Women's basketball can't overcome early deficit, falls at SMU
January 28, 2013
Jamie Foland
907-474-6807
Saint Martin's never trailed and had a nice shooting performance to down Alaska 74-57 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball Thursday night at Marcus Pavilion.
The Saints (11-7, 4-4) won for the eighth time in 11 games while the Nanooks (2-14, 0-8 GNAC) fell for the seventh time in a row.
Angela Gelhar came off the bench and drained four three pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points while Chelsea Haskey tallied 16 points and two blocks. Jordyn Richardson also netted four treys to contribute 15 points while MacKenzie Taylor had five offensive rebounds and 13 total for the game to lead all players on the boards.
SMU shot 45 percent (25-56) from the floor and made an impressive 53 percent (8-15) of its three-point attempts. The Saints won the battle on the glass 42-39 but the Nanooks out rebounded the hosts 17-13 on the offensive end.
Alaska was held to 33 percent (20-61) shooting and made only 22 percent (5-23) from beyond the arc. It also struggled again from the line, making just 57 percent (12-21) of its free throws. Senior forward Jacqueline Lovato (Gunnison, Colo./Business administration) led the 'Nooks with four threes and 14 points while junior forward Samantha Thornton (Bremerton, Wash./Biology) had a career-high 12 points. Junior forward Ruth O'Neal (Fort Washakie, Wyo./Justice) also contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
Leading 4-3 early, the Saints went on a 9-2 run to grab a 13-5 advantage with 11:38 to go in the first. The Nanooks got back to within three twice but six straight by SMU in 1:33 gave the home team a 21-12 lead with 7:10 left and would take a 32-23 advantage into the locker room.
Alaska had the deficit down to six at 39-33 but Saint Martin's took over with a 12-3 run to go up 51-36 with 13 minutes remaining. Trailing 58-40, the Nanooks scored seven in a row to cut the deficit to 11 with 7:13 left but SMU responded with a 7-0 run of its own to reclaim the 18-point lead at 67-49. Alaska couldn't climb any closer than 13 the rest of the way.
The Nanooks return to the hardwood Saturday at 6 p.m. when they take on Western Oregon. Earlier Thursday, the Wolves (6-12, 1-7 GNAC) fell 63-54 to Alaska Anchorage in Monmouth, Ore.