LACEY, Wash. -- The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team had three players score in double figures on Saturday night to help the Nooks earn a split on their final road trip of the 2015-16 season with a 64-57 victory at Saint Martin's.
The win improves Alaska's record to 12-16, while they are now 7-11 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. They finish the 2015-16 season at 4-9 on the road. The four road wins marks the second time in three seasons that the Nanooks have won at least four road games in a season. For Saint Martin's, they drop their 13th-straight contest and fall to 5-20 on the year and 3-15 in league play.
"We're really excited about this win," said head coach Cody Bench. "We're thankful that we had a big lead in the fourth period, and credit Saint Martin's for battling back. We held our composure and hit some really big free throws down the stretch, and came up with big defensive stops. I'm really happy with our effort tonight. All four starters shot well from the free throw line. Jaylee Mays also pulled down eight rebounds which was great for her, and Arinesha Smith hit a big 3-point bucket in the fourth that gave us a lot of confidence. We're happy to be coming home with a victory."
Junior Jordan Wilson paced the Alaska offense with 18 points. The Henderson, Colorado native was particularly accurate from the charity stripe tonight, as she hit 10 of her game-high 12 free throw attempts. The 18-point outing for Wilson on Saturday marks the 26th double-digit performance this season.
Wilson was joined by junior Jaylee Mays and senior Arinesha Smith in the double-digit scoring column. Mays connected on a game-best three 3-point field goals, which led to a 12-point outing, while Smith collected 10 points. Tonight's performance is the 14th double-digit outing for Mays, while it is the 11th for Smith.
Saturday's contest was a defensive struggle, as both teams shot under 40 percent. Alaska was especially crisp on the defensive end of the court, as they held Saint Martin's to just 30 percent from the field. It is the second-straight game that the Nooks defense has held an opponent under 32 percent from the field.
Alaska jumped out to a 21-9 lead after the first quarter of play, but the Saints collected 17 points in the second quarter and cut the Nanooks lead to just six, at 30-24, going into the break.
The Nooks quickly regained a double-digit advantage in the third quarter with a trifecta from Smith on the frame's opening possession. The Nanooks extended their lead to 15 after scoring 11 of the quarter's first 13 points, and maintained its double-digit lead through the remainder of the third quarter, as they entered the final period of play with a 12-point, 45-33, lead.
A pair of Wilson free throws gave the Nanooks a game-high 16-point lead, 50-34, with 8:59 remaining in the game. Alaska maintained a 14-point advantage through the 5:40 mark of the fourth, but Saint Martin's would cut the Nooks lead in half over the next four minutes, as they pulled within seven, 59-52, with 56 seconds left in the game.
SMU made it a two-possession game with 24 seconds remaining after a pair of Megan Wiedeman free throws, but Alaska would go a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to seal the 64-57 victory and end the 2015-16 road campaign on a happy note.
Alaska returns to action next week as they host the final two games of the 2015-16 regular season. The Nooks take on Simon Fraser on Thursday, Feb. 25, and Western Washington on Saturday, Feb. 27. Thursday's game will be the #PackThePatty night for the women's basketball team. Fans can get special buy one, get on free tickets at the Patty Center Ticket Office. Tip-off for both games are set for 7 p.m. AKT.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball on Twitter.
