PUEBLO, Colo. – The Alaska Nanooks split the weekend at the Al Kaly Shrine Classic, after defeating the Western State Mountaineers 72-55 at the Massari Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Nanooks improve to 3-1 overall in the early 2016-17 season, while the Mountaineers drop to an 0-2 overall record.
"We had a great second half of defense, which propelled our lead and gave us the win," head coach Cody Bench said following Saturday's victory. "Jordan Wilson had an amazing game, I was extremely proud of her offensive and defensive play tonight. She and Gabriela Jimenez got to play as seniors in front of their families, it was very special. Jaylee Maps was lights-out this weekend and she was definitely the spark that kept us in the game."
Senior forward Jordan Wilson scored 30 points on Saturday afternoon for her second-straight 30-point performance in back-to-back nights. Wilson shot 12-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line, while also collecting six rebounds, one assist and one steal in 34 minutes on the floor.
Fellow senior Jaylee Mays was the only other Nook to score double-digit figures in Saturday's win, as Mays shot 6-of-10 from the field, 5-of-9 in three-point attempts and 3-of-3 from the free throw line to tally 20 points on the night. Both Mays and Wilson were named to the Al Kaly Shrine Classic All-Tournament team for their outstanding back-to-back performances for the Nanooks.
Senior forward Kaille Skjold collected a team-high nine rebounds and seven assists, while fellow freshman Victoria Milton recorded three steals.
As a team, the Nanooks shot a 52.2% (24-of-46) field goal percentage, 46.7% in three-point attempts (7-of-15) and 89.5% (17-of-19) in free throws. The Nooks tallied 33 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds, while also posting 18 assists and seven steals.
The Nanooks collected 19 points off of turnovers from Western State, while recording four points off of second chance points. Alaska also received 28 points from the bench and outscored the Mountaineers 22-5 in the third quarter.
The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team returns to action next week, hosting their annual Mt. McKinley State Bank North Star Invitational from Thursday, Nov. 24-Saturday, Nov. 26. Alaska will play each day at 3pm 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.
