The Nanooks took on Saint Martin’s University on Thursday to kick off their final two contests with a season-closing road trip. They fell by a score of 64-55 after a second quarter swing for the Saints made the difference.
UAF entered on a seven-game losing streak and were up against SMU, who clinched a spot in the GNAC Championships with a win. The Saints had won the lone previous meeting between the teams earlier in the year, which took place in Fairbanks. Now, Alaska looked to return the favor on the road.
A competitive first quarter ended with the Nanooks trailing 16-14. Both teams shot around 35% from the field, with UAF going 5-14 (35.7%) compared to 7-19 (36.8%) for the hosts. Destiny Reimers led all scorers with eight points.
Saint Martin’s extended the gap in the second quarter with an 11-4 run, pushing their advantage to nine points. Alaska cut the deficit back to five, but the Saints pulled ahead once more late in the half, taking a 34-24 lead into the break – their largest lead of the game at that point.
After falling behind, the Nanooks stormed back to start the third. They connected on eight of their first 13 opportunities, seeing them trail by two, 42-40, with 3:04 left in the quarter. Amelia Brady and Reimers combined for 10 of the 16 points, with Brady scoring six and Reimers scoring four during that stretch.
Despite their efforts, the Saints closed the quarter strong, netting eight unanswered to stay ahead by double-digits at 50-40.
The Nanooks cut things to a two-score gap a few times in the fourth. They first did so after scoring six of the opening eight points to bring things at 52-46. They later did so with 1:42 left, after a Jayda Van Dyke bucket made it 58-53.
However, UAF never came all the way back, resulting in a 64-55 defeat. They shot 25-58 (43.1%) from the floor, 4-22 (18.2%) from three and 1-5 at the free-throw line.
Individually, Reimers led all scorers with 18, and finished with a double-double after grabbing 11 rebounds. Following in the scoring category was Brady with 14 points and Bobbi Clark with seven.
One game remains for the Nanooks, as they travel to Western Oregon University on March 1 to close out the year. Their current record stands at 6-18 overall and 1-15 in the GNAC.
Contact Caleb Jones at (907) 459-7530 or at cjones@newsminer.com.
