Box Score FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Women's Basketball team concluded their season with a hard fought loss against #15 Seattle Pacific University. Despite a lot of back and forth play on the floor, the Nanooks dropped to the Falcons 66-79.
"I wish we could've ended it on a better note. We fell into a lot of injuries this season, gave up a lot of close games, but we gave the best fight we could against a strong conference team, who are also ranked in the region and the nation," Head Coach Cody Bench said in the post-game interview.
Kaillee Skjold lead the Nanooks in points finishing with 18, going 8-16 from the field, hitting both free-throws and tallying five rebounds. "I think we had a good game plan coming in, especially after the Montana State Billings win," Skjold recalled. "I just trying to play with my instincts instead of being monotonous over my shots."
Following Skjold, Jordan Wilson concluded her night with 14 points hitting both free-throws and making six from the field. Stephanie Toumson had 11 points, while Daron Mainville finished with 10. Senior Benissa Bulaya finished her Nanook basketball career with eight assists.
Suzanna Ohlsen and Aubree Callen of Seattle Pacific tied for a game high 23 points each to conclude the game. Ohlsen went 10-19 from the field, hitting two 3-pointers and collecting four defensive rebounds. Callen, went 7-14 from the field, chalked up seven free-throws and collected six rebounds.
Despite not making it to the post-season, the Nanooks finished with a .500 winning percentage, the first time since joining the Great Northwestern Athletic Conference. "We had some serious personnel changes," Coach Bench described of the overall season. "We had three people in our starting lineup go down with injuries with eight to ten GNAC games left to go. It was a huge development and growth year for the remaining players. Overall we grew, we learned, we competed and weathered the storm. We're disappointed we didn't make the post-season, but I'm pleased with our effort from start to finish."
Tonight was also senior night as the University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletic Department recognized seniors Kelly Logue and Bulaya. "It's nice to see that this team has potential to go a long ways to go. I'm very happy to have been a part of that. We've all been through so much, I'll be watching them in the future for sure," Bulaya said.
Coach Bench couldn't praise her seniors enough, "Overall, I just want to thank Benissa and Kelly for giving us four years of hard work and dedication to our program."
