March 1, 2007
Box Score
Monmouth, OR - The Alaska women rode a season-best defensive effort in the first half to a 61-54 victory over Western Oregon Thursday night. The Nanooks held the Wolves to 16 points in the first 20 minutes, matching their previous best effort against BYU Hawaii, and then withstood a WOU rally to snap a five-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference losing skid.
Junior guard Kari Reabold (Fairbanks, AK) topped the Nanooks with 18 points, freshman forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, WA) had 14 points and senior post Karen Rabung (Nikiski, AK) added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
WOU's Leada Berkey, the GNAC's leading scorer at 21.4 points a game, was held to 14 in the loss. Kori Seymour led Western Oregon with 18 points, while Jodee Wilson and Kaila Hawley chipped in 11 apiece.
Alaska (10-16 overall, 5-10 GNAC), which forced the Wolves into 27 percent shooting including 1-of-13 on three-pointers, jumped out to a 30-16 halftime lead. Rohrbach scored all 14 of her points in the half, nearly outscoring WOU (3-23, 2-13) by herself.
The Nanooks extended the lead early in the second half, leading by as many as 18 after a Reabold lay-up made it 37-19 with 17:05 left. The Wolves would then mount a 15-2 run to get back into the game. Berkey's lay-up with 10 minutes to go made it 39-34.
The teams traded baskets before Reabold's basket plus a free throw sparked a 6-0 mini-run to put Alaska up 11 and back in control. WOU climbed back to within seven points but could get no closer.
Alaska dominated the boards with a 40-28 advantage, thanks to Rabung's nine and seven each from Reabold and Rohrbach. WOU shot just 36 percent for the game including an abysmal 3-of-26 from the three-point line.
The Nanooks close the season on the road at Saint Martin's on Saturday evening. The game, the last for seniors Rabung and Mia Seagraves (Long Beach, CA), will tip at 6:00 p.m. AST.
