Dec. 6, 2007

Full Alaska Women's Basketball Notes and Stats

• Thursday's contest marks the first meeting between Alaska and University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The last time the Nanooks faced an opponent from the Lone Star state was in the 1991-92 season, when they split a two-game series with Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M-Kingsville). All told, Alaska is 2-6 all-time against Texan opponents.

• Alaska returns to the Patty Center fresh off of a successful visit to Anchorage for the Glacier Classic. The Nanooks produced two convincing victories over Mesa State (a 71-67 win) and Chaminade (76-45) at the Wells Fargo Sport Complex last weekend to boost their record to 3-1 on the year. In addition to leaving with two W's, a pair of Nanooks were also selected to the All-Classic team, as both Sarah Herrin and Cristina Bruketta earned tournament honors for their performances.

• Sophomore Sarah Herrin enjoyed perhaps the finest game of her young career on Friday night at the Glacier Classic. The guard hit a career-high 20 points, knocking down seven of her eleven shots from the field: a 63.6 percent clip. Herrin also pulled down six rebounds and had three assists in the Nanooks' victory.

• Building a big lead early against Chaminade in the Nanooks' second Glacier Classic game gave head coach Lynne Andrew an opportunity to show off her depth: every Alaska player saw action as the Nanooks got 37 of their 76 points from the bench

• Despite falling in the Mt. McKinley Bank championship game, Alaska had plenty of reasons to hold their heads high after the tournament. The Blue and Gold more than held their own against a Chico State team who is now ranked No. 9 in the nation. Despite trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, the Nanooks turned up the intensity and rallied back to take the lead with just 5 minutes remaining, before falling to a late Wildcat surge.

• The Nanooks' second half fightback against the Wildcats was keyed by the team's defensive pressure: Alaska did not allow a field goal in the second half to Chico State's best player (and eventually tournament MVP) Audriana Spencer.

• Senior co-captain Kari Reabold and junior Sheena Brown were both named to the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational All-Tournament team. Reabold scored 19 points in both of the Nanooks' games, and averaged 7.5 rebounds per game as well. Brown poured in a career-high 25 points in the team's win over Merrimack on her way to a team-best 40 points over the two-day event.