FAIRBANKS, Alaska – In their final home game of the season, The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team played against the 17-11, 12-6 GNAC Simon Fraser Clan on Saturday, Feb. 22. In spite of leading much of the first half, the Nanooks were unable to keep their lead going into halftime and couldn't muster enough points to come back in the second and the lost 52-76.
Alaska played very well in the first quarter, getting off to a five-point lead to start and holding it for the quarter. The 'Nooksshowed some great defense and were able to hold the Clan to only 13 first quarter points while scoring 15. Jocelyn Gandara lead the team with six points and had a steal in the first quarter. Sabrina Ungaro added three points a steal and a rebound to support Gandara.
The second quarter was good for Alaska as well maintaining a lead throughout most of the quarter but lost some momentum and allowed Simon Fraser to take the lead with 45 seconds left and entered halftime down 29-33. Alanna Conwell and Kylie Wallace scored four points each, leading the 'Nooks for the second quarter and Wallace added four rebounds to her total of eight. Alaska shot 13-38 from the field, 1-7 from beyond the arc and shot 2-3 from the free throw line in the first half.
The Nanooks got off to a slow start in the third quarter, not scoring until about four minutes in. Poor defensive play resulted in easy shots in the paint for the Clan and Alaska allowed 20 points in the paint in the quarter. The 'Nooks scored 15 points in the third but still left the quarter down 44-61. Gandara led the team with nine points and two steals to keep the Nanooks in the game.
Alaska Could not seem to get back into a rhythm in the fourth quarter allowing SFU to score 15 points and only mustering eight of their own. Gandara scored six of those points but it wasn't enough to boost the 'Nooks to victory, losing 52-76. The Nanooks finished the final quarter 3-17 from the field, 0-2 from three-point land, and 2-2 from the stripe.
Gandara led the team with 23 points after a dominant scoring performance in the second half and added five rebounds and four steals. Wallace wiped the glass clean with 10 rebounds in the game and scored six points. Sam Tolliver led the team with four assists and added four points in her efforts. Alaska Finished 21-71 from field goal, 1-10 from three, and 9-11 from the free throw line.
The Nanooks hit the road next week for their last two games of the season against 5-21, 4-14 GNAC Concordia University and the 5-20, 2-16 GNAC Wolves of Western Oregon. The games will be played Thursday, Feb. 27 at 4:15 pm at Concordia, and Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 pm at Western.
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.
