Box Score HILO, Hawaii - Behind one of the most impressive defensive performances since second-year head coach
Cody Burgess took over the program a year ago, the Alaska women's basketball team thwarted Hawaii-Hilo 67-42 on Friday at the Vulcan Classic to notch its first victory of the young season.
“Being able to win on the road is a significant step in the right direction,” Burgess said. “It gives our team a lot of confidence.”
The Nanooks (1-2) limited the Vulcans (0-1) to just 23.2-percent shooting (13-56 FG) and allowed the lowest point total in a game since defeating Central Washington 47-44 on March 1, 2008. Alaska shot 45.3-percent (24-53 FG) for the game and converted on 16 of 21 (76.2%) free throws.
Redshirt senior center
Nicole Bozek led a very balanced offensive attack with a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward
Autumn Greene (Lewiston, Idaho/Centralia CC) contributed nine points and seven boards, while four others scored eight points apiece.
“We were able to run a lot of our sets,” Burgess said. “We were hitting our easy shots and they're definitely a smaller team, but we were confident in our shooting. Everyone got in on the scoring because we were working with everybody. I was happy with 14 assists; that means we're getting quality shots and getting the right person the ball at the right time.”
Hilo was led by Kirsten Shimizu, who scored a game-high 17 points, which included a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line. No other Vulcan tallied more than eight points.
The Nanooks opened the contest with 10 of the game's first 12 points, but the Vulcans closed the gap, with 10-5 run to make it a 15-12 ballgame. Alaska got it to double digits with a 9-4 mini run to lead 26-16 with 6:39 to go before halftime. The Nanooks led by as many as 12 and took a 35-25 lead into the locker room.
UA's lead continued to grow early in the second with a 9-2 run out of the gate to hold a comfortable 44-27 advantage. Hilo had no answer for the Nanooks as the deficit went to 25 points on three different occasions late in the game.
The 'Nooks return to action Saturday afternoon against Hawaii Pacific in Hilo. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
“Tomorrow's game is going to be a bit tougher,” Burgess said. “HPU is very quick and they have some very good inside players, so it's going to be a different game. We're a little more tired in a different climate, so there's challenges to overcome, but that's how you build a team.”
Interestingly enough, the last time Alaska held a team to less than 50 points, it was on Nov. 27, 2008 when it took a 61-49 victory against tomorrow's opponent in HPU.
