University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

Box Score Photo Gallery

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Alaska women's basketball team has continued to prove this season that it is a different team than in past years – even in defeat.
 
The Nanooks proved that again Saturday night against one of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's top teams, rival Alaska Anchorage. Alaska came back from a double-digit deficit for the second game in a row and led with under five minutes to play before finally succumbing to the Seawolves 96-87 at the Patty Center.
 
It was the closest score between the two teams in nearly seven years. The Seawolves (12-3, 5-2 GNAC) have now won 13 straight games in the series, but Saturday was the first of those games they won by less than double-digits. It was the closest score since Alaska last won in the series on Jan. 27, 2007, 85-83 in overtime at the Patty Center.
 
Alaska freshman forward Jordan Wilson (Henderson, Colo./Business Administration) scored over 20 points for the fourth straight game and notched her second double-double in the last three with game highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds. Wilson's 16 boards were the most by a Nanooks player since Jan. 22, 2009, when Nicole Bozek pulled down 16 against Seattle Pacific.
 
The Nanooks (8-7, 2-5 GNAC) were also energized by the play of junior guard Kelly Logue (Fair Oaks, Calif./Journalism). Logue proved Saturday that one game does not make a season, shaking off a poor performance on Jan. 11 with a career game.
 
Logue came off the bench for the first time this season and scored a career-high 21 points and pulled down a season-best six rebounds after scoring zero points and turning the ball over four times in eight minutes of playing time against Western Oregon.
 
Alaska Anchorage had four players score in double figures. Kiki Robertson led the way for the Seawolves with 19 points. Jenna Buchanan had 17, Emily Craft tallied 16 off the bench and Alli Madison notched 15. Craft also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and grabbed three steals.
 
Alaska Anchorage had 15 steals in the game and forced 27 turnovers. Alaska outrebounded UAA 45-41, but it was the sixth straight game it had at least 23 turnovers. The Seawolves turned the Nanooks' turnovers Saturday into 29 points.
 
Alaska trailed 21-6 early in the first half, but closed the gap to just three at 27-24 with an 18-6 run that spanned 5 minutes, 19 seconds. Alaska Anchorage pushed its lead back to double digits and led 49-40 at halftime, but still could not shake the Nanooks.
 
Alaska fell behind by 13 coming out of the break and still trailed by 12 three minutes into the second half, but that's when the comeback began. The Nanooks went on an 18-4 run, which included separate stretches of seven and eight points in a row, to take their first lead of the game at 64-62 with 10:35 to play.
 
Wilson scored 14 of her 22 points in the second half, including six points during the Nanooks' big comeback. She kicked off the run with two free throws and ended it with a layup off a baseline pass from freshman forward Kaillee Skjold (Kasilof, Alaska/Emergency Management) to give Alaska its first lead.
 
Skjold entered the game just before Alaska's comeback started and quickly made an impact, dishing assists on three of the Nanooks' seven field goals during the run. She would finish with four helpers, five points and five rebounds. Junior guard Candace Prestwich (Murray, Utah/Business Administration) had one of her three 3-pointers during the run and finished the game with nine points and two boards.
 
The lead would change hands six times over the next 7:42. Alaska Anchorage twice took the lead back with 3-pointers for a one-point advantage, but each time the Nanooks had an answer. The Seawolves took the lead back for good with 2:51 left in the game on a jumper in the lane by Jenna Buchanan, making it 84-83.
 
Logue missed a 3-pointer on the other end and a Wilson foul sent UAA's Emily Craft to the free-throw line to extend the lead, but she missed both opportunities. Back on the Nanooks' side of the court with another chance to retake the lead, Skjold missed a layup, which Alaska Anchorage turned into a jumper on their end, making it 86-83.
 
From there the Nanooks would begin fouling, and the Seawolves made good from the charity stripe, going 8 for 10 in the game's final 1:10. Meanwhile the Nanooks went 1 for 6 from the field after the Seawolves took the lead for good with 2:51 left, the lone bucket coming by way of a 3-pointer from Prestwich when the Seawolves had all but sealed the win, leading by 10 with 27 seconds to play.
 
Alaska closes out the first leg of the GNAC schedule next week on the road with games at Simon Fraser and Western Washington. The Nanooks tip off against the Clan at 6 p.m. AKST Thursday then face the Vikings at 6 p.m. Saturday.