Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. - Alaska pushed its winning streak to six games and Benissa Bulaya had a game-high 21 points, to lead four Alaskans in double figures as the Nanooks defeated Western Oregon, 74-65 on Saturday evening.
Bulaya went 9-13 from the field and divided her points evenly each half with 11 in the first and 10 in the second, to lead the Nanooks. The senior guard also had a team-high five assists and three steals to go along with seven rebounds.
"We owe a lot of our success to the play of Benissa," said head coach Cody Bench. "She works so hard on both ends of the court, forces steals and makes crafty moves to the basket. She played well today and was the difference maker."
Jordan Wilson had 16 points as she went 7-15 from the field with four rebounds and a block. Kaillee Skjold contributed 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds while Arinesha Smith also scored in double-figures with 10 points as she went 6-6 from the free-throw line.
With its sweep of Western Oregon and Saint Martin's, the Nanooks (12-4, 4-2 GNAC) have now won back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference weekends and four straight conference games, a feat they have not matched since the 2006-07 season, when they won four in a row from January 24 - February 3. Alaska sweeps its first road GNAC series since they beat Humboldt State and Wetern Oregon in the 2004-05 campaign.
"I'm really proud of how our team competed this road trip," said Bench. "It's so hard to win on the road in this conference and we had to hold off a feisty Western Oregon run. Our free-throw shooting was better today and we got the defensive stops when we needed them."
That feisty WOU run started at the 11:31 mark of the second half, when, with the Nanooks leading by 15 points, the Wolves (4-9, 1-4 GNAC) pulled back to within five points with just four minutes to play. However, from that point forward, it was all Nanooks, as clutch shooting from the charity stripe by Skjold, Smith and Brianna Kirk pushed the lead back to as many as 11 points in the dying moments.
Alaska used its strength inside, scoring nearly 65% (48-74) of its points in the paint and grabbing 45 total rebounds, including 30 on the defensive side. The Nanooks also forced 13 turnovers and nine steals leading to 13 points.
The Nanooks will look to continue its historic run, as it now travels to Anchorage to renew the in-state rivalry with the Seawolves. That game is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m.
