LACEY, Wash. – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team overcame a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Saint Martin's Saints 61-53 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at the Marcus Pavilion on Thursday night. Alaska improves to an overall record of 8-8 and a 4-5 record in conference play, while the Saints fall to 5-12 overall and 1-8 in GNAC play.

"We had a great fourth quarter and I'm really proud of how the team never gave up," head coach Cody Bench said following Thursday's game. "Saint Martin's can really suffocate your offense but we gutted it out, made several stops in a row and finished at the free throw line. This was a tough road game and I'm happy our team pulled out the win."

In a game that only saw four lead changes, Alaska found themselves down by six points entering the fourth quarter (42-36). A good free throw by Saint Martin's Mercedes Victor extended SMU's lead to seven points before senior guard Jaylee Mays' three-point bucket at the 7:55 mark sparked Alaska's comeback. Victor converted on two more free throws before senior forward Jordan Wilson rebutalled with two free throws of her own to cut SMU's lead to 45-41.

Alaska went on an 8-3 run to take the lead 49-48 at the 4:24 mark before going on a 12-5 run in the last three minutes to seal the Nanooks' second-consecutive conference victory.

In the second half alone, Alaska shot 54.17 percent (13-of-24) from the field, as well as shooting 50 percent (4-of-8) from the three-point line and 92.31 percent (12-of-13) from the free throw line.

The Nooks were led by Wilson, who shot 9-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line to register a game-high 25 points. Wilson's 25-point performance marks her 12th game of 20-or-more points this season. Furthermore, the Thornton, Colorado native also picked up 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Wilson also added two blocks and one steal in her 34 minutes on the floor.

Mays was the only other Nanook to score double-digit figures on Thursday, shooting 5-of-11 from the field, including going 4-of-10 from three-point territory to post 14 points on the night. Mays also added three assists, two rebounds and a game-high six steals.

"Jaylee was big for us on defense and hit some big shots late in the game," Bench concluded. "Jordan had some great rebounding and hit baskets at the right time."

The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team continues their GNAC road trip, heading to Seattle to take on the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday, Jan. 21 for a 1pm AKST tip-off.

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.