FAIRBANKS – It was a hard-fought victory for the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team against Simon Fraser on Tuesday, Feb. 22 in Fairbanks. The 'Nooks scored eight-unanswered points to grab the 80-78 victory to move to 3-17, 2-13 GNAC on the season. This was the Nanooks' first-ever win over Simon Fraser; they were 0-25 entering tonight.
Alaska took a four-point lead following the first quarter, running ahead 21-17 on three three-pointers in the opening quarter. SFU battled back and won the second, but the 'Nooks took a 41-38 lead into the halftime break. Simon Fraser used a huge offensive explosion in the third to take a lead into the fourth, but the 'Nooks, led by nine fourth-quarter points from
Savannah Huerta, stole the win away from SFU down the stretch.
In the first,
Ellen Silva scored the first four points, putting the Nanooks up 4-0. SFU got on the board, but the 'Nooks' momentum stuck as they pushed out 6-2. A quick run from Simon Fraser tied it at 6-6, but Alaska rolled with the punch, running ahead again at 16-13 on a Pusich three, her second in the quarter. Behind 42.9% shooting from deep, the Nanooks took a 21-17 lead into the second quarter. Silva opened the quarter with a layup, extending their lead to six for the first time in the quarter. They'd maintain the lead before SFU pushed ahead for a one-point lead at 25-26 with 7:11 remaining. All it took was back-to-back Pusich threes to make it 31-28.
Their lead would only last another two minutes before Simon Fraser went ahead three with 3:44 left in the half.
Off of the made field goal, Alaska's
Olivia Kraska knocked down her only field goal of the night to draw the 'Nooks back within one at 33-34. An
Emma Wass put-back gave Alaska the lead back and
Destiny Reimers grew that lead to three off of an SFU turnover. Reimers, again, connected on a layup, this time growing the lead to five before the Nanooks took a three-point lead into the locker room. Simon Fraser ran the third quarter, outscoring the Nanooks by eight to take a five-point lead into the fourth on 13 third-quarter points from Jessica Wisotzki.
Entering the fourth, the Nanooks quickly fell behind by 10. Out of a timeout,
Savannah Huerta connected on a three, pulling Alaska within 61-68. SFU quickly answered back with their own three-pointer, but Huerta went back-to-back, pulling them within seven again. Pusich followed up with another, giving her 20 points on the night and making it a four-point deficit.
Claudia Diez Marti connected on a three-point play to pull within one.
SFU found another run, going up 72-78 with 1:32 remaining in regulation, but Alaska would have the final say. The 'Nooks used a
Zosha Krupa three, Huerta three and Reimers driving layup to end the night on an 8-0 run for the win. Following an offensive foul on SFU, drawn by Krupa, the Nanooks had the ball with eight seconds. Reimers began her drive and eurostepped her way to the basket, getting the shot up with under four seconds remaining. After hanging on the rim for a split second, the shot dropped with 1.5 remaining on the clock.
SFU had one final look, but a desperation three from Georgia Swant was off and the 'Nooks claimed their first home-win of the season and first win over SFU in program history, dating back to 1977.
Pusich led the way for Alaska, posting a career-high 20 points and tying her career-high for rebounds, with six. She added four steals, two assists and one block, lighting up the scorebook.
Savannah Huerta added 14 off the bench, hitting 4-8 from deep and 5-10 from the field.
Ellen Silva and
Destiny Reimers finished off the double-digit scorers for the Nanooks with a dozen each. Silva grabbed six boards and blocked two shots while Reimers grabbed four, tallied five assists and picked up one steal.
The Nanooks will end the regular-season at home this week. They'll host Saint Martin's on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 5:15 p.m. and Western Oregon on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m.
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.
