FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team got a remarkable performance from senior Stephanie Toumson, as the 6-1 center scored 18 points and grabbed an outstanding 17 rebounds, but her effort could not lift the Nanooks past Northwood University, as the Timberwolves won the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational with a 90-78 victory over Alaska.
Toumson dominated in the post all afternoon, as the 17 caroms are a new career-high for the Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe native. The 17-rebound performance is the most by a Great Northwest Athletic Conference this season. The center added 18 points, which gives Toumson her third-straight double-double and her fourth over the last five contests. The four double-double is the most in the GNAC. The long-armed post player also added a season-best four blocks to her performance on Saturday.
The center posted an average of 16.7 points and 13 rebounds per contest in the three-game Invitational, as she earned all-tournament honors. Fellow Alaska (5-3) forward, Jordan Wilson, was also named to the all-tournament team after averaging 20.3 ppg for the weekend. The duo's efforts helped the Nanooks earn runner-up honors, which marks the second time in the past three years they've finished in second place in the event.
Alaska erased a double-digit Northwood (5-2) lead in the second quarter and went into the locker room tied at 33-all. The Nanooks battled to within three points late in the fourth quarter after trailing by as much as 16 in the frame. Alaska ran out of steam late in the fourth, and attempted to extend the game by sending the Timberwolves to the free throw line, but Northwood was able to take advantage of the charity stripe in the final two-plus minutes of play, as they took home the 12-point victory to win the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational.
"My team is full of fighters," said head coach Cody Bench after the game. "There were plenty of opportunities for us to fall apart and we didn't. We were within a basket with four minutes to play, and things didn't go our way. Northwood is a very quality team, and I'm pleased with how we played against them."
Juniors Jaylee Mays and Kaillee Skjold each enjoyed a double-digit scoring outing for the Nanooks, as Mays tallied a team-best 20 points, while Skjold added 10. Mays also connected on four 3-point field goals, as Alaska shot and even 40 percent (8-of-20) from behind the arc.
Alaska will be back in action on Thursday, as they kick-off the GNAC regular season with a two-game road trip to Western Washington and Simon Fraser. The Nanooks will open with a 4:15 p.m. AKST contest against the Vikings on Thursday.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter.
