Box Score ST. GEORGE, Utah – With the game tied at 78 late in the second half, Benissa Bulaya drove the lane and scored to give the Alaska Nanooks their fourth straight win to start the season, in an 80-78 victory over Cal State San Marcos on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the Dixie Thanksgiving Classic.
The Nanooks (4-0) trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, but were able to battle back, in what turned out to be a tense final few minutes.
Stated head coach Cody Bench, "this was a good test for us. Hopefully we can continue to progress."
Stephanie Toumson led the Nanooks with 20 points, as she was an integral part of Alaska's 31 bench points. Toumson also had six rebounds and a block.
Bulaya and Arinesha Smith each scored 16 points, including several huge buckets late in the game. Smith hit a three with fewer than three minutes to play to give the Nanooks their first lead of the second half and Bulaya scored Alaska's final four points, most importantly, the eventual game winner. The senior guard also dished out a team-high five assists.
"Stephanie was a force in the paint and Benissa was clutch down the stretch for us," said Bench. "Arinesha hit a big three which rallied the team and then our defense in the second half made the difference."
Once again the Nanook defense was strong as they forced seven steals en route to 16 Cal State San Marcos turnovers, which led to 14 Nanook points. Bulaya had three steals while Kelly Logue also had three steals to lead Alaska. Logue also contributed three assists.
Alaska will look to continue its unbeaten start to the season as it takes on Chico State, tomorrow, to conclude the Dixie Thanksgiving Classic.
