FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team got off to a roaring start to 2026-27 on Friday afternoon, defeating the Pacific Union College Pioneers 121-35 to move to 1-0, 0-0 GNAC. This marks the first time the Nanooks have scored over 100 points since Nov. 10, 2006, when they beat Mid-Continent 105-66.
How it Happened
Alaska opened the game by scoring its first 10 points unanswered, with Chloe Parker and Addie Prisciandaro both hitting threes. Pacific Union got its first points of the game at the 5:56 mark of the first after a Krystal Pineda jumper, but the 'Nooks followed with a 15-3 run to extend their advantage to 25-5 with 1:33 left in the quarter. Pineda responded with a layup, but Desiree Redfox followed with a three, which put the Nanooks up 28-7 after one.
The 'Nooks continued to put on the pressure to start the second quarter, forcing eight turnovers over the first five minutes to help them on an 11-4 run, with Brandi Stanford knocking down a three and a layup during the stretch. Denae Skelton drained a pair of threes over the last 3:43 of the second, including one on the final possession before the half, and the Nanooks headed to the locker room leading the Pioneers 51-17.
In the third quarter, the Nanooks posted their best shooting percentage of the game, going 19-30 (63.3%) from the field en route to a 44-point quarter. Nine players scored during the third, with Marney Rees leading the way with eight points. The Nanooks posted another dominant run during the quarter, scoring 15 points without a Pioneers response over a 2:32 period while forcing seven PUC turnovers, and took a 71-19 lead at the end of the run. Siri Lindsey hit on a pair of three-pointers as the quarter came to a close, and Stanford drained a floater with three seconds left, sending the Nanooks into the final 10 minutes with a 95-30 lead. The Blue and Gold hit six threes in the fourth, with Ava Wiley connecting on a trio of triples and Skelton adding two, and the Nanooks held Pacific Union to 2-13 shooting over the final frame, outscoring the Pioneers 26-5 in the quarter to claim the 86-point victory.
Inside the Numbers
- The Nanooks defense was smothering, forcing 61 Pacific Union turnovers and holding them to just 12-43 shooting and 1-12 on three-point attempts.
- The Blue and Gold had six players score in double figures during the contest.
- Siri Lindsey led the team with 20 points, going 7-11 from the field and 4-8 from three, while adding five steals, three assists and three rebounds.
- Denae Skelton followed with 19 points and led the team with seven steals.
- Marney Rees went a perfect 7-7 from the field for 14 points. She also tied for the team lead with five assists and had six rebounds, all of which were offensive.
- Brandi Stanford had 11 points, while Addie Prisciandaro and Chloe Parker both had 10.
- The Nanooks had 41 steals on the day.
- Alaska shot 47-109 (43.1%) from the field, 18-61 (29.5%) from three and 9-11 (81.8%) from the free-throw line.
- The Nanooks' 121 points tied for the second-most points scored in a single game in program history.
- This was the 14th time the Nanooks scored over 100 points.
What's Next
The Nanooks are back for one more game against Pacific Union on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
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