Box Score SEATTLE — Freshman forward
Kaillee Skjold (Kasilof, Alaska/Emergency Management) capped her rookie campaign Saturday night with another strong performance, finishing as the Alaska women's basketball team's leading scorer for the fourth straight game as the Nanooks ended the 2013-14 season with a 69-56 loss at Seattle Pacific.
Skjold led Alaska (9-17, 3-15 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) with 12 points, her fourth straight double-digit performance and fifth in her last six games. She also tied for the game-high with nine rebounds. Skjold entered the starting lineup on Jan. 30 and had six double-figure scoring games in nine starts, ending the season averaging 7.7 points per game – 2.5 points higher than her scoring average off the bench in the season's first 17 games.
It was the final game of the season for Alaska, who finished with their most wins in a season since 2007-08. The Nanooks' offense was the best it's ever been since they joined the GNAC, averaging 71.2 points per game – their highest scoring average in 13 years.
Alaska jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half over Seattle Pacific (18-8, 11-7 GNAC), who wrapped up the No. 5 seed in next week's GNAC Championship Tournament with the victory. The Nanooks led 23-13 8 minutes, 58 seconds before halftime after going on a 19-7 run during a 7 1/2-minute stretch.
But the Falcons responded with a furious 12-2 run of their own in just three minutes' time, tying the game at 25-25. SPU went 5 for 8 during the run, closing with back-to-back 3-pointers from Suzanna Ohlsen and Hannah Rodrigues. Meanwhile the Nanooks went cold, going 1 for 4 from the field with two turnovers during the same stretch.
The teams would head into the break separated by just two points, with Seattle Pacific holding a 35-33 lead. Defense shined on Saturday, as both teams shot under 40 percent and totaled eight blocks, 16 steals and 30 turnovers between them.
Ohlsen led the Falcons with 17 points. A total of four players scored in double figures for SPU. Betsy Kingma scored 14, Katie Benson tallied 11 and Mechela Barnes chipped in 10.
Freshman forward
Jordan Wilson (Henderson, Colo./Business Administration) and junior guard
Kelly Logue (Fair Oaks, Calif./Journalism) both scored eight points each. Junior guard
Benissa Bulaya (Sacramento, Calif./Communication) had a game-high six assists.
The Nanooks briefly retook the lead in the second half at 37-35, opening the period with a 3-pointer from freshman guard
Autumn Childers (Dewey, Ariz./Civil Engineering) and a free throw from Bulaya. Seattle Pacific would pull away with an 11-0 run to go up 46-37 and never trail again.
Alaska closed to within three points on two occasions, first at 50-47 and again at 54-51, but another quick push from the Falcons would put the game away. An 11-2 run across 3 minutes, 12 seconds, gave Seattle Pacific a 12-point, 65-53 lead with just 2:21 to play.
