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FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Alaska turned in a complete team effort, playing arguably the best defensive game of the season while never trailing by more than a single point to down Saint Martin's 62-51 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game Thursday night at the Patty Center.
“I'm really happy with the defensive effort,” head coach
Cody Burgess said. “We changed it up, we full-court pressed, we were trying to pressure the ball and we really wanted to dominate on the rebounding side and that's what we did.”
Senior
Nicole Bozek (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak) posted her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks as the Nanooks (5-13, 1-6 GNAC) notched their first conference win of the season, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the process. Junior
Taylor Altenburg (Elko, Nev./College of Southern Idaho) and freshman
Nicole Hartzog (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton) each contributed 11 points, but it was the specialty stats that set the 'Nooks apart from the Saints (7-10, 2-5 GNAC).
Altenburg also garnered five rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass, while freshman
Kelly Logue (Fair Oaks, Calif./Bella Vista) made a career-best five thefts to go with her seven points and two assists. Hartzog also tallied four steals to go with a pair of dimes and her first career blocked shot.
“In order to win games in this conference, you have to have a number of contributors,” Burgess said. “The team understands that and when one person isn't there, we need others to step up. It takes a team and that's what we have been focusing on in practice and in the locker room. We're proud of that.”
As a team, despite shooting just 33-percent (22-66), Alaska won the rebounding war for only the fifth time all season by a 43-34 margin. In addition, UAF dominated the offensive glass 16-1, resulting in 10 second-chance points for the home team. It also forced Saint Martin's into 28 turnovers, making 16 steals as it scored 29 points off SMU giveaways.
Chelsea Haskey led the Saints with a double-double of her own with game-highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds, but no other player scored more than eight points or brought down more than five rebounds. They shot just shy of 41-percent (20-49) for the game, but were the Nanooks' first opponent this season to not make one three-pointer as they missed on all 11 attempts.
Alaska led 9-4 early, but six straight SMU points gave the visitors a 10-9 advantage just past the halfway point of the first. The Saints led 16-15 with just under six minutes to play, but the Nanooks took the lead for good with an 8-0 surge that spanned 2:28. They led 26-20 at the break.
The 'Nooks held a 32-26 lead, but used a pair of Altenburg free throws and a trey by senior
Jeni Gabriel (Stayton, Ore./Walla Walla CC) to gain their first double-digit advantage at 37-26 with 13:21 to go. The lead stretched to 15 at 43-28 but the Saints wouldn't go quietly. Trailing Alaska 49-38, SMU scored nine of the game's next 10 points to pull within three at 50-47 with 4:47 remaining.
After a missed opportunity by the Nanooks, SMU inbounded, only to be pickpocketed by Hartzog and she converted the layup to end the run. That layup sparked a 9-0 run that allowed Alaska to regain a double-digit lead at 59-47 and close the door on the visiting Saints.
The Nanooks return to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when wrapping up the week against Western Oregon, which lost 86-58 at No. 14 Alaska Anchorage earlier Thursday.
“There's focus and preparation, that's our job, that's our goal,” Burgess said. “We want to win every night and we have to take it one game at a time. We'll enjoy this for a little bit tonight but we're get our heads in it and get ready for Western Oregon.”
