Box Score NAMPA, Idaho – Four players scored in double figures and Northwest Nazarene used a strong surge in the second half to pull away from Alaska for an 83-62 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory Thursday evening at the Johnson Sports Center.
“NNU played a real tough defense on us and caused too many turnovers,” head coach
Cody Burgess said. “We were able to get better looks in the second half but were unable to stop their paced attack.”
The Crusaders (8-3, 2-1 GNAC) were led by
Megan Hingston, who scored a team-high 17 points and had a game-high five steals, while
Briaunna King posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Monica Garcia and
Chelsie Luke also tallied double-figure scoring with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
NNU shot better than 45-percent (33-73) from the floor, while limiting Alaska to just shy of 39-percent (21-54). It also won the rebounding war 46-36, including 16-10 on the offensive glass. The Crusaders forced the Nanooks (4-8, 0-2 GNAC) into 27 turnovers, making 18 steals, while giving the ball away 22 times themselves.
Alaska was led by senior center
Nicole Bozek (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak), who scored a game-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds, while senior forward
Autumn Greene (Lewiston, Idaho/Centralia CC) added 12 points and six boards. As a team, the Nanooks made seven blocks, two by Greene and two by sophomore guard
Emily Johnson (Juneau, Alaska/Juneau-Douglas).
“Bozek stepped up in the second half, hit some baskets and got to the free throw line,” Burgess said. “
Emily Johnson and
Nicole Hartzog did very well defensively, but we need everyone to do that in order to compete in this conference.”
UAF led 7-5 early, but NNU answered with nine in a row to grab a 14-7 advantage with 13:25 to go in the first. Leading 23-16, the Crusaders went on a 7-0 run to hold their largest lead to that point at 30-16 with 4:48 remaining. After a Nanooks free throw, NNU kept the pressure on, upping its lead to 18 at 35-17. UAF closed the frame with an 8-2 surge to climb to within 12 at 37-25 at the break.
The Nanooks cut it back to 10 at 40-30 with 18:13 to go, but 10 straight Crusader points over the next 2:38 doubled the lead to 50-30. NNU kept applying pressure, extending the advantage to 25 at 58-33. Alaska never crept closer than 16 the rest of the way.
The Nanooks return to action Saturday at noon when the face Central Washington in Ellensburg Wash., in the final game of the 2011 calendar year. CWU is coming off a 78-60 loss to 10th-ranked Alaska Anchorage earlier Thursday.
