FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team picked up its first home win of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Corban 92-67.
Destiny Reimers led the Nanooks with 17 points, going 6-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-3 from distance. She also picked up a team-high seven assists. Taylor Pilot and Jayda Van Dyke followed with 16 points apiece; Pilot went 6-of-9 from the floor, converting her only attempt from distance, and notched six steals. Van Dyke shot 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep.
Van Dyke got the Nanooks on the board with two connections from distance, putting them up 6-0 at the 8:37 mark. Reimers and Pilot also notched three-pointers to build an early 12-5 advantage over the Warriors. Following a Corban conversion from beyond the arc, Emily Freeman joined the three-pointer frenzy, drilling a shot from deep to put Alaska ahead 15-8. Van Dyke and Freeman would keep the pressure on, sinking three-pointers on Alaska's following two possessions. Later in the period, Miranda Lomax got on the scoresheet with her own three-ball, giving the Nanooks a 24-11 lead. However, Corban would get itself back into the contest, ending the quarter on a 16-6 run to shrink Alaska's lead to three at 30-27. Alaska drained its first seven three-point attempts of the game and went 8-of-11 from beyond the arc during the opening quarter.
Kayla Johnson scored the Nanooks' first points of the second on a layup off the feed from Tristian Martin, but seven unanswered Warrior points put Corban ahead 36-32. Two Halle Waram free throws ended the run, and Anna Nevison gave Alaska its lead back with a three-pointer, putting the Nanooks ahead 37-36. However, the Nanooks would go cold, going the next four minutes without scoring while Corban built a 47-37 lead. Reimers ended the scoring drought by knocking down a turnaround jumper with just over a minute left in the quarter. She followed with a three-pointer, trimming the deficit to 47-42 entering the half.
Pilot started the third by converting a three-point play, putting Alaska within two points of the Warriors. She would bring the Nanooks level on the following possession with another driving layup. Back-to-back three-pointers by Corban's Lizzy Bennett helped the Warriors regain a six-point lead at 53-47, but Reimers responded with an and-one conversion, and Lomax would put Alaska level at 53 with a three. Those two baskets kicked off a 16-0 run for the Nanooks, seeing them build their advantage to double-digits at 65-53 with 2:27 left in the period. Waram and Taylor Tiulana also notched threes during the run. Alaska closed the quarter with a Reimers layup and two Pilot free throws, which put the 'Nooks in front 69-61 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
The Nanooks outscored the Warriors 23-6 in the final quarter, with Amelia Brady posting three field goals and leading Alaska with six points during the fourth. The Blue and Gold opened the period on a 14-0 run and would follow that with a 9-0 run, with Freeman capping things off for Alaska with a connection from deep.
The Nanooks shot 44.6% from the field and 44.1% from distance during the contest while going 11-of-12 from the line. Alaska led Corban in points off turnovers (39-27), points in the paint (36-18) and second-chance points (24-16) in the win.
Alaska is on the road next as it takes a trip to Hawaii for three games, starting with a contest against Chaminade on Wednesday, November 20, at 7:30 p.m. AKST.
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