PUEBLO, Colo. – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team was handed their first loss of the season to the No. 20th-ranked team in NCAA Division II in overtime on Friday night, falling to the Colorado State University at Pueblo Thunderwolves 91-87 in game one of the 33rd Annual Al Kaly Shrine Classic at the Massari Arena. The Nanooks drop their overall record to 2-1, while the Thunderwolves improve to 3-0 on the season.
"Tonight we played an amazing second half and overtime. We did everything we could have to win but we missed our chance," head coach Cody Bench said on Friday night. "I am very proud of this team to make a comeback and take it to overtime."
Despite an exceptionally close first half, the Nanooks came back from intermission and found themselves down, at most, 14 points to the Thunderwolves throughout the third quarter. The Nanooks refused to go down without a fight and turned up the pressure, forcing CSU-Pueblo into turnover and foul trouble. Alaska capitalized on the Thunderwolves' mistakes and finally took the lead at the 3:05 mark of the fourth quarter with a three-pointer by senior Gabriela Jimenez. With just over a minute remaining in the game, CSU-Pueblo posted two good free throws to force overtime at 76 points apiece.
In the five minute overtime, the Nanooks got on the board first with a layup by senior Jaylee Mays. At the 3:09 mark, Alaska took a four point lead over the Thunderwolves, but four-point run by the opponent in the final 10 seconds sealed CSU-Pueblo's victory.
Senior Jordan Wilson led all players scoring a game-high 30 points. Wilson went 11-of-18 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line to tally her season-high 30-point performance. The Thornton, Colorado native also chipped in five rebounds, one assist and four steals in her game-high 43 minutes played.
Mays had a game from behind the arc, shooting 6-of-10 in three-point attempts. 8-of-12 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line to tally a season-high 24 points on the night. Mays collected two rebounds and three steals in her 27 minutes on the floor. Senior Kaillee Skjold chipped in 12 points to round-out the Alaska individual players with double-digit scoring on the night, collecting eight rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals for the Nooks.
"Jordan Wilson played one of the best games of her career tonight," Wilson concluded. "She could not be stopped on offense and played some of the best defense I've ever seen her play. Jaylee Mays also shot lights-out tonight and gave us the contribution we needed from her."
As a team, the Nanooks outshot the Thunderwolves in two of the four quarters and fell behind only four points in overtime. Alaska shot 43.8% from the field (32-of-73), 36.5% in three-point attempts (8-of-22) and a perfect 100% from the free throw line (15-of-15). Alaska recorded 32 rebounds, 16 assists and 17 steals on the night, receiving 27 points off of turnovers, 14 points from second chances and27 points from the bench.
The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team continues their participation in the Al Kaly Shrine Classic by taking on Western State tomorrow, Nov. 19 at 11am AKST.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball team page on Facebook.
