Box Score FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Freshman guard
Nicole Hartzog (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton) scored a game and career-high 26 points and shot 5-of-8 from beyond the to lead Alaska, but Minot State held the home team at bay, running away with a 72-59 non-conference women's basketball victory on Saturday night at the Patty Center.
“I think we started out a little slow and we weren't as aggressive as we needed to be at the start, so we had to play catch-up most the game,” head coach
Cody Burgess said. “Nicole had a great game, definitely kept us in there. We still did well at the free throw line [as a team] but we still have things to work on.”
The Beavers (1-1) were led by the twin tandem of Carly and Christina Boag, which combined for 36 points and 16 rebounds. Carly posted a double-double with 16 and 10, while Christina led the team in scoring with 20.
The Nanooks (0-2) also got double-figure scoring from senior forward
Autumn Greene (Lewiston, Idaho/Centralia CC).
MSU shot better than 44-percent (23-52 FG) from the floor and got to the free throw line 34 times, 26 of which came in the second half. It converted 24 from the charity stripe and shot just under 71-percent. The Beavers controlled the glass, outrebounding the home team 42-36.
Alaska shot a bit better tonight after making 30-percent (18-60) of its shots and was 72.7-percent from the line after sinking 16 of 22.
Minot score 17 of the game's first 19 points to take a 17-2 lead six and a half minutes into the game. The 'Nooks were held without a field goal until the 7:56 mark when Hartzog drained a 3-pointer. That shot sparked a 13-0 run over the next over the next four and half minutes to cut the lead to two at 17-15. MSU took a 29-24 lead into halftime.
The Beavers scored six in a row to open the second to retake a double-digit lead at 35-24 with 18:07 to play. The Nanooks responded with a mini 5-0 run in the ensuing 30 seconds for themselves to cut the lead back to six at 35-29.
The visitors were able to keep the lead around 10 or 11 points for most of the second and Alaska never drew closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“We definitely need to have a better a lot better mindset at the start of each game and the start of each half,” Burgess said. “I think that stuff comes together the more a team plays with each other. It's only the second game in; I think we'll be ready.”
The Nanooks will fly to the islands of Hawaii next weekend for three games in Hilo. They play host Hawaii-Hilo on Friday at 8 p.m. and follow that up with a neutral-site game with Hawaii Pacific Saturday at 4 p.m. The tropical trip will wrap up with another game against Hilo next Sunday at 4 p.m.
