Feb. 7, 2008
Box Score
FAIRBANKS, AK- The Nanooks made life tough for third-placed Northwest Nazarene, treating the Patty Center crowd to an outstanding game of basketball, but ultimately their perseverance came up five points too short, as the Crusaders escaped Fairbanks with a 73-68 victory.
"We are just right there," head coach Lynne Andrew said afterwards. "It was a really competitive game, very physical. We just have to sustain that effort: you just let up a little bit and they make a run. This is a game that's winnable. But there are a lot of positives we will take out of the game tonight. We took a big step and I thought we got a lot better tonight."
Slow starters for much of the season, the Nanooks came out flying against Northwest Nazarene. A Kari Reabold three-point play and a Sarah Herrin three, following by a monster block from Brown on the defensive end, would see Alaska off to an early 10-0 lead.
Despite a sharp first half, the Crusaders could not completely run away from the Nanooks, thanks in large part to the leadership of Reabold. The senior guard was getting plenty of work on both end of the floor, forcing turnovers by drawing charging fouls, keeping her teammates involved with her passing distribution, and earning trips to the free throw line herself with her dribbling ability.
The Nanooks would tighten up their defense just before halftime, however, making a late run courtesy of a three-point bucket from Anna Simmons and a bucket in the paint from Joscelyn Shumate to cut the NNU advantage to 34-31.
Alaska would keep their momentum out of the locker rooms and reclaimed the lead through a Cristina Bruketta three-pointer just three minutes into the second stanza.
That lead would be short-lived, however, as Mallory Whipple immediately answered with a long range basket for the Crusaders. Northwest Nazarene would stretch their advantage as many as eight, before the Nanooks begin to claw their way back again.
Down by four with just two minutes to play, Reabold led a fast break before dishing to Shumate, who sunk both the lay-in and the resulting foul shot to slice the deficit to one.
After two Crusader free-throw pushed the advantage to three, however, Reabold and the Nanooks could not convert on a potential game-tying three-pointer, and Northwest Nazarene was able to run out the clock.
Toyota Player of the Game Reabold finished the night with a game-high 22 points to go with a team-high six rebounds as well. The Fairbanks native also had five assists on the night, just five days after setting a career-high with seven helpers against Western Washington.
Shumate ended the night with 17 points as well, shooting 8-for-10 from the floor, while Bruketta also contributed five assists.
The Crusaders would get 19 big points from Nichole Shutte and 15 from Kristin Hein. Jennifer Williams finished the night with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Alaska now welcomes GNAC leaders Seattle Pacific to town, with a chance to put a blemish on the Falcons' undefeated season. Tip-off in that game will take place at 5:15 p.m. at the Patty Center on Saturday.
