FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- A champion is measured by the number of times they get back up, not how many times they get knocked down. And faced with adversity for the second-straight season, the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team was able to rise to the occasion, as the team posted its second-consecutive double-digit win season despite a pair of misfortunate events that occurred midway through the season.
The Nooks entered the 2015-16 season fresh off a 14-14 campaign the year before. They returned the core of its team in seniors Arinesha Smith and Stephanie Toumson, along with juniors Kaillee Skjold and Jordan Wilson. Alaska got off to a strong start for the second-straight season, as the team was 5-2 and playing for a chance to win their first ever Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational on the final day of the event on Nov. 28. Toumson was in the midst of a dominating streak, as she was averaging 15.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game through the first seven games. Wilson and newcomer Jaylee Mays were also off to strong starts to their season providing the team with a trio of elite scorers.
The Nanooks would fall to Northwood University in a hard-fought North Star championship game that day, but Toumson would earn Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors the following Monday. The team seemed poised to make a run for their first-ever GNAC Tournament bid heading into the conference play at Western Washington on Dec. 3.
That's when adversity set in for Alaska.
The team lost Toumson to a knee injury in the closing minutes of the WWU contest, and would drop its next five games to fall to 5-9 overall. The conference schedule was not kind to the Nanooks, as they faced the top four teams in the league in their first four GNAC games, and they fell to 0-4 in the conference heading into a matchup with Concordia on Jan. 7. In the midst of the losing streak, Alaska was informed by the NCAA that the team lost an appeal for sanctions that were handed out last season, and would not be eligible for the postseason, thus ending any hope of a GNAC Tournament appearance before the calendar flipped to 2016.
Most teams would fold in that situation, but the Nooks would prosper in the face of adversity, as the team rallied together and won four of their next six contests, which included a 58-56 win over Seattle Pacific to snap a 27-game losing streak to the Falcons. The victory over SPU also capped off a four-game home winning streak, which was the longest home winning streak in 11 seasons for the Nanooks.
The four-straight home wins spearheaded Alaska to its first winning season at home since the 2003-04 season, as the team went 8-7. The victory that sealed the deal happened on Feb. 11, when the Nanooks upset Central Washington, 70-61, led by the duo of Skjold and Wilson who scored a combined 47 points.
Alaska finished the 2015-16 season at 12-18 and 7-13 in GNAC play. The 12 wins marked the first time in eight seasons that the program posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons. The seven GNAC wins also marked the most conference victories for the Nooks in 11 seasons.
"This group of young women was a pleasure to work with," stated Bench. "I am proud of their achievements as a team. They were impressive in the classroom and on the court. They overcame a lot of adversity and were successful in several areas."
Junior Jordan Wilson was named the team's Most Valuable Player, as the Henderson, Colorado native won the GNAC regular season scoring title, marking the first time since the '04-05 season that an Alaska player led the conference in scoring. Wilson earned All-GNAC second team honors, as she scored double-digits in 28 games this season, which included a league-best 23-game double-digit scoring streak.
Wilson was also won the team's Scholar-Athlete Award for her work in the classroom, as she was selected to her second-straight All-GNAC academic team. Kaillee Skjold also received notoriety for her work in the classroom, as she was named the Alaska Nanooks Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Skjold was also an All-GNAC honorable mention selection for her play on the court, and also earned her second All-GNAC academic team honor.
Skjold and Wilson were also the only pair of teammates this season to have a 30-plus point game in the GNAC this season, as Skjold scored 30 points at Simon Fraser on Dec. 5 and Wilson tallied a season-best 35 points against Concordia on Jan. 7.
Junior McClain Williams, freshman Marian Wamsley and Toumson also earned team awards, as Williams won the team's free throw championship, Wamsley earned the team's Most Improved Player and Toumson captured the Most Inspirational Player.
The future is bright for the Nanooks, as they return four players who started at least 21 games last season. Alaska has worked hard on the recruiting trail, as they'll bring in a talented class that features an Alaska Miss. Basketball.
The battle-tested Nooks are once again poised to make their first-ever GNAC Tournament next season, and with a little good luck they could reach that landmark. Even if the Nooks are faced with adversity next season, Bench and her team knows how to prevail.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball on Facebook.
