LACEY, Wash. – Fresh off a weekend sweep of Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents, the Alaska women's basketball team heads to the Lower 48 for a pair of league games against Saint Martin's and Western Oregon this weekend.
The Nanooks (10-4, 2-2 GNAC) are currently riding a four-game winning after they defeated Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene at home last weekend. Both games this weekend are scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. with the Saint Martin's contest being held on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.
Thursday's win over Central Washington was also the Nanooks' first in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this season and their third straight overall, following a pair of victories at the Seawolf Classic.
Stephanie Toumson led the Nanooks with 18 points and 10 rebounds, as the junior forward went 6-7 from the field, dished out an assist and led both teams with three blocks.
The Nanooks broke away from the Wildcats by scoring 39 points in the second half. In that half, Alaska dominated by shooting 58.3% (14-24) and made 10 of 16 free-throws (62.5%)
On the defensive end of the court, the Nanooks forced 18 turnovers against the Wildcats, grabbed 28 defensive boards and held their opponents to just 32.0% (8-25) shooting in the second half.
On Saturday, Daron Mainville produced her best performance as a Nanook in her rookie season, as she scored 22 points and hauled in 10 rebounds to lead the Nanooks to a 82-76 win over Northwest Nazarene.
Arienesha Smith scored 15 points while Briana Kirk and Jordan Wilson each had 12 points for Alaska.
Northwest Nazarene edged Alaska in the first half, by a score of 36-29, though they had a ten point lead with 22 seconds to go. From that point on, however, it was all Nanooks, as they opened up a 16-0 run to take a 42-36 lead at the 16:47 mark of the second period.
For the rest of the game, though the Crusaders would threaten to recapture the lead, the Nanooks would never relinquish control of the game, pulling away in the final minutes with clutch free-throw shooting.
The Nanooks used a lethal blend of dominate inside play and stellar outside shooting, as they scored 32 points in the paint while hitting eight 3-pointers, a season-high.
Overall, Jordan Wilson leads the team with 15.8 points per game, while Benissa Bulaya averages 10.0. Inside, Kaillee Skjold and Stephanie Toumson lead the Nanooks with 6.8 and 6.6 rebounds, respectively.
Opponents
Saint Martin's has won back-to-back games following victories over Western Oregon and Concordia. Prior to those wins, the Saints had lost four straight dating back to late November. The Saints are currently 1-2 in the GNAC.
Krista Stabler leads SMU with 10.1 points per game while Megan Wiedman controls the boards with 8.5 rebounds per contest.
Last season, the two teams split, with each program winning on its home court.
Western Oregon is also 1-2 in the conference, but despite losing its last game against SMU, has won two of its last three games. The sole GNAC win for the Wolves was against Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho in early December.
Dana Gourlate leads the team with 16.2 points per game while also leading the team with 6.2 rebounds.
Last season the Wolves swept the Nanooks in two meetings.
