FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team fell to the Central Washington Wildcats for the second-straight night on Thursday, Feb. 3 following a rescheduled makeup date. This loss drops the Nanooks to 2-14, 1-10 GNAC.

There was an offensive explosion in the first quarter that saw a combined 49 points put up on the board. After the first 10 minutes, CWU took a 25-24 lead into the second. After pulling ahead by three at the break, the Wildcats outscored the Nanooks by 10 in the second half to take an 80-67 win over Alaska. In the first, the 'Nooks held the early momentum. They jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead behind a Pearle Green jumper, Ellen Silva layup and Emma Wass layup. After CWU pushed back to take a one-point lead, Alaska responded, jolting ahead by nine, their biggest lead of the night on a Caitlin Pusich three-pointer. Central quickly grabbed the next eight points, pulling it to 18-17 Nanooks. CWU made it a three-point lead, completing their comeback before settling for a one-point lead at the opening break. 

Opening the second, Central pushed ahead by 11 with 6:14 remaining. They used a Samantha Bowman layup to make it 37-26, but the Nanooks showed their grit and responded with a Green three, pulling back within eight. They eventually pulled back within three with 2:40 remaining in the half on a Claudia Diez Marti make. CWU made one last run, going ahead by six, but just before the end of the half, Savannah Huerta hit a pullup three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to make it a 43-40 ballgame going into the break. The Nanooks trailed, but shot an impressive 48.93% from the field and 45% from deep in the first.

Entering the second half, Emma Wass quickly pulled Alaska within one, picking up a steal in the backcourt and coasting for the easy bucket. After trading buckets with the Wildcats and pulling within three, Central started to make a bigger deficit each run. They quickly turned the 'Nooks deficit into 10 with just over two minutes remaining. A three for Huerta followed by a Diez Marti bucket made it five points, but CWU stretched it to eight after the third. Entering the fourth, Central grew their lead to the biggest of the game, 17, on two separate occasions. A Reimers bucket pulled the Nanooks within nine with 2:20 remaining in the game, but that was the last for Alaska. 

Reimers led the way for the Nanooks, posting 12 points on 5-8 shooting. She knocked down both free throws she took on the night and grabbed four rebounds, added three assists and two steals. Claudia Diez Marti was the only other Nanook in double-digits, scoring 11 points while adding two steals and an assist. Alaska had eight players score over six points in the game and outscored the Wildcats 27-2 on bench points, but despite the support, Alaska was unable to secure the win. 

The Nanooks are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 3:00 p.m. as Northwest Nazarene comes to town. 

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.