Box Score FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Alaska limited Western State to just 22-percent shooting in the second half and used a balanced offensive attack en route to a 68-58 victory at the 2011 Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational on Thanksgiving Day Thursday at the Patty Center.
“We take one game at a time and go all out every game, so they definitely have a great work ethic come game time,” Alaska head coach
Cody Burgess said. “Every chance they get, every opportunity to play is a time they come together and build as a team. Getting the win gives us confidence and gives our fans confidence to come out and support us which is what we want to do here.”
Freshman guard
Nicole Hartzog (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton) tied for a game-high 12 points, while redshirt senior center
Nicole Bozek (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak) and junior forward
Jacqueline Lovato (Gunnison, Colo./McCook CC) chipped in 10 each for the Nanooks (3-3). Bozek was also one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. Alaska shot 38.2-percent (21-55 FG) for the game and made half of its threes, draining seven of 14.
Lovato is a native of Gunnison, Colo., where Western State is located, so this win was especially special to her.
“I wanted to pound them into the ground," Lovato said. "I know every single one of those players [on Western State], so it's nice to get that win. We need to be energized and get a bucket so if I can do that, I want to do that for my team.”
Katie Hall led the Mountaineers (1-3) with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.
Brooke Pendergraft and
Nikki Trujillo both tallied 10 points each, respectively. WSC shot better than 40-percent (9-22 FG) in the first, half, but struggled from the field in the second frame, making just 10 off 44 (22.7%) to finish just under 29-percent for the game.
“I want to give credit to Alaska Fairbanks,” Western State head coach
Latricia Trammel said. “They did a fantastic job. Coach Burgess has done a great job with this team and they battled every possession and exposed our weaknesses.”
The Mountaineers edged the 'Nooks in the rebounding column, 48-45, including a 21-13 advantage on the offensive glass. Both teams struggled to maintain possession as WSC had 22 giveaways to Alaska's 23. The Nanooks did have 14 steals, while Western had eight.
The game remained close early on, but leading 13-11, Alaska scored six straight to hold a 19-11 advantage with 11:11 to go. WSC fought back and trailing 27-22 with just under four minutes remaining in the half, it went on a 7-0 run for a 29-27 lead. The Mountaineers took a 31-30 lead into the locker room.
The visitors maintained a slim lead at 41-39 until a 9-0 surge by the Nanooks in a span of 2:03 gave the lead back to Alaska at 48-41 with 11:21 to go. Western got to within four at 50-46, but the Nanooks scored the next five for their biggest lead of the game at 55-46 with 7:46 to play. WSC made one last run, getting back to within five with just over two minutes to go, but Alaska closed the game with seven of the final nine points to notch its third win of the season.
The Nanooks hit the court again Friday at 7:30 p.m. against West Liberty (3-2), which fell 68-52 to Lenoir-Rhyne (4-1) in game one of the North Star Invitational. LRU faces Western State at 5:15 p.m.
