Feb. 3, 2007
Box Score
FAIRBANKS, AK - Sophomore guard Cristina Bruketta had a career night to offset the hot-hand of the conference's leading scorer and the Alaska Nanooks continued to climb in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 71-59 win over Western Oregon Saturday afternoon. The Nanooks (9-11 overall, 4-5 GNAC) ran their GNAC win streak to four games, the best since a four-game stretch in Jan. 2005.
"This is the type of basketball we're capable of playing," head coach Lynne Andrew said of the win streak. "They've been tight games but they're building our confidence. I wish we would've gotten to this point sooner but its happening now and it feels great."
Bruketta (Ellensburg, WA) scored a career-high 25 points on a career-best 6-of-10 effort from behind the arc, while also grabbing seven boards. Her previous career-high of 20 points came against the University of California-San Diego in Nov. 2005. The shooting guard is now 12-of-23 from downtown over the previous three games.
"Every player on this team is capable of scoring 20 in a night but it's a matter of what they give us defensively," Andrew said. "When they key on taking Kari out of the game, other players have to step up. They played zone pretty much the whole game and that's Cristina's favorite to play against. She's feeling healthier and more confident and she stepped up huge."
The big night from Bruketta helped counteract a huge night from GNAC scoring leader Leada Berkey of the Wolves (3-17, 2-7). The guard pumped in a game-hihg 33 points on 14-of-27 shooting, grabbed five boards and had five steals. But Berkey also had half of Western Oregon's 16 turnovers.
Berkey's point total exceeded 30 for the sixth time this season, setting a new GNAC record. The previous mark of five belonged to Berkey and Alaska's Adrienne Taalak (2003-04).
Minus Berkey's production the rest of the Wolves shot just 23 percent (8-of-35) from the floor. Point guard Brittany MacGregor added 12 points but no other Western player scored more than five points.
Leading scorer Kari Reabold (Fairbanks, AK) finished with 11 points but had 11 rebounds and three blocks. Senior point Mia Seagraves (Long Beach, CA) played 38 minutes and finished with seven points, five assists and two steals. Junior post Joseclyn Shumate (Fairbanks, AK) added 10 points, eight boards and three assists.
"Joscelyn had a really solid game for us," Andrew said.
The Nanooks dominated the glass with a 19-rebound advantage. The aggressive play of Alaska earned them 34 free throws but they converted just 65 percent. Western Oregon was worse, shooting just 47 percent (7-of-15) from the stripe.
Alaska led by just two points at the break but took control in the second half. After a Berkey lay-up gave the visitors a 46-44 lead at the 15:14 mark, the Nanooks made an 8-0 run that included a Bruketta trey. Alaska was never really threatened after that, building the lead as large as 15.
Western struggled in the second half and shot just 27 percent (9-of-34) from the floor. Berkey shot 6-of-13 in the final 20 minutes but her teammates were an abysmal 3-of-21.
After three in a row in the always-friendly Patty Center, the Nanooks look to keep their streak alive against Seattle (Feb. 8) and Western Washington (Feb. 10) on the road.
"This is great momentum going into this road trip," Andrew said. "We've got to keep this confidence going, at home or on the road, to keep us headed in the right direction in the conference."
