ROCKLIN, Calif. - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team started its season with a win this afternoon in California, defeating Cal Poly Humboldt 83-75 in its first game of the Bill Holtz Warrior Classic at Jessup University. The Nanooks held off a strong Lumberjack's third quarter, which saw them erase a 14-point Alaska lead, and held Cal Poly Humboldt to 14 points in the final quarter while scoring 20.
Kayla Johnson led the team with 21 points, while Destiny Reimers posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Nanooks started the game by falling behind 10-4 early in the first quarter but responded by scoring the following 11 points. Jayda Van Dyke and Reimers knocked down threes, while Tristian Martin converted the and-one to give the Nanooks a 15-10 lead. Martin closed out the first by draining her first three of the contest, putting Alaska ahead 19-12.
Taylor Pilot got the Nanooks on the board in the second with a fastbreak layup after swiping a steal. However, the Lumberjacks answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 21 with 7:01 left in the quarter. Miranda Lomax put Alaska back on top with a layup, and after a missed Lumberjack three, Johnson gave the Blue and Gold a four-point lead with a jumper. A Humboldt jump shot made it 25-23, but a 9-0 run for Alaska put them up 34-23. Reimers, Pilot and Johnson logged layups during the run, while Emily Freeman drilled a shot from distance. From there, Johnson took over, scoring six points in the final three minutes of the second to help the Nanooks establish a 43-29 advantage heading into the break. Alaska's 24 points in the quarter were its most of the contest, as they shot 10-of-18 from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Reimers and Pilot both converted three-point plays to start the third, helping Alaska on a 6-3 run over the opening two minutes to put it up 49-32. However, a 12-0 run by the Lumberjacks shrank the Nanook's lead to five. At the 2:56 mark, a Cal Poly Humboldt layup tied the game at 55, and the Lumberjacks would take the lead 46 seconds later on a three-pointer. With the Nanooks down 60-58 with just over a minute remaining in the third, Johnson helped Alaska reestablish the lead, scoring its final six points of the quarter to put it up 63-61 heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
Alaska remained in front to start the fourth, but could not build a lead greater than four over the first half of the quarter. The Nanooks held the one-point advantage at 69-68 before a Pilot layup put Alaska up three with 3:58 left to play. This would kick off a 10-0 run for the Nanooks, with Pilot contributing four points and Amelia Brady completing a three-point play to help build an 11-point lead. Alaska would cruise to victory, with Reimers knocking down four free throws on four attempts to close out the contest.
The Nanooks made the most of their turnovers, scoring 25 points off takeaways while allowing 15. They would also show their strength in the paint, outscoring the Lumberjacks 40-28.
Alaska concludes its trip to California tomorrow afternoon, taking on hosts Jessup University in its final game of the Bill Holtz Warrior Classic at 1 p.m. AKST.
Follow the 'Nooks
IG - @NanooksWBB
X - @NanooksWBB
FB - Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball
