SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Nanooks women's basketball team fell in their matchup against the Westminster Griffins, 74-69.

Emma McKenney hit a free throw to begin the game due to a Westminster technical, starting the Nanooks ahead, 1-0. McKenney connected with Emma Wass for an assist, 3-0 Alaska. The Nanooks would jump out to a 7-0 lead off scores from Ellen Silva and Kayla Johnson. The Griffins would respond, rattling off 12 straight. A Wass hook shot, followed by a McKenney layup to end the first kept the Griffin lead at just five, 16-11. 

The Nanooks kept the momentum going, cutting the lead to three on several occasions early in the second quarter. A Westminster three-pointer doubled the lead midway through the second quarter, and Ekko Hopkins would respond with a jumper to cut the deficit to four. Each team traded 4-0 runs, including free throws from McKenney and a Tristian Martin lay-up. With three minutes left in the half, Westminster scored seven straight to stretch the lead to 11. Martin temporarily cut the lead back to single digits before the Griffins closed the quarter with a layup for an 11-point lead, 38-27

Silva opened the scoring in the second half, immediately cutting the lead back to single digits. Westminster would respond with two-straight triples to push the Griffin lead to 15 early in the third quarter, 44-29. The Nanooks would rattle off five straight from Wass and McKenney, cutting the lead to just 10, 44-34. The lead would remain at 10 until a 9-2 Westminster run stretched the lead to 17, 57-40. However, Wass would not let the Nanooks quit, hitting two straight to end the quarter. 

Two Johnson layups to start the fourth saw the Griffin lead shrink from 17 to just 10, 58-48. Westminster split a pair of free throws before Taylor Tiulana hit Alaska's first three of the night to cut the lead to just eight, 59-51. After a quick Griffin bucket, McKenney got three the old-fashioned way to trim the Griffins' lead to seven, 61-54. Each team would go on significant runs, back-to-back, as the Griffins rattled off 10 straight before Alaska would respond with nine straight of its own, seven from McKenney. With under half a minute to go, Alaska was still fighting, as Anna Nevison came off the bench cold to knock down a clutch three to cut the lead to five, 71-66. Nevison would hit a second three as the buzzer expired to keep the final at five, 74-69.

Emma Wass led the Nanooks in scoring and rebounding, falling just shy of a double-double, with 19 and nine while going 8-9 from the field. Emma McKenney finished just behind Wass with 17 points, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. Kayla Johnson joined Wass and McKenney in double-digits with 10. 

The Nanooks return home to host the two-day Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational on Friday, Nov. 24. Multnomah and Covenant will open up the invitational at 1 p.m., and the Nanooks will close the opening day against California State University San Bernardino at 3:15 p.m. for Alaska's home-opener of the 2023-24 season. 

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