it's a combination of (shots not falling) and 17 turnovers in the first half -- that was huge," Nanooks head coach Lynne Andrew said via telephone Saturday night. "I think teams are seeing that they can pressure us. They pressured us and we just couldn't handle it."
While the Nanooks have struggled with pressure defense all season, Saturday night proved more difficult than most. Their 44 missed shots marked a season high -- Alaska finished 17-of-61 shooting -- and their 24 turnovers tied a season high matched three other times.
"Because we were turning the ball over, they were able to get some quick and easy baskets against us," Andrew said. "They were getting the ball, going down and attacking us because we weren't back on defense yet. They were converting on all our turnovers."
Like they have many times before, the Nanooks played better in the second half, but the early hole proved too big to claw out of.
The Nanooks outscored the Wildcats 39-34 in the final frame and saw their shooting percentage jump by 10 points.
"We came out (in the second half) with a little more fire and a chip on our shoulder," Andrew said. "But when you're down 28 points at halftime that's a big hole to dig out of."
According to Andrew, the Nanooks' late surge on offense came as a result of solving the Wildcats' attacking defense. By cutting down on their turnovers -- Alaska had just seven in the second half -- they forced Central Washington into a half-court game.
"Because we were able to execute and score more, we were able to get back and set up on defense more," Andrew said. "We've got to be able to work for some baskets so we can get back on defense and stop them from scoring."
Senior center Laura Wright paced the Wildcats offense with 18 points and seven boards, while fellow senior Elyse Mengarelli added 17 points.
"Elyse, she started posting up our guards," Andrew said. "She's a very physical type of player and she was able to convert in the paint."
While Wright and Mengarelli shined, Sheena Brown and Kari Reabold, the Nanooks' two leading scorers this season, struggled. Reabold went just 1-of-10 from the floor and Brown made only four of her 12 shots, although Brown and Caitlyn Rohrbach led the team with 13 points.
"In games like this, (Kari and Sheena) are trying to create shots because our offense is breaking down," Andrew said. "They're shooting desperation shots."
The Nanooks stay on the road through Wednesday, when they take on Northwest Nazarene in a 5 p.m. contest. Until then, the Nanooks will keep hitting the practice court, trying to find the winning formula.
"We just have a roadblock right now of trying to understand why we're not playing a complete game because I feel like I have a very talented group of ladies," Andrew said. "That's where we're at. We've just got to get ready for our next challenge."
