FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team outscored their opponent 23-11 in the second half to get the momentum they needed to defeat the Western Oregon Wolves 79-65 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory at the Alaska Airlines Court on Thursday night.
Alaska earns their second-straight win to improve their conference record to 7-6, while also pushing their regular season record to 11-9. The Nooks compete the season splitting with Western Oregon in their two conference matchups, getting revenge on the Wolves after falling to them 72-67 on the road on Jan. 6. The loss drops Western Oregon's overall record to 7-13 overall and 3-10 in GNAC play.
Senior forward
Kaillee Skjold shot 10-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to post a game-high 25 points, only one point shy of her single-game career personal-best of 26. The 26-point performance is Skjold's sixth 20-point-or-more game of the season. Additionally, the Kasilof, Alaska naïve also added four rebounds, two assists and one block.
Fellow senior forward
Jordan Wilson recorded 16 points on the night, shooting 6-of-13 from the floor and converting on each of her four free throws. After Thursday's win, Wilson has collected 1,644 career points as a Nanook, making her only two points shy of overtaking the seventh place spot on the GNAC's All-Time Leading Scorer's list.
Not to be overshadowed, senior guard
Victoria Milton had an impressive night in her 28 minutes on the floor, collecting a game-high five assists and a game-high four steals, while also shooting 4-of-9 from the floor, 1-of-3 from behind the arc and 1-of-1 from the free throw line to tally 10 points on the night. The Lansing, Michigan native's 10-point night marks her fourth double-digit game of the season.
After a tight first quarter, Alaska only held a 14-13 lead over the Wolves before turning the heat up in the second. The Nooks and the Wolves tied three different times through the first five minutes of play in the second quarter before Alaska 13-0 run to head into the locker room with a 37-24 lead at intermission.
Alaska continued their terror to start the second half, posting five more points before Western Oregon was able to convert on a layup at the 8:07 mark. The Nooks pounced on Western Oregon's mistakes, collecting 30 points off of WOU's 19 turnovers. Alaska's largest lead came at the 1:44 mark of the third quarter, where the Nooks held a 23-point lead over their opponent.
In total, Alaska shot 54.4 percent from the field (31-of-57), 36.4 percent from three-point territory (4-of-11) and 92.9 percent from the free throw line (13-of-14). The Nooks out-rebounded their opponent 31-27 with Wilson posting a game-high three offensive rebounds. Also of note, Alaska registered 44 points in the pain, 20 points from the bench and four off of second chances.
The Alaska Nanooks will return to the Alaska Airlines Court on Saturday, Feb. 4 to host the Concordia Cavaliers in another GNAC matchup at 1pm AKST. Saturday's game is a double-header with Alaska men's basketball, who plays directly afterward at 3:15pm AKST. Saturday is also UA Staff and Faculty Appreciation Day for both games, where any UA staff or faculty will receive free general admission with the presentation of a valid Polar Express Card at the door.
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.
