FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Junior Jordan Wilson scored double-digits for the 12th straight game on Saturday afternoon and added 10 rebounds to post her third double-double of the year, but it would not be enough to help the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team snap their recent skid, as they suffered a hard-fought 59-55 loss to Montana State Billings.
Saturday's loss marks the seventh-straight for the Nanooks, as they fall to 5-9 overall and 0-4 in GNAC play. For Montana State Billings, the win improves the Yellowjackets' GNAC record to 3-1, as they move to 7-5 on the year.
"It was an ugly game from the start," said head coach Cody Bench. "We came out a little slow, but we fought back and was down just one at half. We contained their scorers, which is good, but I felt like we lost our composure in the fourth quarter. MSUB came out to win it and we played hesitant in the fourth and they were able to take full advantage of that and get the win."
Wilson scored a team-high 16 points, as she improves her double-digit scoring streak to 12 games. The junior is just one game shy from tying her personal-best double-digit scoring streak of 13 games, which was set last season. The Henderson, Colorado native's presence was felt all over the floor on Saturday afternoon, as she grabbed 10 rebounds, four of which were offensive, and handed out a career-best five assists.
"Jordan works really hard to get into position and get the ball," said Bench. "She works extremely hard to get offensive rebounds, and I thought she did a great job on defensive glass in the first half, because they were not getting a lot of second chance looks."
Wilson was one of two players to score double digits for the Nooks on Saturday, as Jaylee Mays recorded her eighth double-figure scoring game of the year with a 13-point performance. The Hardesty, Oklahoma drilled a game-high three 3-point field goals, which marked her sixth game with three-or-more trifectas this season.
Junior Kaillee Skjold matched Wilson's performance on the glass, as she grabbed 10 caroms of her own, to record her fourth double-digit rebound game this season. Skjold's and Wilson's performance led Alaska to 36 team rebounds, the most for the team since Dec. 5. However, they would still lose the rebounding battle on Saturday, as MSUB collected 42, thanks in large part to Alisha Breen's 17-rebound effort.
The Nanooks only mustard five points in the first quarter, as they trailed by nine at the end of the frame. Alaska battled back and scored 18 points in the second stanza. The second quarter was highlighted by a 9-3 run to close the frame, as the Nooks pulled within a point at 24-23, after Marian Wamsley nailed a shot just before the halftime buzzer sounded off.
Alaska's offensive surge carried over into the third quarter by going on a 9-4 run to take a six-point lead at the 5:18 mark. The Nooks maintained their advantage till the end of the third stanza, where they took a 38-35 lead into the fourth.
Montana State Billings recaptured the lead with 7:15 remaining in the game, as Breen hit a lay up to give her team a 42-41 advantage. Breen would go on score the next four points for the Yellowjackets, as she extended her team's lead to three at 46-43 with 5:58 remaining. Mays hit a jumper on the Nooks next possession to make it a one-point game, but that would be as close as Alaska would get for the remainder of the afternoon, as MSUB hit 7-of-8 of their free throw attempts and grabbed four offensive rebounds to close the game out.
Alaska returns to action next Thursday, as they host GNAC debutant, Concordia University, in the first game of a men's/women's GNAC doubleheader at the Alaska Airlines Court. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m., with the men's game against Western Washington following 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's contest.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter.
