SEATTLE, Wash. - The Nanooks women's basketball team fell to the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Thursday, Feb. 19 at the Royal Brougham Pavilion. 

How it Happened
The Nanooks battled for three quarters before SPU used a big fourth quarter to pull away late. The Nanooks trailed by just two at the half and one after the third quarter before falling 78-63. In the first, the Nanooks trailed by just two. Amelia Brady got the scoring started with a jumper 13 seconds in. Pearle Green connected from deep to make it 5-0 Nanooks. SPU hit a three of their own before Alaska's Emily Freeman made it 8-3 only 1:31 into the first. Tamai Mancuso later knocked down another three, making it 11-8 near the midway point of the first. Following another Mancuso bucket, Emily Freeman hit a second three to extend the Nanooks lead to 16-11. SPU ended the first on a 7-0 run to take an 18-16 lead. In the second, the Falcons jumped out to a quick four-point lead. The Nanooks quickly erased that and regained the lead on another Brady bucket. 

Nearing the four-minute mark of the second, Alaska found themselves up by seven on a Jazlynn Novelli three, Gigi Velasquez jumper and Pearle Green jumper. Their lead would reach as many as eight before SPU ended the second on a run. They'd pull to within one before hitting a three with four seconds left in the half to take a 37-35 lead into the haltime break. 

Out of the break, SPU's lead reached eight. Alaska chipped away and eventually picked up a three-point lead on four-straight points from Pearle Green. Their lead reached five in the third on three separate occasions, but another late-second three from SPU to end the third gave them a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, for the Nanooks, the Alaska three-point shooting went away in the final 10 minutes. Alaska entered the fourth 10-24 from three but would go 0-6 in the final quarter. Just over a minute into the fourth, the Falcons increased their lead to double-digits. Their lead would reach as many as 13 before eventually hitting 15 with just seconds left in the game. Alaska worked them back to single-digits a number of times in the fourth, but were not able to chip away enough at the deficit. 

Inside the Numbers

• Two Nanooks scored in double figures tonight. Jazlynn Novelli finished with a team-high 16 points on 6-18 shooting and 4-7 from deep. She added five rebounds, three assists, and a steal. 
• Pearle Green finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. 
• Emily Freeman and Tamai Mancuso both finished with nine points. 
• The Nanooks finished the night shooting 39% from the floor and 33.3% from three-point range. 
• Alaska had 18 points in the paint tonight, along with 12 points off turnovers and 19 bench points. 
• There were three tied scores tonight and seven lead changes. 

What's Next
The Nanooks travel to Billings, Mont. for another GNAC matchup with the Montana State Billings Yellow Jackets. That game tips off at 3:15 p.m. AKST and can be watched on the GNAC Network. 

Follow the 'Nooks
IG - @NanooksWBB
X - @NanooksWBB
FB - Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball