FAIRBANKS - Rivalry week is upon us. Tomorrow, the Nanooks women's basketball team will welcome the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves to town. Alaska is looking for their first win over UAA in over the last decade.

Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Alaska Anchorage
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Alaska Airlines Gymnasium, 3:00 p.m., Fairbanks, Alaska

Last Time Out
Alaska battled to within a bucket after the first quarter, trailing 21-19 after the opening 10 minutes. Pearle Greenkicked off the scoring, opening the game with a three-pointer. Caitlin Pusich followed up with her own three-ball, as Alaska opened up a 6-0 lead. That lead continued to grow as Ellen Silva got on the board followed by Destiny Reimers, making it 10-0 Nanooks in the opening three minutes. NNU responded, pushing back to tie the ballgame at 13-13, eventually taking a 15-13 lead. After NNU grew their lead to four, the Nanooks came back to take a one-point on a Paola Perez-Mendoza steal and bucket. Unfortunately, the Nighthawks had the last-laugh in the first, hitting a three with five seconds remaining to take a 21-19 lead into the first break.

Out of the huddle to start the second quarter, NNU jumped ahead by six. After trading buckets, the Nanooks pulled back within two with a pair of Reimers free throws. Green pulled them within a field goal again, but NNU pushed ahead by as much as 10 before taking an eight-point lead into halftime. 

That lead grew to 13 at the beginning of the second half, but Green connected on a three following a Reimers jumper, bringing the Nanooks within seven with 6:56 to go. Nearning the midway point of the third, the 'Nooks found themselves within five, but after a green layup, three and Pusich jumper, they still found themselves down five. They'd eventually break the threshold and come within four with 2:11 remaining in the third, but Nazarene pushed it to nine as they entered the fourth. At the beginning of the fourth, Alaska's deficit became seven on back-to-back-to-back buckets from Silva, Claudia Diez Marti and Green. 

That was as close as they'd get. NNU's lead would stretch back out to 14 for the final of 87-73. The Nanooks as a team shot 39.2% from the field while adding 30.3% from beyond the arc. 

Pearle Green had the hot hand for Alaska as the freshman continued her high-scoring on the season. She posted 29 points, a new career-high, on 11-27 shooting and added three assists and two steals. Caitlin Pusich added 12 points, grabbing five rebounds, four assists and picking up one steal. Four other Nanook scorers added six or more points on the night.

Quick Hitters

• Pearle Green continues her run as one of the top-freshman in the GNAC as she cracked the 15 ppg average again, now posting 15.1 points per game following a 29-point performance last weekend. 
• Destiny Reimers is just behind, averaging 11.9 points per game and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game. 
• Ellen Silva is grabbing an average of 2.0 offensive boards per game to lead the Nanooks.
• Green is shooting 33.1% from deep to lead the 'Nooks while Emma Wass continues her efficiency down low, shooting 56.9% from the floor through 15 games. 
• Savannah Huerta has not been to the line much, but the freshman has knocked down all eight attempts this season. She's also shooting 29.5% from deep, making the second-most threes on the team with 13.
• As a team, the Nanooks are scoring 61.9 points per game while shooting 35.7% from the floor. 
• Paola Perez-Mendoza leads the way with 40 steals on the defensive end. She's also the assists leader with 66 through 17 games and 16 starts.

Scouting UAA
UAA enters the weekend 15-4, 8-3 GNAC. They're riding a five-game winning-streak with wins over Seattle Pacific x2 including an OT win, a win over Northwest Nazarene at home, Central Washington at home, and a win at Western Oregon before heading to Fairbanks. 

They currently sit in third in the GNAC Women's Basketball standings. 

Looking Ahead
Following UAA, the Nanooks hit the road one last time for the 2021-22 season. They'll travel to Western Washington and Simon Fraser on Feb. 17/19 before returning home for a three-game weekend against Simon Fraser, Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. Senior night will be celebrated on Feb. 26 against WOU before the Nanooks head to Seattle Pacific/Saint Martin's for the 2022 GNAC Championships. 

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter, @NanookWBB on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball team page on Facebook.