Box Score FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Senior guard
Cameron Sealey scored a game-high 24 points and Lenoir-Rhyne was crowned the 2011 Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational champions Saturday night with a 57-44 women's basketball victory against Alaska at the Patty Center.
“We gave up 34 [points] in the first and only 23 in the second and that's all you can ever ask for as a coach,” Alaska head coach
Cody Burgess said of Alaska's defense. “If we had hit a couple more buckets, it probably would've been a different game. Overall as a team, we have to improve defensively from the start so we don't get in a hole.”
Sealey, who was celebrating her 22nd birthday, was honored at the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 17.3 points and 5.0 rebounds to lead the Bears (6-1) to a clean sweep of the event.
Whitley Culler was also named to the All-Tournament Team after scoring 10 points and adding nine rebounds.
Whitney Brinkley and
Jazmine Charles also combined for 29 total rebounds.
“Cameron has been a winner in this program for four years now,” Lenoir-Rhyne head coach
Todd Starkey said. “She's been a part of back-to-back conference championships, been to a couple NCAA Tournaments, been through the fire with me and she's just a winner. She's developed that skill over the past few years and become a leader for us. I'm really proud of the way she's played.”
Redshirt senior center
Nicole Bozek (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak) posted a double-double for the Nanooks (3-5) with 12 points and 14 rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament Team after she averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the three games.
“She's a great player, has good touch around the basket, has long arms and sees the ball and moves well,” Burgess said. “She wants to win, been here a long time without the successes she deserves. She's pulling for that and she knows we have team and abilities to be successful.”
Senior forward
Autumn Greene (Lewiston, Idaho/Centralia CC) added eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Both teams struggled from the floor, as LRU shot just 27-percent (19-70 FG) to Alaska's 26-percent (18-69 FG). The Bears separated themselves from the 'Nooks by getting to the free throw line 25 times, but only converted on 15 (60%) of them. UAF was limited to 11 free throw attempts, making seven (63.6%). Lenoir-Rhyne dominated the boards by a 64-46 margin, including 21-11 on the offensive glass. Alaska committed fewer turnovers, giving it away 17 times to Lenoir's 21.
After Greene opened the game with a layup, the Bears went on a 17-2 run to open up a comfortable 17-4 lead. The lead stretched to 18 at 26-8 with 7:33 to go and LRU led by as many as 19 points in the opening frame. The 'Nooks closed the gap going on an 11-2 run in the final 4:22, capped off by a
Marissa Atoruk three-pointer, to trail 34-24 at the half.
Trailing 38-26, Alaska scored eight straight to get within four at 38-34 with 15:57 to play. Teams traded baskets twice, but an 8-0 run over 2:28 gave the Bears a 50-38 lead with just over eight remaining. Alaska never drew closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“We have a lot of fighters on this team and it takes the right group of kids to make that run and make those stops defensively,” Burgess said. “We started off in man, had to go to zone and some players are better at that than others, so that was the big change to get back in the game.”
The Nanooks open up Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next Saturday when they host their arch-rival Alaska Anchorage. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Patty Center.
All-Tournament Team:
Kayla Ayers, West Liberty
Nicole Bozek, Alaska
Whitley Culler, Lenoir-Rhyne
Katie Hall, Western State
Hillary Southworth, West Liberty
MVP: Cameron Sealey, Lenoir-Rhyne
Tournament Champions: Lenoir-Rhyne (3-0)
Second: West Liberty (2-1)
Third: Alaska (1-2)
Fourth: Western State (0-3)
