CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Alaska Nanooks fell to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in a regular-season matchup. 

This game was the first-ever meeting between the NCAA DII Alaska Nanooks and NCAA DI Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The Nanooks managed to keep the score close throughout the game but ultimately fell to SUU on the road, falling to 0-6, 0-0 GNAC. 

In the first, the Nanooks stayed within five at 20-15. Destiny Reimers got the 'Nooks on the board with a jumper at the 9:19 mark before the Thunderbirds ran out to a 6-2 lead. A 6-4 Nanooks' run was sparked and led to a 10-10 tie at the midway point of the first quarter. SUU jumped ahead by as many as eight at 18-10 before Alaska ended the quarter on a 5-2 run, pulling within three on a Kayla Johnson jumper with 26 seconds left before SUU hit a jumper with two seconds left in the first. Southern Utah used that momentum to end the first to pour it on in the opening five minutes of the second. 

They grew their lead to 28-17 before Alaska found their stride in the second quarter. After falling behind by 11, the Nanooks pulled to within six at the 1:04 mark on a pair of Tristian Martin free throws. Eventually, the Nanooks found themselves trailing at the halftime break, 26-34. Alaska did not shoot well in the second, going 2-11 from the floor, but they did manage going 7-8 from the free-throw line, getting the majority of their points in the second from the line. At the break, Kayla Johnson was leading the way with six points while Destiny Reimers, Ellen Silva and Jayda Van Dyke added four. 

Out of the halftime break, each side scored 16 points in the third. The Nanooks went 3-8 from deep while keeping SUU off the board from three, pushing them to 0-16 through the opening 30 minutes of play. Three minutes into the third, Kayla Johnson connected on back-to-back possessions, hitting a three and a pull-up jumper to make it 38-33 SUU. The Thunderbirds stretched their lead back to nine after the Nanooks pressure. The 'Nooks did not shy away, coming back on a Destiny Reimers layup and Anna Nevison three-pointer to make it 44-41 with 3:50 to play. That was as close as the Nanooks came in the third, going into the fourth trailing 50-42. In the fourth, SUU outscored the Nanooks 22-16 to pull away with a 72-58 win. Alaska pulled within eight, but that was as close as they'd come in the final 10 minutes of play. SUU's lead grew to as many as 16 in the fourth. Down the stretch, Kayla Johnson hit a jumper with 2:58 to play and a three-pointer with 1:13 left to play to make it a nine-point game before the final buzzer sounded. 

Alaska ended the game 22-58 (37.9%) from the floor, 6-22 (27.3%) from three and 8-10 (80%) from the free-throw line. They managed to keep SUU scoreless from three, as the Thunderbirds went 0-18 from deep, but they shot 32-76 (42.1%) from the floor and also went 8-10 from the free-throw line. 

Kayla Johnson was the only Nanook to score in double-digits, posting 18 points and grabbing five rebounds. Emma Wass grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds while adding eight points. Destiny Reimers filled up the stat sheet, scoring nine points, dishing seven assists, grabbing three rebounds and steals and blocking one shot. 

The Nanooks are in action again this Friday and Saturday at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. 

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