Box Score
FAIRBANKS, AK – Alaska used three players in double-figures to earn their first GNAC win in 25 tries on Thursday afternoon in a 72-62 win over Central Washington.
Lakeshia Levi (Warner Robins, GA) scored 21 points and
Ronisha Edwards (Compton, CA) chipped in 21 points in the Nanooks first win since November 19, their first game of the season.
Alaska seemed to work together from the start, as
Alexandra Melonson (Seattle, WA) was the first to find the hoop in the field, followed by Edwards swishing back-to-back three-pointers.
The Blue and Gold pushed out to an 11-2 lead before the Wildcats even knew what hit them. However, the score remained close and Central Washington tied twice, and found a two-point lead midway through the first.
With the Wildcats up 21-19, Alaska would go on a 13-0 run to take their biggest lead of the half at 11 points.
The Nanooks continued to fight and managed to remain ahead 36-28, to end the half. Alaska out-shot the Wildcats hitting five more field goals (15-10) and also held a 23-15 advantage on the boards.
Levi went into the half with a game-high 11 points while Edwards and Melonson each scored eight points. Sara Bergner led the way for the Wildcats with nine points and Shaina Afoa pulled down eight rebounds at the midway point.
Central Washington gave the Nanooks a run for their money in the beginning of the second half, being the first to find the hoop on back-to-back shots. The Wildcats cut the Nanooks lead to only one just five minutes into the second stanza.
After a Nanooks timeout, Edwards added a board and banked a three pointer back-to-back to give Alaska the momentum. After the close encounter the Nanooks would take control of the game and held a lead of eight or more for most of the half
Levi scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while also picking up 13 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season. Edwards poured in 20 points and Melonson scored a season-high 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
Alaska also controlled the glass, grabbing 46 rebounds compared to only 36 for the Wildcats.
Jessica Harrison (Las Vegas, NV) led all players with 15 rebounds, with five of them on the offensive end.
Sophie Russell led the Wildcats with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, followed by Sara Bergner (14), Shaina Afoa (11), and Brittany Duerr (10). Afoa pulled down 12 rebounds as the Nanooks held the Wildcats to only 37% (23-of-63) shooting for the game.
Alaska, who's last conference win was March 8, 2008 against Seattle University, also snapped a 19-game losing streak which has spanned all season. The Nanooks last win was a 66-65 win over Hawaii-Hilo on November 17.
The Nanooks hope to continue the winning streak on Saturday where they will play Western Washington at 5:15 AST.
