FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Following an exciting week at home which saw Alaska women's basketball go 2-0 in conference for the first time since 2007-08, the squad will look for its third and fourth Great Northwest Athletic Conference victories of the year against Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.
The Nanooks (6-13, 2-7 GNAC), first take on the Wildcats (5-11, 2-7 GNAC) Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. meeting Saturday against the Crusaders (11-6, 5-4 GNAC). Two wins this week for the 'Nooks would match the longest conference win streak since the 2006-07 regular season.
“We are really focusing on defense because our first game against Central we have up 97 points, 58 in the second half,” head coach
Cody Burgess said. “We're really focusing on what it's going to take to stop them defensively. These past two games showed us we can definitely do that.”
Last week, Alaska, which had total team efforts in both games, notched its first two conference wins of the season with a 62-51 triumph over Saint Martin's and a 69-68 victory against Western Oregon. It marked the first time since the final two home games of the 2007-08 season that the 'Nooks won consecutive league contests and also snapped a seven-game losing streak in the process.
“We've been saying since the beginning we need more than a couple contributors to win games,” Burgess said. “Hopefully, the next step is consistency and keeping the women at that level of competition.”
In Thursday's win over SMU, the Nanooks won the rebounding war 43-34 and dominated on the offensive glass 16-1. They forced the Saints into 28 turnovers, which resulted in 29 points off the visitor's giveaways. SMU failed to make one long-range jumper all night.
On Saturday, WOU cashed in on three free throws with just over three seconds remaining to trim the lead to one, but
Nicole Bozek grabbed the most important offensive rebound of the season with 0.9 seconds to go off a missed free throw to seal the Nanooks second straight win.
As the players will tell anyone, they are not satisfied with just the two wins – they want more and intend to get more wins.
“That's what we've been searching for here,” Burgess said. “We've been focused on finding those who have the desire to win and compete and don't want to settle for any kind of mediocrity. We're excited to have those attitudes and want to keep bringing those kind of young women in this program.”
Freshman
Nicole Hartzog was named the GNAC Co-Player of the Week after averaging 14.5 points, including a game-high 18 in Saturday's win over WOU. She also connected on all nine free throw attempts and tallied nine steals and 10 rebounds.
Bozek continues to climb up the GNAC career records list as she sits 38th in points (1,073), 30th in rebounds (586) and sixth in made free throws (365).
In the latest GNAC season rankings, Bozek is third in scoring (16.4 ppg), while placing tied for fifth in blocks (1.0 bpg) and eighth in both rebounding (8.3 rpg) and free throw percentage (.809). Hartzog is second in steals (2.6 spg) and 14th in free throw percentage (.767), while junior
Taylor Altenburg ranks second in free throw percentage (.852).
Freshman
Kelly Logue is also 10th in assist-turnover ratio (1.2), 14th in steals (1.7 spg) and 15th in assists (2.5 apg), while junior
Jacqueline Lovato places 14th in three-point percentage (.357).
Game 20: Central Washington at Alaska (Game Notes)
When: Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
Where: Fairbanks, Alaska (Patty Center)
Live Stats
Video: NMTVSports (Free Streaming)
About Central Washington: Located in Ellensburg, Wash., Central Washington University was founded in 1891 and has an enrollment of 10,750 students. The Wildcats enter Thursday with a 5-11 overall record and 2-7 mark in the GNAC. Back on Dec. 31, Alaska fell 97-74 in Ellensburg.
CWU averages 70.8 points while allowing 72.4 points per game. It shoots 37.9-percent and allows opponents to shoot 46-percent. Rebounding is close, but the Wildcats hold a slim advantage on average at 39.2 rebounds to 38.1 rebounds per game.
Three players score in double figures, led by
Jessica VanDyke, who tallies 14.9 points a game to go with her team-best 7.8 rebounds per game. Also in double figures are
Sophie Russell (13.3 ppg) and
Alex Dunn (12.4 ppg).
Coach: Shawn Nelson (Carroll '96) is in his first year at the helm of the women's basketball program at CWU. He spent the previous eight seasons as head coach of his alma mater at Carroll College in Helena, Mont.
Game 21: Northwest Nazarene at Alaska (Game Notes)
When: Saturday, January 21 at 3 p.m.
Where: Fairbanks, Alaska (Patty Center)
Live Stats
Audio: KCBF 820 AM
Video: NMTVSports (Free Streaming)
About Northwest Nazarene: Located in Nampa, Idaho, Northwest Nazarene University was founded in 1913 and has an enrollment of 1,944 students. The Crusaders enter Thursday's game at UAA with an 11-6 overall record and 5-4 mark in the GNAC. NNU took an 83-62 decision from Alaska back on Dec. 29.
NNU averages 73.1 points per game while limiting the opposition to just 64.2 points per game. As a team, it shoots 41.2-percent from the floor while its opponents shoot 39.5-percent. The Crusaders hold a comfortable lead in rebounding this season, averaging 43.4 rebounds as opposed to 37.5 for their foes.
Three Crusaders average double figures, led by
Briaunna King, who scores 16.3 points to go with a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game. Right behind her is
Megan Hingston, who tallies 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili, who shared the Player of the Week honor with Hartzog, also averages 11.1 points per outing.
Coach: Kelli Lindley is in her 11th year at the helm after taking a leave of absence last season. She holds a record of 157-111 entering this week's slate and has guided her squad to four NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure.
