ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Alaska Nanooks could not hold on in the second half of their contest against Central Washington on Thursday evening, falling to the Wildcats 87-54 after being tied at 31 through the first two quarters. Alaska drops to 5-6, 0-3 GNAC with the loss.

How it Happened
After falling behind 9-4 early in the first quarter, the Nanooks stormed back to take a four-point lead after a 9-0 run, with Destiny Reimers chipping in with four points off a pair of layups. The Wildcats made it a one-score game with a three-pointer to end the quarter, but Alaska held a 13-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

Miranda Lomax began the second by knocking down two free throws and Halle Waram followed with a three on the ensuing possession, helping the Nanooks build an 18-12 lead a minute into the quarter. The Wildcats cut Alaska's advantage to one after a 7-2 run, but the 'Nooks responded with back-to-back layups from Reimers and Taylor Pilot. Bobbi Clark added another layup with 4:16 remaining in the second, putting Alaska ahead 28-25. Neither team scored for the next 1:35, but two straight CWU layups gave the hosts a one-point lead at 29-28. Jayda Van Dyke retook the lead on a two-point bucket, and a free throw from Kayla Johnson saw both teams enter the halftime break tied at 31.

The third quarter saw six lead changes, with Johnson, Van Dyke and Clark all posting four points on a pair of baskets during the quarter. However, 12 unanswered points helped the Wildcats build a 59-49 advantage going into the final quarter. Alaska only managed five points in the final 10 minutes, with a Johnson layup splitting two separate 14-0 runs for the Wildcats in the fourth.

Inside the Numbers

• Destiny Reimers led the Nanooks with 14 points during the contest on 6-of-11 shooting. She also grabbed four rebounds.
• Kayla Johnson posted seven points, going 3-for-7 from the field, and swiped three steals.
• Jayda Van Dyke led the team with four steals on the evening. She finished with six points, knocking down three of her four shot attempts from the field.
• Taylor Pilot grabbed a team-high five rebounds and collected two steals.
• The Nanooks shot 36.7% from the field and 23.5% from deep.
• Alaska notched 21 points off turnovers compared to 12 for the Wildcats.
• The Nanooks trailed in second-chance points (11-3), bench points (27-21) and points in the paint (38-32).

What's to Come
The Nanooks stay on the road for another GNAC contest, traveling to Northwest Nazarene for a matchup against the Nighthawks on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. AKST.

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