Women's Basketball | 1/4/2017 6:13:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - After defeating the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets in a lone Great Northwest Athletic Conference game last Thursday, Dec. 29, the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team continues conference play on the road this week, facing the Concordia University Cavaliers on Thursday, Jan. 5 before taking on the Western Oregon Wolves on Saturday, Jan. 7. Thursday's game at Concordia will tip-off at 6pm AKST, while Saturday's game at WOU is scheduled for 1pm AKST.
Alaska Projected Starters
#1 Victoria Milton (5.4 PPG, .436 FG%, 5.0 Assists PG)
#12 Jaylee Mays (12.3 PPG, .419 3FG%, .457 FG%)
#22 Lexi Carpenter (2.1 PPG, 1.6 RBPG)
#23 Jordan Wilson (22.3 PPG, .586 FG%, .938 FT%)
#32 Kaillee Skjold (14.0 PPG, .386 FG%, 9.2 RBPG)
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks broke a 18-game winning streak at home for MSUB last Thursday, Dec. 29, defeating the Yellowjackets 71-53 on the road for the first time since Feb. 1992. The Nooks shot 24-of-56 on the night and capitalized on MSUB's 22 turnovers to capture their first GNAC victory of the season. Senior forward Jordan Wilson posted a game-high 24 points, while fellow senior-forward Kaille Skjold tied the conference single-game season-high for rebounds, collecting 16 on the night.
Skjold's Close Triple-Double
In Thursday's victory at MSUB, Skjold posted 10 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, which was the closest any player in the conference has come to a triple-double this season. Skjold continues to lead the conference in rebounding, averaging 9.2 per game. So far this season, Skjold has posted five double-doubles and scored double-digit points in nine games thus far.
In a League of Her Own
Wilson's 24-point night against the Yellowjackets last Thursday marks her eighth of 11 games where the Thornton, Colorado native has registered 20-or-more points Wilson ranks second in the conference and third in all of NCAA Division II in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game.
Milestone Watch
Last February, Wilson recorded her 1,000th point as a Nanook and is only 39 points away from 1,500th point, as she currently sits at 1,461 after Thursday's win. Furthermore, Wilson has tallied 533 rebounds throughout her four-year career at Alaska, only 67 rebounds away from breaking the 600 mark.
Not to be outdone, Skjold is only 23 points away from the 1,000 point club, as the Kasilof, Alaska native currently sits at 977 career points after her monster game at MSUB. Additionally, Skjold currently has 573 career rebounds and is only 27 away from the 600 mark.
Foul Success
Alaska ranks first in the conference in free throws, posting an 84.2 average per total in their 11 games so far this season. Western Washington ranks second in the same category with a 78.7 average.
Scouting the Opponent – Concordia (4-8 overall, 1-3 GNAC)
The Cavs dropped both games in its return to GNAC play after the holiday break, falling to Simon Fraser and Western Washington last weekend, both of which, are ranked in the top-five of the D2SIDA poll in the West Region. Jordyn Peacock tallied two blocks against the WWU Vikings, which puts her at 32 total blocks this season, more than double anyone else in the conference.
Scouting the Opponent – Western Oregon (5-6 overall, 1-3 GNAC)
As the Cavaliers did, Western Oregon also dropped their first two conference games to WWU and SFU last week. Sydney Azorr was the only player on the Wolves to score double-digit figures in both games, equaling the team-high of 10 points against Simon Fraser before tallying 14 points against Western Washington. Jasmine Miller has a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game, along with 9.6 points per game average.
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.
