ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team defeated the Parkside Rangers 77-63 improving to 3-3 on the season.
 
The Nanooks found themselves down early trailing 3-12 five minutes into the first. Sabrina Ungaro helped the team find their stride with six consecutive points, and Alaska trailed 12-18 at the end of the first quarter. The team struggled a bit in the second quarter, shooting only 21% from the field but solid defensive showing stopped Parkside from capitalizing on the team's poor shooting. The Rangers held a 32-23 at the half. Sabrina Ungaro and Olivia Kraska both led the led the team in scoring at the half with six points. Kylie Wallace led in rebounds with six, Sam Tolliver led in assists with three and Ungaro led in steal with three.
 
The 'Nooks came out of the locker room flat and Parkside grew their lead to the largest of the night at 11 points before Kylie Wallace made a layup that helped the team cut the deficit back into single-digits. The team cut the deficit down to five, trailing 45-50 at the end of the third quarter. With 3:43 left in the fourth quarter, Sam Tolliver made a three-pointer that gave the Nanooks their first lead of the game 60-59. Carolina Rahkonen made a layup to give the lead back to Parkside and Sabrina Ungaro responded the following possession with a three to give Alaska the lead 63-61 with 2:29 left in the game. At the 1:11 mark Rahkonen made two free-throws which gave Parkside the lead 65-64 and the Nanooks answered with another three-pointer this time by Jocelyn Gandara. This last three-pointer from the team was the game-changer, as the Rangers were forced to foul to extend the game. The 'Nooks played solid defense down the stretch and Sabrina Ungaro played with great energy in the last 30 seconds grabbing critical defensive rebounds and making two free throws that prevented Parkside from coming back. The Nanooks held great composure at the free-throw line in the last minute going 6/8, with four from Sabrina Ungaro and the last two of the game from Sam Tolliver to seal a 73-66 win for Alaska. Jocelyn Gandara led the team in points with 18, Kylie Wallace led in rebounds with ten to go along with her 14 points giving her a double-double, Sam Tolliver led in assists with seven and Sabrina Ungaro and Kylie Wallace both led in steals with three.
 
Head coach Kerri Nakamoto had this to say about her team and the win, "Proud of how we came out tonight and competed. We were down the majority of the game and got some foul trouble but kept it close and made some big plays down the stretch. We played together as a team, had great energy and had a really well-balanced attack. I'm looking forward to continuing to improve and have some home games this week."
 
The Alaska Nanooks shot 58% from the field and 60% from the three-point line in the second half, which propelled them to their comeback win. The team will be at home next weekend hosting the Mount McKinley Bank North Star Invitational tournament on Nov. 28-30.

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.