Box Score ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Trailing 33-30 at halftime, the Alaska Nanook women's basketball team caught fire in the second half and earned a 75-60 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville in its finale of the Seawolf Classic on Saturday evening.
Jordan Wilson was outstanding for the Nanooks, as she scored 26 points, going 13-18 from the field and, hauling in six rebounds and dishing out three assists en route to an All-Tournament Team selection.
"She was unstoppable inside tonight," said head coach Cody Bench of the sophomore forward. "Jordan finishes well at the rim, works hard for every point, and was hustling all over the court."
"As a team, we came out in the second half and took control of the game on defense," continued Bench. "We played with intensity and created a lot of turnovers as well as limiting Texas A&M-Kingsville's shot attempts. We took over for about 10 minutes, and it was great to see."
That ten minute stretch came right at the beginning of the second half where the Nanooks turned their three-point deficit into more than a 20 point lead. In that half, Alaska shot 50% from the field while forcing just 41.2% shooting from the Javelinas. The Nanooks also forced 16 turnovers in the half, (25 in total) and committed just six themselves.
Individually, Brianna Kirk was another Nanook who was strong on the offensive side, as she scored 11 points and had two assists. Kirk hit all four shots she attempted, including three 3-pointers in ten minutes of action.
Benissa Bulaya, who joined Wilson on the All-Tournament Team, had a career-high 11 assists, the highest mark in the game by far, and eight points as well as three rebounds and a block.
Alaska's eight wins (8-4) before Christmas is the highest total in its Great Northwest Athletic Conference history at this stage of the season.
The Nanooks now return home and return to GNAC play, as they host Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene in the New Year.
