FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks women's basketball team held its home opener on Friday evening, taking on the Western Colorado Mountaineers. Both teams ended the opening 10 minutes tied at 13, but the second quarter would see WCU pull away, building a 33-26 advantage at the half. From there, the Nanooks fought back but could not retake the lead, dropping the contest 59-70.

Kayla Johnson led the Nanooks with 19 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from distance. Taylor Pilot followed with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting while picking up team highs in assists (6), steals (4) and tying for the team lead in rebounds with eight.

Pilot got the Nanooks on the board in the first with a tip-in off an offensive rebound, tying the score at two. Destiny Reimers gave Alaska the two-point lead with a made layup, and after a WCU make from inside the arc, Miranda Lomax and Johnson posted back-to-back buckets to put the Nanooks in front 8-4 with 5:57 left in the period. The Blue and Gold held the lead until a 7-0 Mountaineers run put the visitors ahead 13-10. Tristian Martin would notch a make from deep to tie the game at 13 heading into the break.

Pilot again got things started in the second with a made layup to put the Nanooks back on top by two. WCU responded with its own layup, but an Emily Freeman three gave Alaska its lead back at 18-15. Both sides traded the lead four times in the following two minutes, as a Lomax conversion from beyond the arc put the 'Nooks up 23-22 with 5:33 left in the second. Alaska held that one-point advantage until the 3:32 mark when WCU notched a made jump shot and three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give it a four-point advantage. The Nanooks went into the half trailing 33-26.

Johnson started the third with a made layup 13 seconds into the third quarter. Later in the period, a 7-0 Nanooks run put them within a point of the Mountaineers at 40-39. Johnson notched a jumper and three-pointer on consecutive possessions during the run, while Reimers scored a layup off a Lomax steal. WCU scored the following four points unanswered, rebuilding its lead to five, and despite an Amelia Brady made jump shot to end the WCU run, the Mountaineers finished the quarter on another 4-0 run to put them in front 48-41.

The Nanooks got their first points of the fourth at the 7:22 mark with a Johnson conversion from distance to make it a 50-44 score. Alaska kept the pressure on offensively, as they followed with Martin converting a three-point play. Johnson logged another three and Pilot followed with a made layup to trim the deficit to 57-52 with 5:06 left. However, Western Colorado would pull ahead and end the game by converting 5-of-6 from the line to take the 70-59 win.

The Nanooks led in second-chance points (8-4) and points in the paint (32-26) but were out-shot 38.1% to 47.2% during the contest.

Alaska is back in action tomorrow for its second game of the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational against Corban at 5:15 p.m.

Follow the 'Nooks
IG - @NanooksWBB
X - @NanooksWBB
FB - Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball