Women's basketball beats SMU, 67-65, in overtime
February 26, 2013
Jamie Foland
907-474-6807
Alaska won for the third straight time in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball play and used a 50-percent shooting day to edge Saint Martin's 67-65 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at the Patty Center.
The victory for the Nanooks (5-20, 3-14 GNAC) is the longest win streak for the program since the 2007-08 season when they won six in a row between Nov. 30 and Dec. 11, 2007. The Saints (12-14, 5-11 GNAC) were mathematically eliminated from the GNAC Championship with their second straight loss.
Trailing 55-54 with late in regulation, junior forward Ruth O'Neal (Fort Washakie, Wyo./Justice) hit a jumper in the paint that bounced in off the rim to give Alaska a 56-55 lead with 1:04 to go. SMU missed on its ensuing possession but stole the ball with 30 seconds to go to give the visitors another try. Taylor MacKenzie's shot was off the mark with 21 ticks to go and O'Neal was fouled with 13 to play. She made one of two to put the Nanooks up 57-55 but Chelsea Haskey hit a jumper in the lane with 2.7 seconds left to force overtime.
In the extra period, The Nanooks led 59-58 but a pair of jumper gave Alaska a 63-58 advantage with 3:29 to go. The teams traded two free throws each and with the Saints trailing 65-60, Jori Skorpik drained a three pointer to bring them to within two at 65-63 with 2:36 to play. Junior forward Samantha Thornton (Bremerton, Wash./Business administration) hit a shot to put the 'Nooks up four with 1:45 left but Haskey cut the lead in half with a jumper in the paint with 35 seconds left.
Alaska had a chance to put the game away but Thornton's shot with four seconds left was off the mark and SMU called timeout with a couple seconds left. On the inbounds play, MacKenzie went for a deep pass but freshman guard Brianna Kirk (Noatak, Alaska/General studies) tipped the launch pass and the Nanooks took control to run out the clock.
Sophomore guard Kelly Logue (Fair Oaks, Calif./Communication) turned in a team-best 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and also made five steals, to lead all players. Junior forward Jacqueline Lovato (Gunnison, Colo./Business administration) contributed 14 points while Thornton had 10. Sophomore guard Benissa Bulaya (Sacramento, Calif./Business administration) added eight points and a career-high eight assists while O'Neal led the team with 10 rebounds.
Alaska shot a solid 50 percent (27-54) from the floor while limiting Saint Martin's to 39 percent (24-61) shooting. The Nanooks led the rebounding war 35-34 but the Saints had 11 offensive boards, to the 'Nooks' seven. Alaska also outscored SMU 10-0 in transition in a game that saw eight ties and 12 lead changes.
The Saints were led by Haskey, who had 19 points. Taylor had nine points while three others contributed eight apiece.
The Nanooks conclude the 2012-13 season next Saturday at 7 p.m. when they host rival Alaska Anchorage at the Patty Center. It will be the final game for Taylor Altenburg, Marissa Atoruk and Jacqueline Lovato.