BURNABY, B.C. - The Nanooks women's basketball team dropped a tightly contested game against Simon Fraser on Thursday evening, falling by a final of 88-81. The contest saw 13 lead changes, but the Nanooks could not hold on late. With the loss, Alaska falls to 6-15, 1-12 GNAC.

How it Happened
The Nanooks established an early 6-4 lead, with Amelia Brady connecting on a pair of layups to give the Blue & Gold the advantage 2:18 into the contest. However, Simon Fraser would respond with a 9-0 run, building a seven-point lead. Alaska countered with consecutive threes from Miranda Lomax and Emily Freeman to trim the deficit to one. After a Red Leafs make, Lomax knocked down a jumper to send the 'Nooks into the second quarter trailing 15-14.

Two Tristian Martin free throws put the Nanooks back in front at the start of the second. SFU retook the lead with a jumper, but Jayda Van Dyke answered with a triple, giving the 'Nooks a 19-17 advantage 55 seconds into the period. Van Dyke followed by connecting on three attempts from the line after being fouled on a three-pointer, but Simon Fraser would retake the lead with four-straight points. Over the next 3:50, the two sides traded the lead seven times, with neither team building a lead greater than two during that stretch. Destiny Reimers would knock down a three at the 2:07 mark to put Alaska in front 35-31, but five consecutive Red Leaf points to close out the quarter saw the hosts enter the halftime break up 36-35.

Despite the Nanooks never trailing by more than two possessions and coming within a point of the Red Leafs on two occasions, they could not regain the lead. The Nanooks received 11 points from Lomax in the third quarter but entered the final 10 minutes down 59-56.

SFU got things started in the fourth with a three, but Lomax answered immediately with one of her own. However, an 8-0 Simon Fraser run saw it establish a double-digit lead at 70-59. The Nanooks countered with six straight points, including four from Taylor Pilot, but they still could not make it a one-score game. Anna Nevison sank a three with 41 seconds remaining to bring Alaska to within four at 82-78, but four straight Red Leafs free throws put the game out of reach.

Inside the Numbers

• Destiny Reimers led the way with 24 points, her fourth 20+ point game of the season. She went 10-21 from the floor and 4-9 from three while grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out five assists and collecting two steals.
• Miranda Lomax followed with 19 points on the evening, going 7-16 from the floor and 3-8 from beyond the arc. She tallied four rebounds and four assists and notched a steal.
• Amelia Brady posted a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. She also picked up a block.
• The Nanooks posted shooting splits of 38.4% and 35.5% and knocked down 14 of their 18 free-throw attempts during the contest.
• They grabbed 42 rebounds to SFU's 43.
• Alaska led in points off turnovers (17-13), bench points (15-11) and points in the paint (30-22), but trailed in second-chance points (13-11) and fastbreak points (16-4).

What's to Come
The Nanooks are on the road for one more game this road trip, traveling to Western Washington on Saturday for a contest against the Vikings. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. AKT.

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