HILO, Hawaii – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team took on the Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans in a midweek road matchup on Tuesday, where they fell by a final score of 104-90.
How it Happened
The Nanooks and Vulcans were neck and neck in the first quarter, with neither side building a lead greater than five. Oakley Homer got things started with a three on the first possession of the game to put the Nanooks up early, and would knock down another from the perimeter to put the 'Nooks up 6-4, but three straight Vulcan baskets saw the hosts go up by four. Denae Skelton responded with a three-pointer before a Chloe Parker three-point play tied it at 12. The 'Nooks would level things up again at 17 after Homer hit her third three of the quarter with 2:24 left in the first, but UHH would pull ahead 21-19 at the end of the period.
The Vulcans opened the second quarter on an 11-1 run, pulling away 32-20 before a Mandi Pham jumper got Alaska its first field goal of the quarter. Another Homer three got the Nanooks back to within single digits, but Alaska could not cut the deficit to less than nine points for the rest of the quarter. After a 6-0 Vulcans run to end the second, the Nanooks entered the locker room trailing 58-37.
The Nanooks posted their best offensive quarter of the game in the third, shooting 52.4% from the field and 50% from three. After being outscored 7-2 to start the quarter, the Nanooks flipped the script, outscoring the Vulcans 8-1 thanks to a three-pointer from Khamryn Hopkins and a three-point play by Brandi Stanford. Alaska eventually cut the lead to 10 after Homer's sixth three of the game with just over a minute left in the quarter, but a Kacie Febo-Santiago three as time expired put Alaska in an 84-70 hole with 10 minutes remaining.
The Nanooks used the three-ball to cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth, getting a pair of triples from Skelton and one each from Homer and Addie Prisciandaro to make it a 93-84 game with 5:41 left. A Siri Lindsey jumper brought it back to a nine-point game, and a MaKayla Figuereo free throw got the 'Nooks to within eight at 98-90. However, a Tavina Harris jumper brought it back to a 10-point contest, and the Vulcans iced the game from the free-throw line.
Inside the Numbers
- Oakley Homer was lights out from deep, going 7-9 from beyond the arc en route to a team-high 25 points. She also grabbed five rebounds and dished two assists.
- Denae Skelton posted 13 points and led the team with eight rebounds.
- Brandi Stanford was the final Nanook to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points.
- Siri Lindsey and Khamryn Hopkins both had nine points, with Lindsey leading the team in assists with four.
- Marney Rees had a team-high three steals.
- The Nanooks won the turnover battle, forcing 23 while committing 14. They led in points off turnovers, 20-16.
- Alaska was outrebounded 62-42. Despite grabbing 19 offensive boards to UHH's 15, the Nanooks trailed in second-chance points 20-16.
- The Nanooks shot 28-84 (33.3%) from the field, 14-44 (31.8%) from three and 20-35 (57.1%) from the free-throw line.
- Alaska's bench outscored Hawai'i Hilo's 31-19, but they trailed in fast break points 16-10 and points in the paint 54-20.
What's Next
The Nanooks return to action on Friday, Nov. 13, when they begin the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge with a game at Hawaii Pacific at 6 p.m. AKST. They then face off against Chaminade on Saturday at 2 p.m. AKST.
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