PORTLAND – It was an epic night for senior forward Kaillee Skjold, as the Kasilof, Alaska native not only led the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team to victory, but posted her 1,000th career point, as Alaska defeated the Concordia University Cavaliers 79-74 in a thrilling Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at the LCEF Court on Thursday night.
Alaska's second-straight conference win improves their overall record to 6-6 and 2-3 in conference play, while the Cavaliers drop to 4-9 overall, 1-4 GNAC.
Skjold drained 10 of her 21 shots from the floor and six free throws to post a season- and game-high 26 points on the night. Skjold also chipped in 10 rebounds, two steals and a game-high six assists against the Cavaliers for her second-straight double-double, her sixth of the season. Furthermore, Skjold's 26 points was the highest of any player in the conference on Thursday night and her third game of the season with 20-or-more points. Following Thursday's game, Skjold now has 1,003 career points in her years as a Nanook.
Down 13 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Alaska went on a 13-point run and held the Cavaliers off to tie the game at 62-62 only three minutes into the final ten of the game. Alaska capitalized on the momentum and forced Concordia to take untimely fouls, which sealed the Nanooks' victory 79-74. In the fourth quarter alone, senior guard Jaylee Mays drained three, three-point shots, while freshman guard Lexi Carpenter collected two, three-point shots herself.
"What an amazing comeback. Kaillee and Jordan played like animals," head coach Cody Bench said following Thursday's game. "Big shots by Lexi and Jaylee in the fourth quarter gave us the win. I was proud of our heart tonight and how they never gave up. Excellent free throws in the final minutes were the difference makers, great team hustle in this road win."
For a time, things were looking grim for the Nanooks, as 11 turnovers in the first half alone and nine offensive rebounds for Concordia gave them an 18-point lead at the 3:31 mark of the second quarter. Skjold converted on four of her six free throws in the final four minutes of the second quarter, cutting the 18-point lead by the Cavaliers to 12 but Alaska still trailed at intermission 31-43.
Despite an early push in the third quarter, including cutting Concordia's lead to only three points at the 4:43 mark (44-47), Alaska tallied six turnovers in the third quarter and found themselves in foul trouble once more, giving the Cavs a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Led by Mays and Carpenter, Alaska was able to bounce back and took advantage of the momentum from behind the arc, sealing the conference victory.
Skjold wasn't the only Nanooks to record double-digit points on Thursday, as fellow senior forward Jordan Wilson collected 20 points by scoring 5-of-6 shots from the field and 10-of-13 free throw attempts. Mays ended her night with 12 points, including going 4-of-8 in three-point attempts, while Carpenter posted a career-high 10 points for the Nooks.
As a team, the Nanooks shot 45.8 percent from the field (27-of-59), 43.8 percent from behind the arc (7-of-16) and 62.1 percent from the free throw line (18-of-29). Alaska totaled 37 rebounds against the Cavs, including 10 offensively, while also picking up 13 assists and seven steals. Furthermore, Alaska gained 12 points from second chances, 12 points from their bench and recorded 16 points off of turnovers.
PLEASE NOTE: due to a weather advisory in Oregon for Saturday, Jan. 7, Alaska women's basketball's conference game at Western Oregon has been changed to Friday, Jan. 6 at 6pm AKST per the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
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.
