SEATTLE, Wash. – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team fell to the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday, Jan. 4. After jumping out to an early lead in the first half, the Falcons offense got going in the second half and completed the comeback. This loss drops the 'Nooks to 6-7, 1-3 GNAC on the season.
The first quarter saw
Sam Tolliver jump all over the Falcons defense as she put up 12 of her first half 18 points. The Nanooks as a whole shot 46.7% from the field, putting up 26 first quarter points to just 14 from SPU. To start, the game was back-and-forth, but the 'Nooks turned a 9-10 deficit into a 12-0 run which led to a 21-10 Alaska lead.
Heading into the second quarter up 12, Alaska kept the offensive front coming. They were outscored by the Falcons 19-25 in the second but took a 45-39 lead into halftime. At the half, Tolliver had 18 points,
Jocelyn Gandara had 11 and
Sabrina Ungaro checked in with 10 points in the half.
Seattle Pacific found the answers in the second half, however, jumping all over the Nanooks from the get-go. SPU came out of the locker room and immediately put the pressure on with a 13-0 run, taking the lead back at 45-52 before
Sam Tolliver netted the first points of the half for the 'Nooks. Unfortunately for Alaska, their offense faded away in the second half. After shooting 47% in the first half, the 'Nooks saw their numbers drop to just under 29% in the second half.
The Falcons put up 51.7% shooting in the second half, outscoring the Nanooks 25-44 and at one point, running out to a 22 point lead late in the fourth quarter. The Nanooks ended on a stronger note, getting within 13 to end the game, but when the buzzer sounded the Falcons walked away with a 70-83 victory.
Only three Nanooks managed to crack the double-digit marker for points as Gandara and Tolliver both ended with 21 points and
Sabrina Ungaro put up 20 on 60% shooting from the field.
The Nanooks return home next week on Jan. 9 and 11 to face off with Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington University at the Patty Center.
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.
