FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The combination of juniors Kaillee Skjold and Jordan Wilson scored a combined 47 points to help the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team to a 70-61 victory over Central Washington at the Alaska Airlines Court on Thursday evening.
The win over the Wildcats marks the second-straight season that the Nanooks have knocked off CWU at home. Alaska improves its Great Northwest Athletic Conference record to 6-9, while they are now 11-14 overall on the year. For Central Washington, they fall to 8-7 in league play and 15-8 overall on the year.
"I thought Central had a solid game plan tonight, which was to go to their post, and I think we did a great job in defending them," said head coach Cody Bench after the win. "I'm pleased with our defensive effort tonight. We stopped their inside game, especially in the second half. Our team stuck to our game plan, stayed positive, and that was a great step in the right direction."
The duo of Skjold and Wilson combined to score 67 percent of the team's points against the Wildcats. Skjold tallied a game-high 25 points, scoring 19 of those in the third and fourth quarters, while Wilson followed with 22 points. It is the first time this season that the duo of Skjold and Wilson scored 20-plus points in a game. For Wilson, it extends her double-digit scoring streak to 23 games, while she moves up to No. 14 on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,141 points.
Senior Arinesha Smith tallied nine points and handed out four assists. Skjold also picked up four helpers on the night, as Alaska collected a total of 15 assists as a team. The Nanooks also had 10 steals, with Smith and Skjold pacing the team with three swipes apiece.
Alaska nearly shot an even 50 percent against one of the top defensive teams in the GNAC, as they ended the night with a 49 percent performance from the field. The Nooks shot an impressive 60.9 percent in the final two frames, and missed just three of their 10 field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, to break away from the Wildcats and build a double-digit lead in the closing minutes of play.
The Nanooks were extremely successful from the free throw line on Thursday, as they hit 18-of-19 from the line. Wilson and Skjold went a perfect 13-of-13 from the charity stripe, as Wilson went 7-of-7 and Skjold went 6-of-6.
Thursday's contest featured 11 ties and four lead changes. Alaska was down by two at the half, 32-30, and pulled even with Central Washington at 47-47 after three quarters of play.
The Nanooks rolled off six of the first eight points of the fourth quarter to go up six at 55-49 after a Skjold layup with 6:46 remaining in the game. Alaska would never trail in the fourth quarter, and built its lead all the way to 13 points thanks to a 70 percent (7-of-10) shooting performance from the field in the final frame.
Prior to the game and at half time, all female student-athletes for the Alaska Nanooks were recognized as a part of the 30th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Each state had one school represent the NGWSD, and the Nanooks took part in the recognition and represented the entire state of Alaska.
"I can't thank you the Alaska Nanooks enough for being so receptive to including NGWSD in your athletic program," said Elizabeth Murphy of the Women's Sports Foundation. "Kudos to you for honoring your female athletes and their accomplishments in this way. We are just thrilled to have the state of Alaska represented in this national celebration."
The Nooks will be back in action on Saturday night, as they look to cap off their brief two-game home stand with a victory over Northwest Nazarene. Tip-off from the Alaska Airlines Court is set for 7 p.m.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Women's Hoops on Facebook.
