University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

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FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Western Washington shot nearly 57-percent for the game and had four score in double figures en route to a 91-62 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against Alaska on Saturday afternoon at the Patty Center.

“Western did a good job to take us out of our game,” head coach Cody Burgess said. “It hit its shots, took care of the ball in the first half and forced us out of sync offensively.”

She continued, “I didn't feel we were as energetic  from the start. It can be emotional with Senior Night and the season winding down, but just not sure everyone was on the same page from the other night. I think we played well the other night and maybe we expected it a little bit too much to go more our way and it didn't.”

It was the final home game for the Nanooks' (6-19, 2-13 GNAC) three seniors -- Nicole Bozek (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak), Jeni Gabriel (Stayton, Ore./Walla Walla CC) and Autumn Greene (Lewiston, Idaho/Centralia CC), as they were honored prior to tipoff against the Vikings (16-6, 10-4 GNAC).

WWU, which led the game for all but 2:17, was led by Kristin Schramm, who scored a game-high 16 points and had a game-high seven rebounds. Kayla Bernsen provided a nice contribution off the bench with 15 points and five rebounds, while Corinn Waltrip and Britt Harris had 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Vikings shot 56.7-percent (38-67) from the floor and were dominant on the boards, winning the rebounding war by a 48-24 margin, including 14-8 on the offensive glass. They outscored the Nanooks 16-5 on second-chance opportunities and had quite the presence down low, scoring 64 points in the paint, to Alaska's 26. The visitors got plenty of use from their bench as all 11 players scored in the game and the reserves accounted for 41 points.

For the Nanooks, Bozek led the team with 15 points and five rebounds, while freshman Nicole Hartzog (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton) tallied 14 points and three steals and freshman Benissa Bulaya (Sacramento, Calif./El Camino Fundamental) had all 10 of her points in the second half.

As a team, Alaska was limited to just shy of 30-percent (17-57) shooting for the game, but it outscored Western 26-11 from the free throw line. The Nanooks missed only three times on 29 attempts from the stripe, to shoot almost 90-percent. They also forced the Vikings into 23 turnovers, making 15 steals, while only giving the ball away 17 times themselves.

“We had six fewer turnovers, had more steals  and we held them to well under their three-point percentage (4-18; 22%) and those are things we definitely concentrate on as a team,” Burgess said. “I'm impressed with our returners and what they're going to be able to do for us next year and trying to find the right players to complement them.”

The Nanooks led early, 4-2, but 10 straight points for the Vikings gave them a 12-4 lead. Holding a 22-16 advantage, Western went on a 13-2 run in a span of less than three minutes to take a 35-18 lead with 7:12 to go in the first. Three WWU layups in the final 1:18 of the frame stretched WWU's lead to 50-29 at the break.

After a pair of Hartzog free throws to open the second half, the Vikings scored 11 in a row to grab a 61-31 advantage with less than 15 minutes to play. They limited the Nanooks to just four points in the first eight minutes of the second and were able to take over the ball game. WWU led by as many as 33 points late in the contest as Alaska's deficit was never less than 27.

The Nanooks hit the road next week to face Western Oregon on Feb. 11 and Saint Martin's on Feb. 13. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. (PST) starts.