BILLINGS, Mont. – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team captured their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory of the 2016-17 season on Thursday night, defeating the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets 71-53 at the Alterowitz Gymnasium in Billings. The Nooks improve to an overall record of 5-6 and 1-3 in conference play, while the Yellowjackets fall to 4-7 overall, 1-2 GNAC.
Alaska's win in Billings breaks the Yellowjackets' 18-game winning streak at home against the Nanooks, with the Nooks' last win against MSUB in Montana coming as a 83-72 victory on Feb. 25, 1992. Alaska has only won one other game against the Yellowjackets in Montana, which was a 66-51 win on Feb. 6, 1989.
Despite only a 10-point lead at halftime, the Nooks broke open in the third quarter, pouncing on 11 turnovers and going on a 25-13 run. On the night, Alaska shot 17-of-22 from the free throw line and posted a shooting percentage of 42.9 percent (24-of-56). MSUB committed 22 turnovers throughout the entirety on Thursday's conference matchup, with the Nooks collecting 14 steals and registered 23 points off of turnovers.
Senior forward Jordan Wilson proved once again to be one of the most elite players in the conference, collecting 24 points against the Yellowjackets to mark her third-straight game of 20-plus-points. Wilson converted on nine of 16 shots from the floor and made all six free throw attempts, while also notching two rebounds and one steal.
Fellow-senior forward Kaillee Skjold had a huge night for the Nanooks, collecting her sixth double-double of the season with a 10 point, 16 rebound performance at the Alterowitz Gymnasium. Skjold's 16 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds, marks a new single-game career-high for the Kasilof, Alaska native and also ties her for the GNAC's season-high single-game rebound record. Skjold also posted seven assists on the night, which tied her for first among other GNAC women's basketball players on Thursday night. Furthermore, Skjold's 10-point night puts her only 23 points away from hitting 1,000 career points with the Nanooks, as she currently stands at 977 after Thursday's game.
Not to be outdone, two other Nooks also posted double-digit figures, as senior guard Jaylee Mays shot 5-of-13 from the field, 4-of-12 from behind the arc and 2-of-2 from the free throw line to register 16 points, while fellow-senior guard Victoria Milton posted a season-high 11 points on the night, her first double-digit scoring game of the season. Senior guard Gabriela Jimenez drained two three-point buckets on the night to post a career-high six points and five assists on the night.
After a slow start by both teams, Alaska led by eight points after the first quarter 20-12. The Yellowjackets rallied, but a long pass by Jimenez to Mays began a 9-2 point run to take the 35-25 lead going into intermission.
At the beginning of the third quarter, MSUB pulled to within 35-28 but timely free throws and three three-point buckets from the Nooks was too much for the Yellowjackets, as Alaska held a 27-point lead (65-38) with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter.
The Alaska Nanooks return home and rest for the remainder of the week, before traveling to Concordia and Western Oregon for a pair of GNAC road games next week. The Nooks will take on Concordia on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6pm AKST before facing the WOU Wolves on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1pm 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.
